2018 Field Training at Delaney

Mission: To support the training, education,
and improvement of all dogs and handlers

The LRCGB Field Committee has secured Delaney Wildlife Area for field training on Tuesdays, from April 3 through Oct 9, 2018.

Fees and Registration:

• Pre-pay for the season: $50 for first dog
• Pre-pay for the season: $25 each for 2nd and 3rd dog; no cost for more dogs
• Drop In: $10 per dog per day members; $15 non-members

All Beginners Class participants are encouraged to join the training group after the class is over - even if you're not (yet) a LRCGB member. For those class members new to field work, the participation fee will be waived. For repeat clients of the Beginners Class the fee for their first dog will be discounted to $25. 

Work Requirements

To stay eligible for participation in the training group, members must volunteer at a major field event (a LRCGB sponsored hunt test or the LRCGB WC) each year - as directed by the Chairperson or Chief Marshal.  This includes drop-ins. 

These working requirements are waived for graduates of the Beginning Retrievers Class in the year they complete their first class.  Repeat Beginner’s Class participants who continue with the training group after the course is completed, are obliged to fulfill the work requirements. 

What to Bring

• Duck call, a working radio, a pistol, and your birds.
• Bring one bird for every dog you run. Tag your birds and at the close of the evening, please take your bird back – each of us must dispose of our own birds.
• Everybody is expected to contribute to the community training group.  Please bring extra equipment such as holding blinds, wingers, bumpers, pistols, radios, duck calls, etc. The club will try to supply popper guns and gun stands, popper shells, and possibly wingers. 

Weekly Sign-ups

Weekly electronic sign-up help ensure a smooth experience for all.  Whether you’ve paid for the season or a drop-in, please indicate your intent to attend by 5pm the day prior (Monday). And do try and be as accurate as possible on your estimated arrival time.

What's Expected of Participants

• Air your dog away from the setup. Pick up after your dog!
• The Delaney WMA is a multi-use facility – and even with our permit, we are sharing the grounds with other people: anglers, dog walkers, bird watchers… We must keep a good relationship between our training group and others that have a right to use the same grounds. If someone complains, be courteous, offer to explain what we are doing, but do NOT get into arguments. We can NOT afford to lose these precious grounds.
• Never discharge a firearm in the direction of, or in the vicinity of others using the grounds.
• On the grounds, never drive faster than 5 mph. It feels like a snails pace sometimes, but even 8mph is too fast.
• Do recognize that we dog trainers are an eclectic group, and we cannot please all people all the time. To ensure a good time is had by all, please make an effort to be nice and welcoming, get along and accept the differences amongst each other; critical commentary to these agreed upon processes should be directed to the field committee chair (Rainer Fuchs). Improvements that are in sync with these philosophies are welcome!

Organizational Structure

Delaney provides Club members a great opportunity to train their dogs AND to improve as handlers. Group training will start at 4:30pm. The set-up will be determined based on the number of dogs, so the sign-ups are critical.  If your arrival time is after 6pm, then you should plan to use the grounds elsewhere for blinds, etc.  The group training arrival time will close at 6pm.  

To get the most from the training, a mentor will be assigned each week for set-up and is available to provide guidance and advice on how to run the set-ups and is happy to provide feedback. Mentors are merely an option - of course you are free to train without input from the mentor; please let the mentor know. Please be courteous to the mentors, they are there for your benefit. Our mentors are experienced trainers and handlers who have put multiple titles on multiple dogs. This year, our mentors are: Joey Edsall, Rainer Fuchs, Nancie Freitas, Karen Kase, Margaret Stubbs, Cathy Shea, Karen Kennedy.

A few club members will have a key to the property. As a key owner, you also carry a higher level of responsibility to the LRCGB: do NOT use your key for anything but the Tuesday training sessions.   

Safety

Nobody should be left alone at any LRCGB-sponsored training site.  Two people should remain with the person closing (3 in total). They should not leave Delaney until the gate is closed, locked, and it is clear all cars are working.

Guest Policy

The Tuesday night training group is open to LRCGB members only; Delaney participants may bring one guest (one dog) twice (same or different guest).  If you have additional requests for Labradors and Labrador owners as guests require approval and should be made to the Delaney committee chair (jme86@aol.com).

Guiding Principles for Weekly Training Sessions:

• The mentor and the mentor ONLY - is in charge of the setup and mentoring.
• Everybody is expected to contribute to the training group: all of us should help set-up equipment, work in the field, and pick up + put things away at the end of the night. Besides, you know the saying: the more you give, the more get!
• *Before* you come to the line, have a plan ready for you and your dog. It’s best to let the bird boys know what you're planning to do when the previous dog is coming back with the last bird!
• Feel free to adjust how you run your dog on a given setup, as long as it doesn't unduly affect the rest of the group or the throwing team. You may choose the order in which you run the marks. You may ask the bird boys to adjust their throws. You may run from a different line. Just make sure to work within the basic setup.  If you need advice the mentor can help.
• We'll have many dogs to run, and the sun WILL set! Be mindful on how you affect the group, and be efficient.
• Each setup should have two holding blinds for dogs to wait in. There should be a dog in the last holding blind at all times.
• Know the running order, air your dog in advance, and be in the holding blind ready to run when you're up.
• Please let multi-dog owners run every other dog or every second dog, so they are not back to back.
• Probably the most valuable, and ironically most overlooked part of field training is bird-boy etiquette. Everybody is expected to understand bird boy etiquette. Especially, do NOT help a dog unless you are asked to do so by the handler; or, if there is imminent physical danger for the dog.
• Bitches in season are welcome to run. Let others know. You will run at the end of the running order, unless everyone else agrees to let you run earlier.
• While members who pay the seasonal dues can train at Delaney any time during the day (that our permit allows), all should inform the group in case others wish to join. If you don't want to train with the main group that's okay too, as long as you don’t disturb the formal training group with whistles, etc. The formal training group has priority to ground selection, etc,

 

Training Principles:

• Sounds silly to say, but Delaney training is a training session. Think about what you want you and your dog to LEARN. It’s not important that you ‘win’ the training session, you will have ample time to demonstrate your dog's ability at the tests. Another way to think of it:  if you didn’t have a teachable moment, you didn’t have the opportunity to train. And sometimes, simplifying to build confidence is more important than a teachable moment.
• All dogs learn at different rates and have different problems. Some dogs aren’t ready for a more difficult set-up; and a training approach used by one member may not be the right approach for your dog. Know your dog's skills. If he's less experienced, simplify your run!
• While all dogs have bad days, if your dog appears to consistently struggle, then you may want to consider that the task you’ve asked is beyond the current ability of your dog. That’s okay – just simplify.
• You are encouraged to spend as much time as you need to help your dog deal with a problem you encounter while running a setup. At the same time, please be considerate of your fellow dog trainers - especially as daylight wanes. For example, if you worked 10 minutes on a tough blind, your training partners wouldn't be pleased if you tried to run a second, similarly difficult blind. Know when to quit. A happy bumper may be better for you, your dog, and your training partners than another frustrating mark or blind.

Register Now!