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Post by jai on Feb 15, 2007 23:28:29 GMT 1
 ;D Wow!! Were we tired when we came home tonight!! We trained and played with Calli for almost 2 hours!! Let me share some of the great hi-lights!! 1st, let me start by saying the wonderful norvirus has hit my house so Falko received quite a bit less training during the week from me and he was a little "testy" when we first started at Wolgang's tonight.  The plan was to have Falko and Calli begin doing some heel work and play for about 30 minutes, then we would head to the woods where we would be meeting a 3rd weim to do some 'team' tracking.  I ofcourse am not sure what 'teamless' tracking is so the whole 'team' thing put me off course.. I followed. When we first released the dogs (from the sit) always from the sit I am told..  Falko was much more the 'mature' boy then the shy one from last week. Instead of alwasy following Calli as he did last week, he engaged in play behavior and a couple of times looked like he had convinced her to follow him for a bit! He was not as near to me for periods of time and actually at one time ran the other way when I whistled for him! Wolfgang explained that Falko is learning how to be in a pack and work in a team. He praised the little dog for his attention and his desire to learn and follow Calli. He had said he hoped this would happen, that he would start to learn to be part of the team.. ( I will not speculate on this comment.. but please comment on what you all may know it to mean to help me out. I am not a hunter.. but my dog is) Running through the fields in play Falko and Calli were sniffing the ground intently. Wolfgang told me that when the fields are wet and muddy and there is deer remnants and other things (German word) the dogs will sniff at and try to find them. One of those other things are mice. These mice live in the fields and will bury into the mud and make quick holes. Wolfgang said that Calli can sniff them out, dig them out and then she will eat it. Well she found one, and as she began to dig for it, (Falko undeneath her practically) She is tossing out grasstufts as she digs and Falko is sniffing each pile that flies into his face!LOL She gets it and chomps! Falko missed that, and so he tries to chomp on the mud/grass mixture in mimic and realizes she has something else. He quickly turned to where she was digging, but I guess lost the interest, but I was shocked how he was following her and trying to do what she did, almost like a little brother. Well.. we went into the woods and this time, since Falko did so well last week, we were the leaders!  Calli was going to follow him. He was geared up and I gave the command and we started.. but we went TOO Fast. So I learned that there is timing involved in the tree work, and the speed is set to help the dog to remember and learn. That the tree work is more for solid heel work and firm sits. We did it again and this time we followed Calli. Her tree work was slower than Falko wanted to go, but with a few swift pulls and commands we were back on track again. In our heel work outside of the tree line, Wolfgang showed me what to do to help Falko prepare for birds. I am to put the side of my flat hand all the way back in his mouth, so that he can feel it and make a small close on it. This will be judged at his tests. It is so he will not puncture the bird, and this gets him used to having my hand and I am sure others in his mouth. I am also to rub over his teeth before I do this as if I am checking for things, like blood from the bird or meat from the bird. I guess he can't taste his prize!! LOL We had one 'problem' tonight; that was the long tail. It made it very difficult at times for Falko to comply with the quick ending sit. He is not sure where it falls and sometimes he will sit on it and then have to adjust.. we are still learning, but this is something he needs to manage.. am not sure if this will be a problem soon, but we will work on it.. suggestions? Wolfgang called my attention to this when we were in the woods doing the tree work. oh.. as for the 3rd dog.. don't know what happened to that one, but I am sure I will be seeing him/her soon. BTW deer season starts may 1.. Thanks for all the comments and messages left by all , I appreciate it and look forward to your input.. jai and Falko
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Post by cummel on Mar 4, 2007 16:14:48 GMT 1
Hey Jai,
seems that you make progress with Falco, thats great.
Cummel has also problems with sitting. He has a short tail, but he just dont like to sit. From in the very beginning he never likes to sit nor that somebody touches his tail. I have raed that dogs can feel phantome pain, maybe is is that in Cummels case? Meanwhile I can let him sit but he still avoids it if he can...
