Back to those birds!

After a few weeks off from field training due to vacation, we were back last week and Savi couldn't wait to get out and run in the fields.  We began where we left off, with a plan to steady her on point, no more chasing birds and encourage her to hunt.  She didn't disappoint us and even though its not as fun as swimming, it ranks right up there with her favorite things to do. 

After a warm up run, we brought Savi into the field with the first pigeon planted in a trap and she had no problem finding the bird from scent.

On point as we tell her to "whoa" and use a hand signal to reinforce the command.

Good girl standing there while we get into position to hold her collar while the bird is released and the blank pistol is shot, remember, her chasing days are over...she has enough drive and enthusiasm and needs to learn to "whoa".

Off to find the next bird...lovely trot across the field on a beautiful September day...

Nice performance on the second bird.  We sent her out and around the field and called her back into the wind and she pointed the bird and held, good for a young pup.  Now to figure out which hunt tests we'll enter for her Junior Hunter because she's shown us, she's ready.  The Junior Hunter test has four categories the dogs must pass with a minimum score of 5 out of 10 and an overall average of 7. The categories in Junior are: trainability, hunting, bird finding and pointing.  They must point at least 50% of the birds they find and hold point for approximately three seconds.  Also, the dog cannot be gun shy when the handler shoots the blank pistol.