Previous posts during PRT Stage 1 provided extensive discussion of training steadiness. Essentially, we’ll never have a break because we’ll use Lightning’s tab to prevent one and we’ll never use a correction for a break if one were to occur anyway.

In the future, we’ll set up conditions that really develop a powerful steadiness skill, such as when a live clip-wing pigeon is thrown in front of Lightning, or when he is asked to honor another dog receiving such a mark from a nearby position. But I think it is too soon for such demanding requirements yet.

However, it would be nice to see occasionally, and at this time in particular since it’s mentioned in Disc 2 of the TRT video, how the dog’s steadiness is developing. That’s hard to do in everyday practice since you’re always preventing a break with the tab.

So to find out, use a session to try a series of increasingly difficult steadiness tests and see how they go. For example, the range might be:

• Easiest: An assistant quietly throws a 2” bumper at 120y, dog wearing tab but you not holding it. 
• Hardest: Two assistants throw a double using blank pistols and thawed ducks at 70y, the dog not wearing a tab. Note that for steadiness, longer  marks are generally easier for the dog not to break on, and would therefore come earlier in the sequence of tests.

Of course you could try something harder still, such as using shotguns rather than pistols, moving closer, or even trying flyers or clip-wings. But the goal here is not actually to focus on training steadiness at this time, just to get a sense of where the dog is.

Remember not to practice breaking. The exhilaration of the burst from the line makes every break self-reinforcing and therefore a setback in your training, even if the gunner picks up the article. Once you satisfy your curiosity and find the dog’s steadiness skill level, I’d suggest you go back to using the tab to prevent breaks in training until you’re confident the dog is completely steady.

Update: Hi, everyone. Lightning here. I thought I’d tell you how my steadiness test went this afternoon.

Daddy took Laddie and me, along with one of our friends, Liza, to a field where we sometimes train. First he took Laddie out. I couldn’t see them, but it sounded from the whistles and no gunshot like he ran Laddie on about half a dozen land blinds. Laddie was thirsty when he got back. It was a pretty day, but a bit hotter than it’s been lately.

Next it was my turn. Daddy put on my collar with the tab and also attached my leash to my collar. I guess he was afraid I might run into the busy street behind the van.

Daddy, Liza, and I walked into the field with Daddy carrying our mat, and Daddy pointed to a place near the woods for Liza to walk out to carrying a 3” white bumper. When she stopped, she was 120y away. Daddy took my leash off my collar and we walked to the mat together, and I sat down facing Liza.

You’d think Daddy would have taken my tab in his hand, but he didn’t. He just raised his hand for Liza to throw. Liza said hey-hey-hey and threw the bumper to her side. It wasn’t that big a deal. I waited till Daddy called my name, then raced out and brought the bumper back.

A few seconds later, Daddy ran me on another mark, with a few changes: We were about 40y closer to Liza, she threw the bumper in the opposite direction, and this time, Daddy took my collar off entirely. When Liza called hey-hey-hey and threw the bumper again, I still waited till Daddy sent me.

The third mark didn’t go so well. We were back to 120y distance from Liza, but this time Liza fired a pistol instead of saying hey-hey-hey. The gunfire was too exciting so I broke, not waiting for Daddy to release me with my name. So Daddy had Liza try it again, but the next time I couldn’t go when I tried to break. I happened to be wearing my collar and tab again, so that might have had something to do with it. Anyway, Daddy called to Liza, ”Pick it up,” and she walked over to the bumper, picked it up, and walked back to her throwing position.

Daddy called for another throw. Again Liza fired a shot and threw the bumper and again I tried to break but couldn’t. When Daddy again called out, “Pick it up,” I realized that these are words you never want to hear. They mean you’ve lost the chance to run that mark forever! Now that had happened to me twice. 

Needless to say I didn’t let it happen again. When Liza fired and threw again, I just sat and waited till Daddy called my name, and that’s when I ran out to retrieve. Nothing stopped me that time. Daddy then ran me on two more marks with Liza firing a pistol. The second was the hardest, since we’d moved closed to Liza again, and even with the pistol, I wasn’t wearing a collar. I could have broken but I didn’t.

I saw Daddy walk back to the van. Were we done for the day? No. He was just getting a thawed duck out of the van. He handed it to Liza and sent her in a new direction, and he also moved our mat off to the side some distance.

At last he walked me at heel to the mat and cued Sit. I wasn’t wearing a collar, and Liza wasn’t as far as before, more like 70y this time. She fired the pistol and threw the duck. Not a bumper, a duck! But I didn’t flinch, I just waited. And a few seconds later, Daddy called my name and I raced out into the field to pick up the duck.

Admittedly I was a little hot and winded but it wasn’t a problem. Daddy walked me back to the van and put a big bowl of water in my crate with me when I jumped in.

So that’s how my steadiness test went. Did I pass? I hope so.