Dorit & Cummel
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tasha
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Post by tasha on Mar 4, 2007 18:53:44 GMT 1
I never thought about the tail being an obstacle for sitting? It is interesting the way you are preparing for birds I would never have thought to have trained bite inhibition for those purposes, I have always put my hands in my dogs mouths so that they don't chomp on them in preparation for when they meet children or the vet, plus I like to be able to retrieve items from their mouths if it is something that they shouldn't have, I wonder if this has benefitted bonnies soft mouth??? Jai it is wonderful that you are posting your training especially as it is from the start I think we forget so many things and make so many mistakes so its interesting to see how these preparations are done  |
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Post by jai on Mar 8, 2007 16:50:37 GMT 1
Hi Tasha and Dorit,
We have been learning so many things I have a hard time keeping it all in my head. I have read what I have written before I have done some training this week since and last week since Wolfgang had been busy and we missed a week. I am looking for the camera cord, (actually Rae is, so I can post some pics from last week.. I will be back on later!
Thanks for all the great comments!
jai
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tasha
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Post by tasha on Mar 9, 2007 15:27:26 GMT 1
oooo that would be good!!
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Post by jai on Mar 12, 2007 10:28:16 GMT 1
Hi All.. just thouoght I would continue here and then start a new thread in April.. I have a couple of pics of Falko and Calli together from training and then a couple of just Falko. Rae never did find her cord for her camera (gee could it be because she is almost a teen and her messy room represents her freedom of expression?? LOL ) Anyways we had 2 pretty good back to back trainings. After my last entry the 15th Wolfgang had business to tend to so we did not meet until the 1st fo March. Let me just say that in that 2 weeks, Falko turned 5 months, had his rabies jab and lost ALL inhibitions of others.. so that should give you an idea what kind of pup he is now. I wrote down some of the more important things for my diary.. so here it is. On this first meeting back, Falko was very much a more excited boy and he was getting antsy in the car as we drove closer to Wolfgangs town. I believe he recognizes it and anticipates what may be happening, so he is already trying to sit up and take notice of our whereabouts. As we arrived, Wolfgang and Calli are waiting outside for us. Falko wanted out so badly, he was whining and stepping on me. I should have known what I was in store for.. Well we let them have a minute to re-aquaint and then we begin our heel towards the field. I have changed my commands when I am with Wolfgang and use only the german ones now. It is easier, and this way Falko knows what to respond to when he is folllowing Calli. So for heel, I say "foos" I have probably spellled it wrong, but it means 'by the feet' or 'feet'. he does well.  Sitting is the ever challenge as the tail is in the way, but Wolfgang told me that wiems tails are docked at 3 days old and if he has it done now, any vet that does it will be in trouble and I would be fined 1000euros. Very strict!! We make it to the field and turn them off lead to romp. The balance of the dogs has changed. Falko takes off in one direction and Calli to another. I was expecting him to follow, but he seems to have different plans, he wanted her to follow him. She is not too keen on this, so he comes back. After a while it is back on lead and we begin our training in the dirt. More heeling and now the new command and my new homework come up. My new word is "blipe" again spelling, means to stay. I must place him in this position, say the command, put my index finger in the air and walk around him. He follows me with his eyes and head. We practice, Wolfgang shows me how far to go and tells me the reason. Dog must stay so we can approach animal and also for his test. He also must stay when we are waiting to send the dogs. I must use the meter lead that he gave me when we practice this at home.. Falko does not like this lead, he has tried to chew it several times. The reason I believe is that he has false freedom.. and he has to stay at various points during our walks. He is given enough rope to assume that he is far from me, but I have the other end. Oh, one important thing about this . I use this to reinforce the "come and sit" After he has stayed, I tug on the lead and say "come" and guide him to me and then instantly give the sit command at my feet. He really tries to go in other directions and it is quite amusing. I probalby should do this more than I do, but he gets bored so easily, we only do about 10 minutes every other day or so. I don't want him to lose interest, plus he is still a very playful boy! ;D The most entertaining thing came up during this session with Falko.. at the end of our time, Wolfgangs wife stopped by in the car as she saw us coming out of the fields, she called Calli to her and Falko stayed behind, but when he stood, he did a wonderful self-stak. I was beeming.. and Wolfgang asked me why he stands that way. I had a hard time trying to explain,so from that point, he carries a dictionary with him so we can look up words during our conversations. So, back to our next thing.. we went into the woods to start our tree training and our tracking. Falko did much better this time, and he went slow enough to stay on target with the trees. Wolfgang has me working only the little trees, thin and single with enough room for him to go around it and come back to me. We only did this a few minutes. Wolfgang and I have talked a few times about Falko's age and that it is important for me to limit things with him for a few minutes at a time. The goal is to keep him motivated and interested and not for him to be unhappy or bored. Falko at this point is a very interested 'little dog' i144.photobucket.com/albums/r187/jaismith5/standingoutside.jpg[/IMG] i144.photobucket.com/albums/r187/jaismith5/standingoutside.jpgI hope these work.. jai |
