Comedy of errors but

**imported_Belles mom** · 09-07-2008, 02:38 PM

Hoss had an awesome training day yesterday.

I had what I thought was going to be a "simple" double thought out. The go bird was from a winger and "in theory" a "simple" swim of 60 or so yards through just starting to die back water lillies. The memory bird was a hand toss out into open water at the edge of water lillies, a maybe 80 yard swim through the lillies then open water.

My bird girl flung the memory bird a bit funny, and it went a little further into the open water than I wanted. I did not realize how strong the wind was out there. Well, the winger bird (the go bird) hit the tree over head and it dropped next to shore. How Hoss even saw it I do not know. Sent him for that and he took a straight line for it, but that meant through sticks, over logs and some really heavy junk. He started to come back without the bird, but a "hunt 'em up, find it" sent him back and he did find it finally.

By this time, the memory bird had blown an additional 60-70 yards out into the lake (maybe 150 yards away). Even though it was in open water, Hoss just would not go far enough. By this time, the dock (where the bird girl was) was obscuring Hoss' view of me as I was trying to get him to go "back" for the bird. So, the bird girl got Hoss back onto land as I ran over to the dock (.....I do not run as well as I did 30 years ago!!). Sent Hoss again after the bird (dokken) from the dock (gotta work on dock jumping) and sent him essentially on a now 200 yard blind. Poor Hoss kept going after the stick Marcia had thrown out trying to get Hoss out further on our first attempt...(Marcia...I said "get a ROCK" not a STICK!). Mean while the dokken is now about 300 yards out. FINALLY I could get Hoss out far enough to where he spotted the dokken and he got it.

Curious though, he handled better at 250 yards than at 60-100 yards! When we were running the next dog on the same double (adjusting our throws for better placements), a swan flew in to just about where Hoss had finally gotten that far retrieve. I think I would have had heart attack if I had seen that thing flying in when Hoss was out there!!

Hoss earned his kibble yesterday, and next time Marcia is running HER dog as the set-up dog!