Diversion blinds

[This post reproduces an entry in our training journal: http://lumi-laddie-test-series.blogspot.com/2012/02/diversion-blinds.html.  It describes a drill that I'd also like to include in my reference blog, though at some point I'd like to edit it for this context.]

Today I took Laddie to the huge field we used to train on with the neighborhood kids, but rarely do these days.  The problem is that it's mostly flat and lacking in features.

However it was good for today's work: a total of twelve blinds, distances in the range 120-250y.

Six of the blinds were 2" orange bumpers, stood up in the dry cover. The other six were 3" white blinds with lining poles.

The orange and white bumpers were in pairs. In each case, the orange bumper was 20y further from the start line than the white bumper and lining pole. The lines to the two were just a few degrees apart, so that Laddie had to run past the white bumper to get to the orange bumper.  For half the pairs, the line to the orange bumper passed to the right of the white bumper. For the other half, the line to the orange bumper passed to the left.

I had Laddie run each pair by handling him to the orange bumper first, then sending him for the white bumper as a freebie, that is, no handling required.

I've heard that judges actually set this sort of thing up occasionally. But more importantly, even without a "poison bird", it's commonplace for the dog to think she knows where the bird is when she doesn't. This drill is intended to help the dog gain experience handling in those situations.

Unfortunately, today's work wasn't much of a challenge for Laddie, but he had fun. Between the blinds and the hey-hey bumpers afterwards, he also got in some work on his endurance, which may have suffered a bit over the winter. 

Accelerated poorman setups

A "poorman mark" is when you place your dog in a sit at the start line, go out to throw one or more marks, and then come back to the start line to run the dog.  It's one way of training alone.  I think it can be beneficial, since the dog has to memorize the falls and run the lines without the benefit of visible gun stations.  That's a skill the dog needs for Hunt Tests, where the gun stations are generally not visible to the dog even when the birds are thrown, and for Field Trials, where the gunner is visible when the bird is thrown but may "retire" behind a holding blind or other hiding place by the time the dog runs that mark.

On the other hand, the timing on poorman marks, especially for multiples, and most especially the kind of long ones run in Field Trials, is significantly different than a competition series.  In competition, the dog sees all the throws, and is then sent to the go-bird, all within a matter of seconds.  By contrast, a big poorman setup can take long minutes for the handler to go out into the field, throw the marks, and then return to the start line to run the dog.

Recently, I found a way to accelerate big poorman setups.  First, you place a lining pole at the intended start line.  Then, you let the dog play as you walk out into the field, perhaps throwing hey-hey bumpers for her.  When you arrive at your first intended gun station, you call her to heel and run her on a line to the lining pole, blowing whistle sit when she arrives.

Once she turns to face you, the series begins.  You throw the first mark, and then walk to your other gun stations and throw the other marks.  After the last mark, you walk toward the start line, but after you've taken a few steps, you use a remote send by calling her name and gesturing toward the go-bird.  She runs to pick up the last bird down and brings it to you.  You heel her to the start line and run her on the remaining marks.

While these accelerated poorman setups are still hardly identical the kind of series she'll see in competition, at least she sees the first mark in about the same time frame from sitting at the start line as she would in an event, and at least she's released to the go-bird in about the same time frame after it's been thrown as she would in an event.