Tracking Jackrabbits in the Desert

We took Artus out a couple of times this week. He's learning to adjust his search patterns based on the terrain we are working in. In the trees he sticks closer to me and when we are out on the desert he ranges out farther. Nothing I've done has taught him this, he just picks it up on his own as he gets more exposure.

One part of the VJP (the spring test for Drahthaars) is the hare track. In it, your dog is judged on how well it tracks a rabbit. We took Artus out yesterday and luckily found several. This was his first time tracking them specifically and he did good. It's fun to watch him work the track out and when he hits the scent he really takes off. It was about 75 degrees and a wind was blowing but he tracked well despite that. We'll work on ranging out farther as we continue to train. He was overheating by the time we were done but would still get up and go when I asked him to. I admire the drive in this dog.

It's hard to get good pics of him with my cell phone camera but here are a few. I'm also posting links to several videos from when we worked in the water last week.
I haven't figured out how to correctly post links from my Photobucket account to my blog using my phone yet so for now, the three boxes with question marks in them will have to do. They are the video links.















Here's a few of him just being a puppy around the house.

Introduction to Water

We live on a ranch with frontage along the Snake River. Lately the river has been running high with the spring runoff and flooding in areas. Kaci and I took the dogs down to play in the water and see if we could get Artus to go for a swim. The kids came along too and everyone had a great time. Once Artus figured out the water wasn't going to hurt him he was a natural. I forgot to bring training bumpers so I used sticks. I just threw the sticks farther each time and eventually he started swimming for them. Also, there were several times he caught the scent of something and it was like a switch was turned on. He started tracking and was all business. He followed some raccoon tracks for a while too. I have some pictures to go with it. Enjoy.









He's in this pic! He's the black dot way out in the water!














Aili played in the water too:

Pigeons, Roadkill, and Controlled Hunts

We've moved now and Artus is having a good time learning to live on the farm. It's nice to have access to a field out back to let the dogs run. We've added another dog to the pack. Kaci's Shiloh Shepherd has come to live with us. She was being kept in Utah with a friend while we were living in an apartment. She and Artus get along pretty good, meaning she puts up with his puppy antics.

I have some roller pigeons that have been at my in-laws' house and they will be coming out to the farm this week. Today I took one and braided it's wings and put it out in the yard for Artus to find it. I put Artus on a long lead and when he found it I made him "whoa" until he held a point and didn't just rush in. Then I let him get the bird and bring it to me. We did it a couple of times. He didn't really want to give the pigeon up but eventually he did. He acted like light bulbs were going off in his head. He loved having a bird in his mouth. This is a great thing.

Another thing we've worked on is drags with wings or animals. We found a squirrel that had been hit in the road the other day so we tied a string on it and drug it through the yard and had Artus look for it. He is doing a decent job with that too.

He is getting much better at coming when called and heeling. Lots of people recognize him and give him lots of attention when we go to town.

On another note, I put in for controlled hunts (I got lucky and was just in time for the deadline.) I'm hoping to get my first deer this year. I made sure I applied for a late hunt so I could hunt deer after my layoff for the winter.

Unfortunately I don't have many pics this time so these will have to do.