What do you concentrate on the week before a trial?

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What do you concentrate on the week before a trial?

Postby Julie Cramond » Mon 23 Feb 2004 8:06 pm

I thought this would make an interesting topic.

Gone, hopefully, are the days that I used to train new concepts etc, the week before a trial.

I seem to nowadays do more marks as singles, than usual, a lot of walking baseball (for fun and casting mechanics), and known setups?

What do you all seem to focus on before the weekend tests?
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Postby Gareth Tawton » Tue 24 Feb 2004 7:05 am

Julie,

I think like just about all dog training it depends on your dog. I would say that as a general rule.

Nov/Rest I wouldn't change my training at all. These dogs have a fairly structured program and are at an age where the volume of training they are getting is fairly high. If a restricted dog had had a hard time recently then maybe some easy marks to rebuild a bit of confidence. I would not compromise my training program just because a trial was coming up.

In AA confidence marking coming into a trial is realy worthwhile. I may also do a refresher run on something I am likely to see. Say going to Vic. I would look for marks in the trees. Running under Joe Vella I might look to refresh a channel swim etc etc. These would all be easy versions of what I expect in the trial, keeping confidence at a high.

In choosing what you are going to do you also need an honest appraisal of the style of dogs you have. A slow unenergetic dog lacking in desire might be better served locked in a kennel for the week before a trial. With Badja I use to given him a fair bit of work coming into a trial as he thrived on volume and it slowed him down from warp 10 to warp 8 as a younger dog!!!

I must say I would never encourage someone to try and make up for a lack of training in the previous weeks by cramming the couple of days before a trial.

Gareth
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Postby Brian McMillan » Tue 24 Feb 2004 9:45 pm

I like to have one training session early in the week of the test where I duplicate a test a much as I can. From a set up I am likely to encounter, to what I wear, blinds (hides?) out in the field to hide the throwers, the gun rack, the duck rack at the line, the walk from the truck to the holding blind, from the blind to the line, shooting over the dog, run the set up then back on lead to the truck.

I think it helps blur the distinction between training and a Test (trial) where his enthusiasm increases about ten fold, to where he is borderline out of control.

Brian
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What do you concentrate on a week before a trial?

Postby Bill Bailey » Mon 26 Feb 2007 4:36 pm

Julie,
This is a very good question and something that should always be considered. As Gareth indicated it largely depends on your dog and I agree with Gareth that you have to maintain your normal training plan.
I think that you have even less opportunity to vary things slightly with a younger dog than with an older one. This is because your younger dog has fewer well established and desirable habits of work and more things to learn that will take time and suitable presentation.
I think it is important to remember that your training programme never really stops. So inevitably you will often be in a position where there is a trial coming up. I would suggest that in your training plan you should always have provision to regularly review what your dog has learned. So I would review his work say at the end of the week, well before the trial and endeavour to correct any weaknesses in what "he knew" before the trial date.
If there was no apparent weaknesses in your dog's work, then I would do what Gareth suggested and consider if you could practice something that your dog might be asked to do in a trial situation. However keep it within your dog's current limits. Always bear in mind that eventually your dog must be competent and reliable at completing runs that others have set. Not just runs of your choice. Remember your training must include "stepping stones" to take your dog from where he is now to where you want him to be. Never ever forget that the secret of success lies in setting up an exercise so that your dog can do the work required successfully the first time and every time. The biggest trap is to try and get your dog to do something that is beyond him and have him fail and possibly aquire a habit that you will struggle to overcome with limited if any success. Dogs learn what not to do without any help from you or I.
In a trialling situation you have no control over the nature of the work to be done. If it is probably beyond him at his current level you might be better advised to give the trial a miss. I always remembered Peter Halford's advice, "If you want to win your dog has to be capable of winning before you run him".
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Postby Peter Doley » Wed 28 Feb 2007 5:20 pm

I focus on how I can get away early from work without my boss knowing.
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Postby Prue Winkfield » Wed 28 Feb 2007 8:27 pm

Julie - I do marks in Novice and for anything else stopping on the whistle exercises - always my biggest bugbear :lol:
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Postby Kirsty Blair » Wed 28 Feb 2007 10:02 pm

I hope Julie wasn't requiring any answers to her query urgently - especially given that she opened this post three years ago :shock:

At least she'll know that the question has been given ample thought... :lol: :D

Kirsty
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Postby Jason Ferris » Thu 01 Mar 2007 9:14 am

Kirsty Gray wrote:I hope Julie wasn't requiring any answers to her query urgently - especially given that she opened this post three years ago :shock:

At least she'll know that the question has been given ample thought... :lol: :D

Kirsty


It's good to see that some of the older threads on the board are still attracting interest and replies!!

Cheers, Jason.
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What do you dfo a week before a trial?

Postby Bill Bailey » Thu 01 Mar 2007 9:51 am

I think the bulletin board is a fantastic way of sharing ideas and information. People can be serious, funny or just "take the mickey out of someone". Years ago I remember that I wanted to get an experienced handler's advice on training my dog Cass. I was pretty nervous as I was a relative newcomer to the sport. So at the next trial when we I had a chance to speak to him, I said "How do you think Cass is going?" Expecting some comments that would help me with my training. To my surprise he replied "I think he is developing a bad habit"? I was stunned, so I stuttered "Wha, Why, what is he doing?" To which he replied "Every time you say Fetch he flies out and comes back with a pigeon, quicker than any other dog" So I guess he thought Cass was giving me all the help I needed and probably more than I deserved. To be serious I think the bulletin board replies can not only help whoever raised the question but can also help others with the same or similar problem later on and so we are all better off.
When training a dog to acquire a new skill or to practise what has already been taught in order to strengthen an existing desirable habit, it is essential to do it in the right environment, to avoid "distractions" that can cause the dog to do something that neither of you were expecting. You also have to avoid putting your dog (especially a relatively untrained dog) in a situation where he is not yet capable of doing the work required as it should be done. So always try to avoid any situation that can give you a future problem.
Say your dog gets very excited when at a trial and as a result he might start barking or fail to heel as he should as you walk up to the firing point, or creep forward, so that he is outside the control area. While you could discipline the dog at home or when training you cannot do it at a trial. So all you have done is to allow a problem to be created. It could become a major problem that you cannot overcome. Another common mistake (in my opinion) is the way people run their dogs on marks.
On a marked retrieve the dog should be able to do the work required on his own. All too often dogs have to be handled, allegedly to help them complete the run. In my opinion they would do far better in the long run, to just call the dog in and go back to training.
Look at it this way, if you were training a two legged high jumper, how could you develop their ability to do the job on their own if you supplied them with a ladder or just lifting them over the bar?
If you want to teach your dog to mark succesfully, give him a mark that he can do time after time on his own in training AND THEN UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS. Then gradually increase the difficulty of the mark but ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT THE MARK IS EASY TO SEE. If he has serious trouble with the work then you are the one to be growled at because you picked a run that was unsuitable at that time and under those conditions. Never ever help your dog complete a mark in training. Better by far to call him in or stop him and walk out to him, then walk with him up to the fall and you just pick it up and then give him a mark that is within his current capabilities, then over time gradually move the marks closer to his limits and so gradually extend his ability to do the job ON HIS OWN. Rememember you have to go at your students "speed". As Eddy Halford used to say "Bill, just remember the best dog only has a brain about as big as the end of your thumb".
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