Training Day [2]

September 26, 2009
Jersey, GA

About 5 hours into the training day, we proceeded to the wayback pond and did a few duck launches. Tessa's went wrong, I don't think she was ready for it. We positioned ourselves at the other side of the pond across from the dock where I put Tessa in a sit-say. We fired some shots in the air from both sides, then they launched a dead duck into the water, whereupon I was to fire the starter pistol then release Tessa to fetch the duck. The starter pistol jammed and I got a little flustered, and then Tessa didn't know what to do. She knows what fetch means, and she loves the water, but I don't think she put one and one together, maybe never noticed the duck. She just looked at me as if to say "What? Fetch WHAT?" A rock was launched near the duck, and Tessa went in. At that point the duck was closer to the dock than to me at the far side, but Tessa grabbed it and swam it all the way back to me - well sort of. She dropped it at the shore and wouldn't pick it up again. I think I should have done a live duck search first.

Tessa, Greta and Ada are inspecting the dead duck. Yup, it's dead alright :(

Little Ada, a 4 months old German Shorthair, retrieves the duck in team work with Greta. Ada was also the one who retrieved the bumper that Tessa left floating in the pond. Ada was awesome. This is Ada:

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