Dock Diving!

May 21, 2011
Jersey, GA

That was some training day today. The bird work didn't go all that well. First off, I helped my friend train his puppy, and the plan was to then take Tessa and follow the advanced teams to work on backing/steadiness. That was cut short when a friend's dog suffered a snake bite and I rushed them off to a nearby vet. Back at the plantation, we caught the tail end of field work before everyone proceeded to the water, as it was getting hot.

There was too much serious duck work going on at the duck search pond, so I took Tessa to the puppy pond where she had a blast jumping off the dock on the far end. She's done it before, but not as much as that day - she absolutely loved it. Once she got to shore, she raced up to the dock, ready to jump again, just like a kid at a pool.

We are planning on entering in a dock diving competition in July but there are two things we need to work on: jumping into a pool (blue water instead of muddy lake water) and running into the jump, rather than stopping at the edge of the dock for push-off. Access to blue water is a problem for us - the Canine Ranch, a training facility near Canton, GA, is a 2-hour drive away.

Walking on water? No problem!

Soon, Tessa was joined by a bunch of Vizslas that got all excited about watching Tessa jump, and Tessa actually managed to talk some of them into following suit!

The Party Crasher

August 15, 2009
Jersey, GA

Another training day, but not a successful one. I blame the both of us.

Not knowing how hot it would be that day, I had not ordered any birds for her, so except for a few runs through the empty fields, we watched others hunt up birds, with Tessa on the check cord, and that didn't sit well with her. I used the situation to practice "whoa" and heeling but it was tough. In the end I had to take her back to the car as she was over-exciting herself.

We proceeded to the pond. Things went well at first with just us and a few puppies at the pond, and Tessa fetched every dummy I threw. But then others showed up and Tessa turned out to be quite the party crasher, leaving her dummies afloat in the middle of the pond to swim over and grab the other dogs' bumpers, decoys, dead birds. Even those she would only bring halfway before she went after the next one - she wanted all of them! We were obviously disrupting the others' work so back on the check cord she went. I always end each training session on a positive note but today it was really hard to find one.

I like to think she still benefited from the 4-hour outing, getting some good exercise at least, and more exposure to gun shots, but overall, we were not where we should be and I was at a loss. So back to the yard work we go, obedience, controlled fetching exercises, more check cord work and no ponds for now.

Straightjacket Fits

December 13, 2008
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Per vet's suggestion, we had to order new gear - a harness. I am not fond of harnesses as they encourage pulling and hinder training, but Tessa had some unexplained pain last week and was diagnosed with possible whiplash or muscle strain in her neck caused by her incredible exuberance when out and about. The vet was unable to reproduce the pain during a very thorough exam and seeing that it took four people to hold her down just to get her temperature, while she was trying to spread her love among all of us, the diagnosis of muscle or neck sprain was made, in absence of other symptoms and findings.

The recommended course of action was 5-7 days of rest and no walks unless I can put her in a harness so as to not further strain the neck. Probably a good idea for her to wear one past the 7 days until she is able to control her love for the world. After some research I decided on the Ruffwear Web Master, and I am very impressed with its construction and functionality - it's simply incredible. These harnesses are marketed for hiking dogs, but also used in Search & Rescue where dogs need to be lifted in and out of boats and helicopters (yes, it has a handle, and it is fully padded). I think it will come in handy in many ways. Thankfully, she does not pull much more when in it and is easier to maneuver when over-excited around people.

"I can see Beijing!"

The Ruffwear harness allows free range of motion, and in no way hinders the Big Dig underway at the beach.