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Post by jai on Mar 12, 2007 10:31:45 GMT 1
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Post by jai on Mar 13, 2007 22:43:59 GMT 1
I wanted to put in my last post before we meet Wolfgang this week and tell what happened last time. As you know I have been using German for his training. This works better and he responds to it. Also, it helps to hear it when he follows Calli. (her picture is posted on the last entry, she is the dog on the left, with her ears back) Anyways our homework for this week, following the past week's lesson, is for Falko to lay down when he sees my open right hand, palm facing down make the down sign to the ground. The word that is used in 'platz' basically means place. He is to lay down with all the way with his head between his paws. I am finding that all these new things that we learn every week and practice have become quite a rigorous schedule. So let me tell you what happened.. Our training was not as successful as it has been in the past.. He is now 5 months and between 22 and 24kg. (Which is about 1/2 or more of my weight).  So, at home I am reinforcing more of the sitting, walking on lead and listening so I am not dragged like a kite in the wind during our walks when leaves and such catch his very short-attention. Well we started out the same as always, walking to the field and letting the dogs run. Falko went his own way and Calli went hers but they always end up very near each other, he wanders towards her or follows to see what she is finding, mostly mice, which he has caught on to and has learned to dig.  This wonderful habit he has brought home to my bed, so when he is on the bed, he does his digging thing on my comforter, which gets him promptly removed! LOL Well at one point in the free time walk he decides to literally knock Calli down, he jumped on her and knocked her over. She responded by biting him and giving him a sharp swat. Well, he did not learn his lesson and he did it again. But, this time Calli did not bite him, she just played and they chased a bit. We did the heel and he did well, he has gotten better and I have learned to feed him about an hour before we go so he is not trying to eat the ground, his leash, the trees, the mud, the grass.. you all know what I mean.  During our heel time, a truck comes up on the road with another hunter and his dog. He had been out shooting or catching these black birds, I am not exactly sure which. Anyways, I saw his LH and the dog was a beautiful brown color with amber eyes. I also found out that there is a LH litter that is one week old close to us and Wolfgang will go to see the pups at 4 weeks and I think I am going to. He is going to check them. So, we saw the black bird, Wolgang pulled it out from the truck and waved it in Falko's face. He asked me if I wanted it and I said no.. I am not very interested in bringing home a dead bird.. LOL And Falko was not too interested in the bird either. Wolfgang says that will come later. We continue heeling and sitting and turning and a little running with the leash. I have found that I am not the most coordinated with a leash, rubber boots and mudy/rocky terrain. Not to mention the dog that walks into me. But, when we took them off the lead and let them run, Falko did not come when I called him, infact there was a runner out there on a road and Falko saw him and chased after him. I am thinking he just wanted to run with someone, since we do that together he and I, but still , he was stubborn, when I ran in the other direction he came up o me and either jumpd at me to play or came up to me and then took off really fast as if I was to join the game. I was kind of embarrassed, because he has always been such a good boy. Wolfgang laughed and told me not to worry, he is still a pup for a longtime. But Wolfgang told me that when it gets dark I am to go into the woods and hide behind a tree, call Falko once and let him find me. He said he does this with his pups when they are 8 wks old. I have tried it. And it took him a bit, but he did find me. I will keep doing this too, I am a bit afraid of going into the woods, but I wear dark sweatshirt and go behind my house, so there is a small amount of light, but my clothes hide me as do the trees. It also stressed Falko out, I only called him once and then I waited.. he ran in and out of the woods, and then he found me. I am thinking I may do this with a piece of a treat or something. We do some of this at home, by giving him a piece of a treat and then either throwing a piece in his crate, into another room or holding on to it and then throwing it someplace when he has forgotten about it. He finds it all. Well, the long leash is being used a bit more, just to get the 'come' call down. He really does not like that lead and he tries to fight