Gotta love those training days!

[SMAbby]

Had a pup from my "C'" litter drive down from MN to get some training done. It was a great time and we were joined by another "C" litter pup that lives semi close.
Saturday we worked on gun sensitivity. Both pups did great as we moved from a primer and 100 yards and then to 50 yards, while the pups happily chased the birds around the field. This gave us the knod we needed to move on to the big guns. Again, we started 100 yards and worked to 50 and then to 20. Zero issues!!! Whish I could post picks but photbucket sucks now.

So we moved from the field to the house to cool everyone down and give the pups a nap. They are only 14 weeks.

We then headed out to the water.....or what is suppose to be water but is more like mud puddle. I figured it would be ok for puppy intro because their feet would never leave the ground as they built confidence with this new smelly creature!
No need to build confidence here! So off to the bigger water. Iwas a bit nervous because a few days ago me and my dogs had been closely followed by a bitch yote that I can only assume had pups to gaurd. She followed us for a good half mile to my truck, showing herself 2 me twice with in 3 ft.
The cover around this water was thick and I chose to put garmins on all the pups for safety.

I like to use white call ducks both for pups and also for switching a white land marker for a white duck when it comes to blinds. Anyway, I turned the duck loose and Cassie took off after it like she was shot out of a cannon! She gave a good vocal chase and had to figure out how to handle a diving duck. Eventually she pinned the duck on the shore and ran it to her owners.
Next was Cain, just a little bit more of a thinker, but he took after the duck and gave a good 20 min chase that turned into a search for awhile. It wasnt long after that the duck was recovered and we ended the day!

The next day was just for my pup Anka and my puppy buyers pup Cassie(Mockit). The had told me that during training she was busting in on the traps. I was expecting to have to do a quick hallf hitch to stop her, but we never had an issue. Now, I am not so much into check cords, but this dogs mama was super worried about her running off. So, I allowed her to drag the cord.

Now here is the warning......You are about to see great pup work on birds but shitty gun work on my part. Not sure what the deal was with me today but I missed 10 birds and at one time I didnt even load the gun. I wanted to kill birds for these 2 so bad that I choked.....HARD soooooo, if you are the type that piss your pants laughing, get your towel now.
And once again, this video will show you just how KLMs cant point.

All videos are 1min 14 seconds or less.

First is young Cassie vom Cedar River (Mockitt) 42 seconds
https://youtu.be/Rg0-FX_fhRU

Mockitt again 1m 7 sec
https://youtu.be/Hy0g9MxmRoc

14 month old Anka 1:14
https://youtu.be/eIk02iAr3eQ

Anka 43 sec
https://youtu.be/N7h6L0MylRg

Anka 1 min
https://youtu.be/Eq5cX8sWMIw

And my all time favorite screw up!
https://youtu.be/Hy0g9MxmRoc

[SMAbby]

Tough crowd.

[hicntry]

LOL....People are jealous because those young dogs are looking good. People are all wishing their dogs looked that good. LOL I love watching you work those young dogs.

[SMAbby]

Thanks.

That is the highlight of my breedings. I LOVE to help the handlers work with their puppies. I love the looks on their faces when they see the dog pointing for the first time, or retrieve something. It is the highlight that makes the stress of breeding,whelping and weaning so much more enjoyable. It really does it for me.

[hicntry]

I do know what you mean. Once the knees didn't want to keep up with the older dogs and packing the game out, it was the working with the pups that kept me going. I suppose that is why I had so many videos of them....working a bunch of pups at the same time is how I relaxed. It isn't the hunting I miss, it is having all the pups around.

[ryanr]

Thanks.

That is the highlight of my breedings. I LOVE to help the handlers work with their puppies. I love the looks on their faces when they see the dog pointing for the first time, or retrieve something. It is the highlight that makes the stress of breeding,whelping and weaning so much more enjoyable. It really does it for me.

I haven't had a litter myself but I helped get two of my friend's litters started. We worked them all spring & summer. It was so much fun and rewarding to see their progress and the looks on their owners faces at each milestone. And then I was there too see them all prize at their NA tests. Great job with your pups Mary!

[SMAbby]

Thanks.

That is the highlight of my breedings. I LOVE to help the handlers work with their puppies. I love the looks on their faces when they see the dog pointing for the first time, or retrieve something. It is the highlight that makes the stress of breeding,whelping and weaning so much more enjoyable. It really does it for me.

I haven't had a litter myself but I helped get two of my friend's litters started. We worked them all spring & summer. It was so much fun and rewarding to see their progress and the looks on their owners faces at each milestone. And then I was there too see them all prize at their NA tests. Great job with your pups Mary!

I think this is what it should be about. If you are not breeding to contribute good stuff or to help others enjoy what its like to hunt with a dog, than you probably shouldnt do it.

