Mo did a great seminar for us last weekend. Each seminar is different because each group of dogs is different. This year most of the dogs could be divided into two groups—young dogs and older dogs with problems. For each group there was a theme. The theme for young dogs was to be sure to make deposits in the bank before you write any checks. In other words, be sure to build prey drive before you begin formal training. The theme for older dogs was to look for improvement and don’t expect perfection.

The first day Mo began by developing prey drive in the young dogs and letting them chase Johnny house quail. We saw a five-month old Griffon that was crazy about birds and a very classy year old pointer that did not need more bird exposure as more birds would only create bad habits. A young shorthair was not really focused on birds and we watched her go from wanting to play with other dogs afield to hunting like the predator she truly was on Sunday. Mo worked a pointer, Griffon, Brit and a couple of weims that were a year or so old to determine if they were ready to begin formal training. He spent time with each owner and explained what their dogs needed.

After young dogs, Mo went to older dogs. A three-year-old Brittany had developed problems from training and the owner was determined to get her over blinking. She showed a lot of improvement from Saturday to Sunday and Mo thought the owner would have success getting her to like birds again. Her demeanor changed from nervousness on Saturday to being relaxed on Sunday after Mo ran her with the young bird-crazy Griffon that chased birds in front of her and showed no fear. It was a great illustration of how dogs learn from each other. A couple of other dogs showed blinking problems that came from correcting them while birds were still on the ground. Mo emphasized the importance of waiting until the bird was in the air before correcting the dog. There were a couple of older dogs that had been whoa trained and Mo worked with them. An older shorthair showed some stress as the method of training changed but he has what it takes to win field trials. The weim is going to be retrained by the owner using this method and she was really excited.  Dogs that understood stop-to-flush were worked on a silhouette so owners could understand how to teach backing and, after that, birds were shot for dogs that were ready to begin launcher work. At the end Mo worked a softer Brit and introduced the e-collar and she showed him she was tougher than he had thought. One of the highlights of the seminar was watching a wonderful dog named Brusche, a Braque de Bourbonnais (French pointer). The new owner had rescued him from a shooting preserve after the original owner had died. In two days this dog blossomed into a truly impressive hunting dog totally focused on finding birds and totally proud of himself. It was a great seminar filled with great dogs and wonderful people. Thanks to Mo, Kaye, and Rick for all their hard work, to Vic for the photographs, and to all of you that made the effort to drive to Baskerville with your dogs.