I will have to dissagree that a 0 be given for trainability for a cast - just went to a judging seminar last month and the facts are these - Quote - Milton Holcombe said that you can not judge a dog for a cast that maybe incorrect in your mind or viewed as a cast refusal - one you do not know how ...

Your title say's it all, there is a "line" to the blind. Angle casts are to much in my book. A correct spin or two or three should get a tight lining dog on line.

Now in a test or trial you choose the best cast to get the bird under control.

But if you angle cast from left to right and then from ...

Well if I was at a test and the dog started to drift to sea or the dog started to dig in too early then I would have handled way before - casting to the point you are telling the dog to get up on the point then casting the back past it - I would give an angle cast to tell the dog that I wanted the ...

I think instead of runnin tests and trying to figure out the best cast I would go to the route of the problem and fix it in the yard with drills then carry it over into the field - in tests the dog is learning the skill of getting test wise and knowing what it can get away with.

Just my 2 cents ...

Here is a direct link to head swinging and switching:

http://www.dobbsdogs.com/library/retrievers/rj26.html

David

Here is a link with some great info:

http://www.dobbsdogs.com/library/retrievers/index.html

David

You know that is a great question "what is in a dogs mind when switching"

My belief depends on the dog where the dog is in training - it is sort of like a dog that shops on a pile gotta get them all Dad.

David

Bill,

In my program a dog has to learn how to mark - distance is a huge factor for dogs even thoug they are on golf course type fields - distance falls into the category of confidence - I teach the concept of distance through mark extensions - ABC drills - walking singles - when I have a dog ...

Well I think that you are on the right track - dog was successful the next day different location - in this case I would have blown the whistle walked out in the field commanded fetch walked back to the line sent the dog for the memory bird.

That is weird that the dog went to the go bird three ...

I would push him by your reading the dog is doing well with everything else - but remember if you are going to use pressure or even calling the dog back and resending other things can pop up.

In a dogs life they need to learn to be responsible for their actions - if I had the problem here is what ...

Travis - I will have to dissagree with you that it is a FF issue - FF is a seperate issue - now what the issue is here is multiple things:

FF would nto be the result of going when sent FF is the result of picking up certain objects retrieved - meaning just because the dog is Forced does not mean ...

I would simplify it also - then when the components have been taught with factors then I would go to other alternatives;


Teach
Attrition
Handle
Correct

David

Sounds like a mental block, but there has to be more to it than just decidong one day that water is not fun - water should have been made fun from tthe time the dog was a pup if not a pup during the winter.

the littlest thing sometimes can turn a dog off of the simplest things - how old was the ...

Do a search on google about Julie Knutson she lives and trains out of Colorado - she and her husband paul wrote the book on pointing labs - I have one personally and would never have another one she is 9 months old and terrible drive - she is not very watery either.

My biggest experience with ...

meeka I will get them out to you tomorrow - have to get ready to head out to a field trialers here to train tomorrow.
David