I think I might be a little bit of a hover breeder. I am still in contact with "A" litter people. I also send out articles that I like about health and training. I tell then when they should be hitting the milestones. Like these guys didnt realize we could put those pups in the water and start duck chase/searches. I dont want them to wait to start introducing this stuff. I dont want them to miss out on the milestones. But I also dont want them putting a ton of obedience and I dont want them doing any formal field/water work until much later. I want them to expose the pups and teach them to be, as a good friend told me, good citizens.

Ha, some folks just want their pups and for me to leave them alone.........im not so ok with that, but I get it.

Ryan you will rock it when it is time. You will discover a whole new kind of pride, happiness and sometimes pain. In the end, I think it is worth it.

[K Locke]

SMabby,
For me puppy work is the best. I enjoy seeing a point on scent for the first time. Gun breaking a pup and the first few times swimming are as good as it gets. I love the look the owners face when their pup start doing what they were bred to do. Don’t get me wrong, working with the finished is OK but I really love working with pups.

[jlw034]

Is Anka the MN dog? She looks familiar.

[SMAbby]

Is Anka the MN dog? She looks familiar.

No, Lady Diva Anka vom Loofkamp, is a pup I imported last summer. Boy oh boy is she a totally different animal. I am wishing I would have kept a pup from my litter. But, I couldnt be patient!

The 2 dogs in MN are from the St. Paul area and are training with Mark Jacobs at Hugo. 1 is a male named Dash and the other is a female named Mockit the rocket. Sure enough I tried to buy Mockit away from her owners, but that went over like a turd in a punch bowl..

[daeion]

Yeah a buddy and I were training my SM and his LM with a trainer/breeder in Dalbo, MN this past weekend and there's just nothing better then watching them work a field with the tail just swinging back and forth.

[AverageGuy]

No, Lady Diva Anka vom Loofkamp, is a pup I imported last summer. Boy oh boy is she a totally different animal. :

Interesting. How is the import pup different than your dogs?

[AverageGuy]

No, Lady Diva Anka vom Loofkamp, is a pup I imported last summer. Boy oh boy is she a totally different animal. :

Interesting. How is the import pup different than your dogs?

[SMAbby]

No, Lady Diva Anka vom Loofkamp, is a pup I imported last summer. Boy oh boy is she a totally different animal. :

Interesting. How is the import pup different than your dogs?

Sorry, I didnt see this.

It has nothing to with her being imported. She is just very different. No matter what I say or how I say it, it will seem bad. But here goes.
She is a deep thinker. You almost have to show her what you want...or it works better that way anyways. I cant gauge if she is soft or im a push over. Force fetch was easy, we did hit the wall but came through no different than the other 7 dogs I have done. SO , That makes me think she isnt soft. At this point, I dont believe you are going to get out of her what she doesnt want to give. I sent her on a blind, she did great. I sent her on another, Awesome. Sent her on a 3rd. She said not happening. I pinched her ear and she ran for the chain gang.
Had Max or Baja of done this hell would have rained upon them.But I know that if I do that with her, it would set us back. I dont understand her yet. Perhaps she is just a slower maturing dog.
The update on all this is we have made it over whatever hump she created in her head and she is doing things much smoother and more reliable. Because of my litter, I didnt start her FF or HZP training until around July. So, could be I pushed to hard to fast.

So first, before I talk about my pups, those that know me know that I call it as I see it. I am not kennel blind and I can list the faults of my dogs as well as the good points.
That said, Baja pups have been very very driven. Not really that hard to figure out.....not complicated like Anka. The majority of them doing some things at 12 weeks to 16 weeks that I havent seen other pups do. They have been a little harder of a dog, but not super hard to work with. They have scored well in VJPs and NA's. Only a couple have tried HZP and they failed. Part to do with handlers and part to do Baja' love/hate relationship with water. No excuses.
For all the go they have, they shut it down super well in the home. They are cooperative.
I have had 3 with behavioral problems that I think stem again, from new handlers not understanding what they have and the drive of mom.
My pups have been the exact dog I would want to hunt behind. Why didnt I keep a pup? I dont love the conformation. It is very functional, but not pretty. I like a leggier dog and Baja is a brick. I as a new breeder, thought I could correct by breeding to bigger. Litter 2 was a complete accident with the male from litter 1. Which was interesting because they looked completely diffrent than the first. Litter 3 I went with a dog more in the median. SO far I like what they look like, but I decided to spay Baja. I did not keep a pup because I have 4 already. Adding another is not possible.
I have 2 A litter pups with in 50 miles of me. I am gettting a B litter pup in a few days for training and I have a guy that bought an A litter pup that found out I was spaying Baja and took a C litter pup. I am keeping close ties with 2 of the best looking males of the litter and made sure to place them close to me. I have 1 nice female that is with a breeder. SO I hope to have a chance at getting Baja back to me.

Sorry this was so long.

[AverageGuy]

Thank you.

No doubt you have a handle on your dogs. I enjoyed the videos. I think running across a different kind of dog once in awhile can bring us growth as a trainer. I remember the video you posted of her early on. She looked very precocious. Easy to appreciate your passion and dedication for your dogs. Keep us posted.