We have been having good sessions lately. We are flying the full length of the creance, and am having pretty darn good response to the lure. I'm going to do a couple full length calls to the lure today, and another couple tommorow. If we have instant response the whole time, then we will have our first hunt Saturday. If she hesitates at all, then we will push the first hunt off till Sunday. We are ALMOST there!!!!!!! About darn time right?!?!?!?! Still havn't decided which field to start her in....the BEST fields for rabbit slips don't have very many perchs, but the "ideal" starter fields arn't popping at the same level. Going to have to ponder on this one for a little bit....I will probably go with the most possible slips, and maybe bring a T-perch. Who knows though.....-D-
2 comments:
Would you want to introduce the T perch before she really understands following?
I rarely use one, so I'm not sure about how that goes.
Don't know....have only used the T-perch once while hawking Jacks (and CJ was already hunting and following), so I can't really say. My thinking was, that my main goal our first time or two out, was to put slips under her INSTANTLY (within the first minute or so of entering the field). Being that the fields poppin the most at this point in the season don't have very many perchs, I was thinking that flying off of a T would put the bird directly in the action, thus making our goal out there apparent. Your right though, following is uber important, which is why I won't be continueing to use it, until that behavior has been established.....I chalk it up to one big learning experience for me. Saturday, it didn't work right. I had a buddy with me flushing, and the bird was too focused on me when he kicked up the rabbits (maybe if she had been in a tree, she would have seen them.....). So I learned that if you have a buddy on that first hunt, don't use the T, because it defeats the purpose....rabbits arn't flushing at your feet, they are flushing by your buddies....one of those "duh" moments when it was all said and done, but I've never claimed to be smart :). Sunday though, I was by myself, and we kicked a rabbit within about four steps of entering the field. I yelled HO, and she was off the perch heading for that rabbit instantly. Chased a little bit, but then checked up to a tree (weight just isn't dialed in enough yet....)....BUT...she associated me with flushing a rabbit, she associated the game call with running prey, and I enforced the behaviors with a dragged bunny right afterwards. Over all, that was what I was trying to accomplish.
This whole week at work is going to be rediculous though (we are pushing in two new pipelines!)....I will be getting there before light, and won't be leaving until WELL after dinner time....there is no hunting on the agenda at all this week, so I'm not sure this weekend was productful in the scheme of things. It is what it is though, and it was good to get back out there. I will use this week to get her weight completely dialed in though, and we shall see how it goes next week.
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