me to come. Today he refused to come in when I called, he was on the leash, he sat his behind down and bowed his head and as I pulled one way he tried to pull the other. I won, but he really wanted to put up a fight! ( Now I can say I have 4 stubborn teens or tweens.. Either way my house is filled with some one trying to assert their new found independence). We go again this week, and I keep adding all these new things to do for Falo. Still he never tires of it and he does not seem to get bored, so I am happy about that. In the 2 hours that Wolfgang and I meet, the dogs really work on the leash only for 20-30 minutes, the rest is all social. It is late and I am tired.. We get up a bit early to walk before the girls get up so they can get moving before he jumps on them or tries to 'taste' their breakfast! Let me know if you saw the pics! jai |
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Post by tasha on Mar 14, 2007 20:16:10 GMT 1
:lol: now the hard work begins I remember when bonnie decided that she wasn't going to come when called we did some training on a dummy recalled and she proceeded to parade around ALL the other dogs with her new toy... my lovely well behaved puppy had turned into a monster... I was told when she does this to turn away from her but so that you can still see her and look at the ground, make it REALLY interesting. A weimaraner can't resist seeing what you are seeing and will soon come back. We also did hiding behind the trees exercises so that she keeps her attention on me. I've heard Platz being used before but didn't know it was for stay Fantastic reading your diary please do keep it up!! We are all taking notes |
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Post by jai on Mar 14, 2007 20:49:27 GMT 1
Hey Tasha, Platz means place.. the stay term is 'blipe' but when he does platz, he stays there too, how ever far away. Glad to hear someone knows what I mean when he suddenly 'grew a brain' a term we use at the high school for teens who decide to do the wrong thing and not think it out and they would have never made that decision before they became a teen Well tonight, Rae, Stef and I went out and played a game with the boy. I had the girls run as he was in a sit on his leash, each ran in a diffeent direction, then when they were far enough, I took him from his lead,he was sitting and having the worst time not being able to get those girls!!! Well I sent him and one called him and he ran SO FAST. then the other one callled and he ran to her. He then came back to me and we did it again. He really enjoyed it and he came when I called him.. we will do this tomorrow the girls had fun!! Thanks for the comments.. did you see the pics>? Actually I have Jocelyn home, she can upload the actual pics without the link.. I can have her do that. jai |
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efica
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Post by efica on Mar 14, 2007 22:30:18 GMT 1
Jai, I really enjoy reading your hunting stories Kika now has 23kilos and probably Falko has 2or3 kilos more And, yes I can see the pics! Eva |
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Post by jai on Mar 15, 2007 21:36:58 GMT 1
Hi Efica,
How is Kika doing? Has she hit the same terrible twos as Falko and decided to stop listening for a while? how is the obedience training or have you finished it? post a pic when you can!
jai and falko
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efica
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Post by efica on Mar 20, 2007 18:24:55 GMT 1
Hi Jai! Oh yes, we're now in the period that pupps stop doing what you want and rather do what they prefer. Kika is so stubborn  The obedience class is almost over and we're going to continue with the next class. I'll post a pic in the picture section. Eva&Kika |
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Post by jai on Mar 21, 2007 15:13:31 GMT 1
I probably should get into a class with my inattentive little boy.. I have made some enquiries, but I don't speak enough German. how long are your classes and how often do they meet?
jai
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Post by jai on Mar 21, 2007 15:14:19 GMT 1
btw Eva,
she is a beautiful girl now.. are you showing her? Do you plan to?
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efica
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Post by efica on Mar 21, 2007 21:23:51 GMT 1
Now we meet once a week, but in a fortnight or so we will meet more often - twice a week. Although we're visiting this class since Kika was 2,5 months old she is ceartinly no angel Beside Kika there are four dogs in this class - Fox Terrier, Pitbull, English Buldog and American Stafforshire Terrier...and among all Kika is the biggest devil I hope I'll manage to apply for a show in the middle of April and it will be our first one. I hope she'll behave well Post a pic of Falko when you can - I'd love to see him. Eva |
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Post by jai on Mar 22, 2007 7:45:16 GMT 1
Hi Eva,
i think the good behaviour is on our dogs terms now. My little mischievious one thinks nothing of running in the opposite direction when I call. And he even thinks it quite funny to not sit when we are heeling. Yesterday when I stopped he just looked at me as if I was the one who was to sit! LOL! I will post pics later! We have had snow again this morning and he and I are going to the woods for some running I will try to get some good shots!
Jai
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