The Long Blind

One of the most impressive parts of a well-trained retriever is watching their blind work. A blind retrieve is sending a dog to pick up an object that they didn’t see fall or get placed in that location. The blind retrieve is the epitome of trust in the dog/handler relationship. As a trainer, it takes years to develop a dog with great handling skills but the end result is worth it. There are few things more satisfying than watching a well handling dog run.

Grace and I were working the other day in a new area.  Grace is a two year old German Wirehaired Pointer (GWP) and we are right in the middle of working on her handling abilities. Normally GWP’s aren’t known for running long blinds, most of that challenge is left up to more religious retrieving breeds like your labs and chessie’s. But this GWP owner is convinced that with enough work Grace can make even the most adamant lab owner at least take second glance.

I pulled Grace out of the truck and placed on her e-collar. She began to get excited, knowing that we were about to do some work.  I heeled her out to edge of the field and sat her down. Watching over the top of her head, I guided her to looking towards the area I wanted her to focus and once I was confident she was there, I sent her with the strong words, “Go Back!”.

She was off, bounding at a good pace. Her line was good at 10 and 20 yards out but around 30 she started to veer right. I gave her a few more strides to see if she corrected herself but she didn’t.  The sharp report of my whistle spun her around to a sit as she waited for my command.  Standing tall I raised my left hand high into the sky angling her back toward the direction she needed to go.  She spun and took her direction beautifully.  Back to her normal sprinting speed, the distance between she and I began to climb. 60, 70, 80 yards and she was still going but the first obstacle was coming up.  She was going to have to cross a ditch. When she arrived at the bank, she did what most young dogs will do, she started hunting the edges of it.  I gave a forceful blast of my whistle and she sat hesitantly.  I lifted my right hand high in the sky, straight over my head with a command of, “Back!”.  The words travelled to her and she took off to the right, skirting the edge of the ditch bank. “No!”, I hollered, whistling again and giving her the back command.  She took the cast and went through the ditch. Up and out the other side she began to run again but she broke down at a thick patch of grass and began to hunt. Unfortunately for her, this was not the right spot, she would need to go much further. I blew my whistle, but she ignored me. She was sure the bird was in that tall weeds and that she could find it. She didn’t need me. I blew my whistle again followed by a nick on her collar, she got the message.  Another back command and she was driving further away from me and closer to the mark. Her line was off though and she needed a correction.  So far away, I blew my whistle loud and on the second attempt she heard me and sat. I gave my command of “Over” followed by sticking out my right arm to my side. Grace did not move. I knew she was out there a ways, she was so close to the bird if only she could take this cast. I grabbed my hat in my right hand to create a better image for her, stuck out my arm again and walked in the direction I wanted her to go.   Grace spun and taking the wrong direction, started running at an angle further away from our prize. Another whistle blast, then another, then another before she would stop to listen to me. I needed her to take this one cast and we would be home free.  I took my time, letting her settle down and focus everything on me.  We could do this together, if only she would listen. I angled my right arm down and began to make a “tweet-tweet-tweet” on my whistle, telling her to angle in towards me.  She took the cast and started towards the bird.  When she got close, I gave her the “twill” whistle which told her that it was right there, to hunt for it.  One gust of wind carried the sweet scent of bird to her nostrils and she was on it. Picking up the bird, she began her long awaited return of triumph. She had gotten her prize and we were both delighted.

Looking at the relationship and trust it takes for a dog and a handler to make this kind of retrieve reminds me of what our relationship with God must be like if we want to truly follow Him. We know that He has our best intentions in mind when we start at the line and we quickly set off towards the prize. Sometimes we get off line or run into obstacles and God is there to guide us back. Sometimes we ignore His guidance and go our own way with no success. Other times, we misinterpret His guidance and head in the wrong direction. All of these missed steps cost us precious time and energy, keeping us away from the prize God has for us. In the end, it is only when we trust God completely can we really be guided to where He wants us to go.