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Bill
Totten’s Poison Bird Drill The following is a drill I learned while training with Bill Totten. At first I did not like sending a dog on its name to a bird (such as you would do on a mark), stopping the dog and handling it off the bird. As I observed the drill and then started working my dogs on it, I found that the dogs quickly caught on and understood what I was doing. This is an advanced retriever drill in that your dog must be able to sit on the whistle and respond to hand signals for direction. This is a follow-up on the previous drill which was to teach the dogs to differentiate between being sent on a mark or on a blind, and to handle away from a diversion. Again, you start with establishing a pile at about 75 to 125 yards. Depending on the level of the dog, you can walk out with a young dog and have the dog watch you put down the pile of bumpers. With an older dog, you can send directly to the pile from the line as you would for any blind. You have a gun sitting in the field just off the line to the blind at a distance of 50 to 75 yards depending on the length of your blind. You send your dog to the pile. Next, you have the gun do a dry pop, and you send your dog to the pile. Next you have the gun throw a 45 degree angle back away from the line. Depending on the dog and its experience level, you then do the following: for a young dog, you send to the mark, pick it up, and then run the blind. For a more experienced dog, you send it on its name to the mark. As it approaches the mark, you blow your sit whistle, and then handle the dog away from the mark to the blind. The dog has been to the blind (pile) two times by now and should handle to it readily. If the dog picks up the mark rather than sitting so you can handle, you immediately blow your sit whistle, walk out (calmly), take the bumper from the dog’s mouth, saying “no”, and handle to the blind. The bumper (bird) is placed where it was thrown. After the dog does the blind, you then send it for this mark. Some dogs understand, and do this readily. Others will keep trying to come back to the mark and fight you on casting away from the mark. In the case of dogs who give you a problem in casting away, stay in the field and work them through it. You can then repeat this sequence, stopping the dog not as close to the mark and casting to the blind. If this really becomes a problem, I would suggest going back and running the blind without the mark in it to re-establish the line to the blind. After the dog has successfully handled off the mark and gone to the blind, you then send the dog to the mark. The next mark is thrown across the line to the blind, and you follow the same steps. With a young dog, pick up the mark first and then the blind. With a more experienced dog, send on its name to the mark, stop the dog as it approaches the mark, cast to the blind. Then pick up the mark. The last step is to throw the mark across the line, tell the dog “dead bird” or your cue for a blind, and send directly to the blind, picking up the mark after the dog has successfully completed the blind. Do not call your dog back to you; handle as necessary to retrieve a bumper from the blind. As the dog develops an understanding of this drill, you can send the dog very close to the mark before stopping them with your whistle and then casting away from the mark. The onus falls on the handler to stop the dog before he/she has a chance to pick up the mark so it is important that you know where the mark landed. With some older and/or very experienced dogs, they can literally be stopped with the mark lying at their feet, and still obediently handle away from the mark. You can start this by throwing bumpers, and as the dogs advance, you can have the gun throw birds for the marks. Corrections should only be for a no go, or not sitting on the whistle. Do not use a collar correction for a cast refusal. Use as many casts as necessary to get your dog to leave the mark and go to the blind. For any problems, simplify. The advantage of this in a trial or a hunt test is that you can actually send your dog straight to a poison bird (if you have the courage!) and handle them away from it to a blind. When using the mark as a poison bird, you always pick up the mark after you have completed the blind. Repeat this drill every two or three days until your dog is doing the drill with confidence. Repeat every 2-3 weeks and then as necessary to maintain sharpness. This is not a drill you do day after day, but once the dog understands it, it is a good drill to return to if the dog is getting lax about handling away from diversions or is ignoring you when poison birds are thrown. Again, once established, you can vary the terrain, etc. to increase the degree of difficulty. Bill often used live shackled birds for the marks---advanced dogs! In addition, for an advanced test, try shooting a live bird for the last step in the drill. Bill feels doing this drill will help you in a variety of ways in addition to handling away from a poison bird. Once the dog sits down on the whistle, the dog has given control to you therefore if you have to handle on a mark, or heaven forbid pick up your dog, you should have more control in these situations. This drill also has value to hunters who often find themselves with a couple of birds down with one of them being a cripple. You can send for the cripple first and wait until later to retrieve the dead birds. Bill has produced a video on this drill which can be purchased for $15.00 through www.nightwindtraining.com. Again, the sequence is: 1) Establish a pile. 2) Send to the pile (blind) 3) Dry pop and then send to blind. 4) The bumper is thrown away from the line, send dog to this, stop and handle to blind. 5) Next, pick up the mark. 6) The mark is thrown across line. Then it is the same scenario of sending to the mark, stopping and handling to the blind then picking up the mark. 7) Next, throw the bumper as a poison bird. Send dog directly to the blind without sending towards the mark. After dog returns with the blind, pick up the poison bird. With all drills, you need to establish a balance. Throw a number of marks where the dog is sent directly to the mark, not being stopped or pulled off the mark to run a blind. Glenda Brown |
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