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| learning what she’s bred for |
No, not that Birdman (great movie), this is the birdman that Whiskey LOVES. We are working to train Whiskey with birds (trying to get her to hold a point right now). Eric has been our very informative trainer and this time Whiskey recognized Eric’s car and just jumped right in. It smells like birds, fun, and dog. We met up with, his brother and Yoffi, his now-junior champion Vizsla. Yoffi ranked 7th in puppy field trials (dogs up to 1.5 years of age) out of all pointing breed dogs in Canada and was the only Vizsla to place! I was so stoked to watch Yoffi “work”. Now we don’t want to compete with Whiskey because it’s a full time commitment but it’s really nice to see the dogs work and learn. They are happiest doing the work they are bred for and I just love learning.
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| wading into the field |
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| Yoffi, handsome junior champion |
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| Puppy in training |
We went out to a big field to practice and Eric brought some birds. He set up a bird tied to a string that was fluttering around and both dogs were so excited. This is expected in an experienced dog, but really key for Whiskey. I then tried to walk Whiskey in a big loop around the bird to a pre chosen position, then encouraged her to stay still and hold a point, lifting her back into place when she lunged ahead. After a couple rounds, she got much better and understood what we wanted.
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| initially Whiskey was so hard to hold back |
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| Putting Whiskey in a “suitcase” and learning how to handle |
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| these dogs are so beautiful |
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| getting better! |
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| Yoffi showing us how it’s done |
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| birdman and birddog |
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| watching from the sidelines |
Switching to something else before the dogs lost interest, we kept Whiskey while Yoffi got to go “find” and point a bird. Eric took a bird in a launcher 500m away, came back to Yoffi and released him. It was pretty crazy to see Yoffi run full speed tracking the bird and pointing it out way before we could catch up to him. He held the point until the bird was released and is currently training to keep his point while the bird takes off and flies around.
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| Yoffi finds the bird and holds point |
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| walking up and he doesn’t move |
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| Still holding point while Eric encourages good style |
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| pointing another bird |
I’m really excited to continue her bird training as I just love to see these dogs point. I can tell Whiskey loves it and she’s so keen to learn.
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| Happy tired Whiskey |
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| very focused Yoffi |
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