Hi All,
The following is a copy of some material I prepared in response to a specific question;
Dogs that have a strong tendency to over-run marks may do so for a variety of reasons:
a) They have defective eyesight.
b) They have learned to rely primarily on their nose to locate marks, rather than relying on their eyes supported by their nose.
c) They suffer with an over-exposure to challenging marks before they have been taught to handle. Dogs in this situation often get into trouble and because the handler has not yet developed the handling skills, the dog is left to work it out for itself! This in turn fosters a high level of independence in the dog (which at times is counter productive to later teaching the dog to handle) and an attitude that “if I run around long enough I will find the bird.”
d) For reasons I can’t readily explain , but have observed on many, many occasions, dogs coming out of the yard program seem to temporarily switch off their noses such that if they cannot physically see the object to be retrieved they have great difficulty in finding it. Luckily this is a passing, although frustrating, phenomena.
With Reason a) little can be done other than to understand and work with and around the dog’s limitations or alternatively get a new dog.
Reason b) – conventional wisdom indicates that dogs should be taught to Mark by running the dog down wind (tail wind) and in so doing encourage it to use its eyes rather than its nose. If dogs are continually worked on marks that are into the wind, especially as young dogs, they may start to rely solely on their nose and the scent cone to locate the mark.
Reason c) is self explanatory and a trap into which many beginners unwittingly fall. Utility Gundog owners can also expose themselves to this difficulty by taking their dogs hunting quail etc before they have developed the necessary level of control.
Reason d) is the most frequently observed cause of the problem, which in the first instant can be minimized or eliminated by continuing to do lots of easy therapy marks, singles and doubles, while ever the dog is in the yard program.
Specific remedies include;
a) Doing Marks that are into the wind to encourage to dog to use its nose. Successes that come quickly and without “big hunts” are great confidence builders.
b) Position a thrower to cast a fixed trajectory and repeat this Mark many times, but on each occasion from a different Send Point. This approach encourages a dog to run to a “place” and to hunt out that place in order to affect the retrieve. In changing the Send Point, I like to randomly alter the length of each retrieve, as opposed to always lengthening (or shortening) successive runs as I move in a full circle around the fixed cast. Helpers like this exercise as they don’t have to move!!
c) In this exercise the Send Point remains constant and the thrower is continually relocated after each retrieve. With the thrower set to cast from left to right and back at 45 degrees - complete the first retrieve. Then relocated the thrower to the point where the first dummy landed and with the same left to right and 45 degree back cast - complete the second retrieve. Now relocate the thrower to the point where the second Mark landed and continue repeat the procedure. As each run moves in a clockwise ever expanding spiral you will eventually reach a point where the length of the run approaches maximum distance. Once you have reached this point you set the thrower up to continue to cast from left to right, but now with a 45 degree inward angle. You will thus produce a clock-wise decreasing spiral.
d) This exercise comes from Bill Eckett. From a fixed Send Point imagine a line extending 150m. With a thrower position left of this line and at a distance of 150 m cast a Mark to land on the imaginary line - complete the retrieve. Now move the thrower such that the length of the retrieve is shortened by 30m and it is located to the right of the imaginary line with a cast such that the dummy lands on the imaginary line – complete the retrieve. Continue to relocate the thrower so that it is alternatively to the right or left of the imaginary line with the dummies always landing on the line and each retrieve is 30m shorter than the previous one. For dogs that tend to hunt short, this drill can be used but in reverse i.e. each retrieve is 30m longer than the one before.
e) Imagine a thrower located in the centre of a square. All retrieves are done as single mark retrieves. The first bird cast is towards the near left hand corner of the square. The second bird cast is directed to land at the mid-point of the left hand side of the square. Next to land on the far left hand corner. Next to land on the far right hand corner. Next to land at the mid-point on the right hand side and lastly the front right hand corner. This is the recommended order for dogs that tend to over-run their marks while the reverse order (start by throwing to the far left hand corner) is more suited to dogs that tend to hunt short. The drill also teaches dogs to work through old falls.
I trust this all makes sense and I am happy to field questions.
BFN, RWT