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Popular Posts

What Makes A Good Field Trial Dog? January 13, 2022
Things to Consider When Getting Another Dog September 10, 2021
Duck Search Training – What I Did Differently This Year October 14, 2021
How to SUP with Your Pup(s) April 28, 2022

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New blog post! 🐕 Coursing Ability Tests. Link i

I haven’t had my camera out much this summer. Ma

I haven’t had my camera out much this summer. Mainly because the dogs are never in the mood when it’s so hot. It looks like NC is finally getting a small reprieve from the heat this weekend with lows in the low 60s!!
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#summerinthesouth #ncsummer #vizsla #dogphotography #fallslake #hikingwithdogs #comeonfall

Trucking along in our NAVHDA Invitational training

Trucking along in our NAVHDA Invitational training. With six weeks to go, I have to admit I’m feeling a little bit burnt out after four months of dedicated training. But we are getting close, and this is the month to maintain and polish a few more things.
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#vizsla #navhda #invitationaltraining #birddog #birddogoftheday #vcaversatilevizsla #summertraining
Thanks to @birddogginit and @hlw_outdoors for the assistance.

Working on getting Zara lined up correctly for the

Working on getting Zara lined up correctly for the blind retrieve so that she swims out straight. Also trying to get her to bring the duck to my side, not parade around with it. Both are small things to work on - the good news is, she’s going across the water and getting the duck. 🦆
Thanks for the tips, @momofporter and @oakcreekkennel!
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#blindretrieve #invitationaltraining #navhda #vizsla #obedience #huntingdog #birddogtraining

I had the chance to go back to my alma mater last

I had the chance to go back to my alma mater last month. I hadn’t visited in five years and I wanted to take some photos of Zara on the campus. Of course it was super hot and she was not in the mood as usual. But I managed to get a few decent ones.

I loved college. People often talk about the importance of socializing dogs, to make sure that they are equipped to handle everyday life. College was like my socialization period to learn skills for the real world. 😬 While I was there for the academics, the “soft skills” I learned are what made all the difference. As a freshman, I was shy, awkward, and wasn’t good at making friends. By the time I graduated, I was more confident and able to communicate better. As a tour guide, I learned how to make conversation with anyone - a skill I still use when I meet new people today. Hard to believe it’s been 15 years since I graduated. 💙🧡
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#college #gettysburgpa #15yearreunion #vizsla #sonyalpha

July Invitational Training Recap — We had a rea

July Invitational Training Recap
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We had a really productive month. I feel like we’ve reached the point in our training when I have to be careful about not overtraining.
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🐦 Fieldwork: There were some highs and lows involving backing. Zara knows how to back but I have to ensure that she does it every time from here on out.
🦆 Double Mark Retrieve: Zara is good on this and I’m trying not to overdo it at this point.
💦 Blind Retrieve: We finally transitioned to water and surprisingly, Zara seems to understand water blinds better than land blinds. She has done up to 88 yards across water.
🐕 Honor by Blind: This is solid and I’m going to proof it in August.
🚶🏽‍♀️Off-Leash Heeling: I’ve seen improvement in Zara’s heeling. My focus this month will be heeling around birds. 😬
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Only 1.5 months to go, which is really only a little over a month since we leave for New Mexico on Sept. 8th. My focus now will be on enforcing backing, heeling, and keeping up Zara’s conditioning (running in the heat and swimming).
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#navhda #invitationaltraining #retriever #huntingdog #birddogoftheday #vizsla #summertraining #vcaversatilevizsla

The most rewarding part of dog training for me is

The most rewarding part of dog training for me is when you’ve worked on a skill for a long time, building the foundation over months, and you finally see the payoff. When you’re in the thick of it, it can seem like you’re never going to reach the end. These photos are from the flawless 70 yard blind retrieve she did on Sunday. I first introduced the “blind” command last summer, pairing the word with going out to get something. This spring, I spent 3 months working on land blinds until finally transitioning to water in the last few weeks. She hasn’t been perfect every time, but she’s finally got a solid understanding of the concept.
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#dogtraining #birddogoftheday #vizsla #huntingdog #navhda #invitationaltraining #blindretrieve
Photos by @goosewigglebutt_and_littlebear

A huge thank you to @vom_haus_im_wald and @goosewi

A huge thank you to @vom_haus_im_wald and @goosewigglebutt_and_littlebear for inviting us to train with them yesterday. On Saturday, Zara and I went to the @keystonenavhda training day and she did not have a good run in the field. She tried to avoid backing her bracemate, which after all the work we’ve done with that, was extremely frustrating. She had been doing so well. It really made me stop and think, wow, there’s a real possibility she might not pass the Invitational. 😕
But Sunday went so much better. Mike helped set us up for success and Zara backed both Rasko the small Munsterlander and Goose the vizsla! I’m feeling much better now, and we’ll continue to do controlled situations to ensure that she will back every time.
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#sundayfunday #navhdatraining #invitationaltraining #vizsla #smallmunsterlander #birddogs
📸 by @goosewigglebutt_and_littlebear

Me: Zara, I have to practice taking photos because

Me: Zara, I have to practice taking photos because there will be photographers at the Invitational.
Zara: Ugh, can you just shoot this bird already? 😒
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#zarahatesphotos #onpoint #vizsla #birddogoftheday #summertraining #huntingvizsla #navhda #invitationaltraining

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