Andrew - No real story, just family commitments interrupting the shooting season!
A handful more :
Penny on the way back with a retrieve. She's still very alert, keen and willing even if more than a a bit slower....
Lola:
Meg, 'under starter's orders' as usual:
A bit of an accidental shot, but the flash helps you spot the labs waiting for me to "stop messing around with that b****y spaniel and let us join in!" :
A brief video of Lola demonstrating that even trial winners don't always hold the dummy properly!:
Blue looking very pleased with herself after quite a tough retrieve. She is proof enough that not all trial-bred dogs are lightning fast. As Andrew spotted, a proper little picking up dog. She was awarded a couple of competition awards but I was never really inspired to compete with her seriously. Never a flashy dog, but the most natural wounded game finder that I've had. Although she looks alert enough in the photos, she is very inclined to curl up during multi-dog training sessions and try and get some sleep! She comes to life when sent for a retrieve, but bothering to try and mark is just too much effort for a mere dummy! :
Just had a look at the videos. Thank goodness you put two of the lovely Lola on.
I am sure you could feel me fidgeting on my seat at the first retrieve. I so hate it when they pick up ends of dummies, but I am beginning to realise I tend to look for perfection and I must try to relax my standards a little
I was quite happy to put those on to demonstrate the difference. Lola does that occasionally but not often enough to call it a habit. My main concern is that she picks up quickly and brings it back to me at speed without dropping it, which she does. The readjustment in her mouth at the end shows that she knows that she ought to be holding it better, but I think she just gets preoccupied with bringing it back as quickly as possible.
Thats the kind of girl she is; get in, get it picked and get it back to Dad! With Lola she has no tendency to mess with the dummy - I think she just grabs whatever she can get hold of first!
It's interesting for me Matt, as I say I tend to get worried by it and, as I know how well Lola has done it is yet another thing that I can relax about a little anyway.
I am sure there are lots of others much more important I can be stressing myself about .
Thanks Ian. To be honest that was Meg in 'sticky' mode! I don't think she knew what to make of me pointing the camera at her. She's certainly not short in the drive department - In fact when shes working a hedge full of pheasants a shade less drive would be good for my blood pressure!
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Thanks Ian. To be honest that was Meg in 'sticky' mode! I don't think she knew what to make of me pointing the camera at her. She's certainly not short in the drive department - In fact when shes working a hedge full of pheasants a shade less drive would be good for my blood pressure! 
