Vires' wisdom comes from much experience, uniquely common sense approach (on top of sound techiques designed to 'teach'), keen eye for details, love of dogs, and a group of great 'dog' friends in North Mississippi (your area) - passionate dog folks, all of them. We always enjoy being around them and they have become our extended family.....a lot of them are members of this board........and are largely responsible for the successes Anne and 'B.J.' have enjoyed in the last 6 years.
I believe there's a Southern Flight HRC training day scheduled for the weekend of our regular Fall Hunt Test because of 'The Fall Grand' in Union City, TN is pretty close to that date. Steve will know the details if you and Ruby want to participate - that's what it's for......dogs and handlers at all ages and stages of development. I would encourage you to go if at all possible.
That's the same approach we used on 'B.J.' because of the reason you mentioned - everybody makes mistakes. So, we didn't get in any rush and were careful not to 'train' B.J.'s enthusiasm out of her or take the program any faster than either we or the dog could handle (based on our experience level - or comfort with wht we were doing). She's gotten a bit 'test-wise' and is a little 'happy' at the line........but that goes back to 'sit', running hunt tests every weekend, and not realizing how giving an inch translates to a few feet in a short period of time. We just had to quit running hunt tests this Spring and get her to REMEMBER that Anne or myself (whichever is handling her in a HT) are part of the 'team'. She just forgets we're there, sometimes. I think the long layoff of having this litter AND hunting season will give us a fresh start this coming Spring. You can break 'creeping' but it's not pretty if you want immediate improvement. We elect NOT to put her through heavy 'pressure'.
That is where it helps to have a regular training group with folks that have been through all those problems and know how to avoid and/or correct them. So don't be hesitant to get with these folks because you don't want to be embarrassed over anything you or your dog might do in a 'group'.....it's unavoidable.....but everybody there has been through it at one time or another.
'Sounds like you're on the right track. If we get a training group going down here, I'll be sure and holler at you. In the meantime, go to the SFHRC training day - there's a wealth of knowledge there and it would be hard to find a more supportive, encouraging, and helpful group of folks to steer you in the right direction. I think Johnny Barlow and Ronnie Harwell are probably located closer to you than anybody else. Lots of experience right there and they've had some unbelievable animals over the years. They are just a sample of what HRC is all about. If you need phone numbers - lemme know.
Otherwise, go to
http://www.southernflighthrc.com/ for info on becoming the best team (you and Ruby) you can be in the hunting field.