Training at the Lake

I went out duck hunting with a couple of friends today, and although I didn’t shoot any ducks, I was able to bring one home with me for use with the dogs. Both of my friends have Labs, and it was their lease, so the Cockers stayed home for this hunt. Once we were at the lake, when Rocky and Macy discovered I had a duck in my bag, their demeanors changed instantly. They no longer wanted to hunt around;  instead they wanted that duck! I have both Rocky and Macy relatively steady to bumpers, but the duck brought out the worst in them. Even Macy, who is generally extremely steady, had problems with running in on the duck when I threw it in the lake. She did it two times, and both time I called her back short of the duck and then punished her by sending Rocky for the retrieve. I thought she’d get the message the first time, but apparently she didn’t. The duck is in the freezer wrapped in a few paper towels, waiting to be taken out for another training sometime in the near future. As frustrating as it was to have the dogs misbehaving, it was also a great learning opportunity for them. The more distractors and “accelerants” I can have in training, the better, because the more similar it becomes to a hunting situation.

Here’s a short video from their water retrieves, and a few pictures that my wife snapped. I think you’ll enjoy Macy’s water entrance.