Kindergarten is over for Bailey

This was the first day of real dog training for my hunting dog.

Even though this was his 8th session with Joe up in Cotati, everything up to here has been fun kindergarten for Bailey.

Joe and I discussed 13-month-old Bailey's graduation to real training, and today was the first day of "green broke" training.

Directions before we start:
We are going to let him find a bird and point. While he is on point, I am to kneel down next to Bailey and hold him while Joe flushes the bird. I am to hold Bailey while the bird flies away and then lead Bailey away in the opposite direction holding his collar before releasing him to find the next bird.

So Joe plants the three chuckers in different parts of the field and has me wait until they are planted.
Let Bailey go at Joe's signal and off he goes. His first bird he points well and I kneel down and hold him. Joe flushes the bird and it flies away.

We lead Bailey away and release him a good distance away to start working another bird. But Bailey turns around and runs full out to try and find the bird that has flown away. He finally comes back. On each bird he still tries to find the bird that flies away. He does find one in the tall grass quite a ways away and happily brings it back to me.

This is going to be a process that will take some time.

The idea is that Bailey will hold and not move when the bird is flushed until he is released.

This is a required ability for a dog to take the next step in field trials and hunt tests.

The process is counter-intuitive to what nature wants a bird dog to do when a bird flies away.

We'll be at it again next weekend before we are off to Oregon for a field trial.

Bailey is now in first grade and learning his ABC's of a hunting dog.

Playtime is over.

Bailey is doing well

Joe called him a "red GSP"today, and told me at the end of the session that if he was going to have a Vizsla, he'd want one like Bailey..

this is getting more interesting all the time.