Can't wait to tell you.  I'm really blessed with that Liz girl.

Sunday was the big day for Liz.  I always feel guilty at not having done
enough for one of the girls to 'be all they can be' and so, after a year I
I thought, let's at least see what her genes were like.

I showed up at the training grounds with Liz and one of my friends and
ex-student/hunting buddy, Tim.

Liz was full of vinegar and rearing to go.  My old buddy, Ron, makes a
business of training people to train their dogs.  We agreed that he would
assess Liz, tell me what I've been doing wrong, give me some pointers (not
dogs) and just charge me for time and materials; no lessons.

His first words were:  nice little girl, but she controls you and it has
to be the other way around.

He tried her on the table for a little while to do a little bonding but
she was too wired.

I got a  little advice about what of my training and hunting
gear/equipment he would change, and then he started to walk her around a
bit.

It took all of 20 minutes for me to see a radical change.  He was getting
her attention.  Still, though, she wanted to be the boss.
 
Next came the chain gang.  I told him that I dare not use mine, since one
of the neighbors would call the animal control or cops in an instant.
We left her hooked up for about 10 minutes, and she got the message:  get
up and pull when you walk to her, and you will walk away.

Next we released some pigeons, first holding them near, to flap and
eventually firing a blank pistol on the flush.  She was fine.  We had
previously spent some time in the woods near a local Skeet Club, and she
never was bothered by the sound, but, still I was wary.

When it seemed like she was interested, we planted some quail.  She began
working scent instantly.  It was a sight to behold.  Like the tomato
sauce, "it's in there."

The first bird she found, we kicked out and fired the blank pistol.
On the next two, I fired my 28 ga. in the distance.  She was psyched.
Now she was cooking.  She couldn't wait to find the next bird.  As if by
magic, she was now locking up into the most stylish point you ever saw !

She seemed to be the least bit timid on the flush, and I'm not sure she
knew what she was supposed to do if the bird was right under her nose and
moving.  Each time she marked the flushed bird and knew where to head.
The next bird, I blasted and she ran to it, picked it up and brought it,
almost all the way back.  After 1 hour and 45 minutes she was starting to
get a bit tired and thirsty (me too).  Got her some water and took 10
while planting some more birds.

You know that if you step into the closet and emerge 1 minute later, your
dog will greet you as if you were away for a whole day.

Ten minutes of rest and she was ready to go; just like another day.  One
exception, though:  She remembered what was going on "the day before."

She was hunting up a storm; the breeze kicked up a bit and she was winding
"BIRD" !

She found another, I shot it and it was hers.  The we headed in a
direction that one of the unshot birds had taken, but she had other plans.
She picked a new direction, started to act birdy and locked up on point.
Ron said that he had not planted a bird anywhere near that place, and the
others had flown the other way; "watch out." I said (brag)  "I always
trust my dogs."  Well, sure enough, there was a bird, we flushed it and I
shot it for her.  She picked it up.  Good ending.  Another hour and she
still wanted to hunt.
 

It was a great day for Liz.
 

You'd think that that was enough of a day for the little kid and she'd be
ready for beddie-by after dinner, but she wanted to play and kept sniffing
out the saved wings.

I called the breeder to tell her what a fine job she'd done.  She was
happy for the call.  I'll do this again in a couple of weeks.
 
When you step back and think about it, embryogenesis is amazing:

From two cells, each with 1/2 the total of genetic material (and you can't
even see them with the naked eye) you get a whole human being with all
the prerequisites for rational thought.  I'm just as amazed by what comes
from those dog genes !
 
 
 

 
Liz is learning steady to wing and shot:
 

The Liz pup is ready for a morning of bird work
 

Steady on point with a little correction.

Good point; slack checkcord.

I think she's got it !
 
 
 
 
 
 

For better or worse, I've decided to train Liz using only pos-re; no e-collar.  Not that I'm against e-collars, I've used them, but I think we can succeed without.