Three weeks already!

It has been three weeks since I have been in Florida and time is flying! We had a wonderful training week and work on great field concepts with the dogs each day. I keep detailed training logs of each dog's progress, faults and the setups we do. It is wonderful to see the dogs learn each day. Having the luxury of being able to train on these fantastic properties is outstanding for the dogs.
Quite a nice social scene here too. Seems like we have more dinner invites than we can handle! Just came home frome dinner out the 4th night in a row. Meeting so many wonderful people.
I love the work I am getting to do with my horses as well. True to my nature, I am just enjoying every waking minute and go like an Energizer Bunny all day. Today, a nice Saturday to take off, I did 4 hours of office work, 1 1/2 hours of working out (go P90X!), 1 1/2 hours of dog training yard drills, and 1 1/2 hours of riding. Tomorow I hope to work Treat with Dennis Voigt and his puppy Ghillie. Plus we have a busy day of riding horses! Trying to get it all in before we start week 4 of training. So sorry for all of my New England friends to hear about the weather. YUCK! I certainly do not miss it! Included is a photo of my two boys, Naji and Vittorio in their lovely pasture here.

Florida news

Hi to all of my friends and clients!
It has been a whirl wind down here in Florida. As always, seems like there is never enough time in the day!
My first week down here turned out to be a tough one. My friend, field dog training mentor, and the person who made it possible for me to join the group in Florida, Bob Larsen, sadly and suddenly passed away 2 weeks ago. I miss him terribly. He led this Florida training group, and it has been so sad and tough without him as our fearless leader and friend.
Our first week of training lasted only 4 days, and then we headed to Gainesville for a Dave Rorem handling seminar. I was a handler and worked my lab Valley. I learned so much from Dave and Valley really stepped up to the plate for me at times doing All-Age field trial test setups that were far over both of our heads! The clinic was 3 days and they video taped each of us so that we could not only watch ourselves handle the dogs, but each video has Dave's comments and teachings during our handling. We get to keep our videos.
Last week was our second week of training. We are on a rotation and train on 6 different properties Monday thru Saturday. These are some of the best field trial retriever grounds in the country and include amazing technical ponds and field terrain. The training is thorough, exciting, demanding, and exhausting. My dogs are all spent at the end of each day!
I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such dog training talent down here. On Saturday I shot live flyers for Mike Lardy and watched him run all of his dogs. Wow! We dropped 24 birds in a row, then missed the last and most important live flyer for Mike's own puppy (oopps!) We all laughed and I asked him "What did you expect for free help?"
We are now starting our third week of training. Today we trained for nearly 8 hours with Jim Van Engan of Right Start Kennels. I have had the opportunity to train with him last year and then this past summer in WI. It is amazing to watch his truck of 1 and 2 year old puppies run such tough field setups.
My pup Treat is learning so much and doing really well! Today she did a water cheating mark, then a double with a long retired gun. She loves the training.
Sassy got to chase down a mallard duck that got loose on us today, and wow did she pummel it. That made her day! She is retired from competitions, but she gets to run some of the setups and be test dog.
Valley is having some tough times right now with the intense training and difficult setups, but we are working through it.
Flagler, a client dog from NY, is doing wonderful with his long marks and learning doubles. We are also just starting pattern blinds. Hope to run him on some Senior Hunt tests down here.
My other client Terry who is here training with me is doing fantastic! Her dog Lena is doing outstanding. They no doubt are ready and then some for Senior Hunt tests! Terry is becoming a lovely and talented handler.
I have been having a wonderful time riding my horses again. My focus down here is dog training, enjoying the weather and 'time off' from my busy kennel which at times is nonstop work, my new P90x exercise addiction and lastly enjoy riding my horses. Last week I actually rode 5 days in a row! I cannot even think about the last time I rode even more than 3 days in a row!
I am so thankful that Jason my dear husband, and the entire team at Quinebaug Kennels has been so supportive of my time in Florida. I would not be here without their dedication and devotion to the Kennels and to all of our wonderful clients, both human and dog!
Well, I need to sign off as I already need to get up in 6 1/2 hours to begin my day tomorrow.
Smiles and hugs to all!

We arrived safely in Florida last night!! Stopped in GA to check on Elsie with her field trial trainer. She is running hard and hunting well.
The weather here is cold, but due to warm up next week back into the 60's. We will start our busy training schedule tomorrow already. Many clients are calling and emailing me about training. For those of you who do lessons with me, I will be resuming my private lessons in April. If you need phone or email consultations while I am gone, I would be happy to set them up and help you problem solve or even give you ideas fo drills or training that you can be doing. Joe will be helping me with private lessons at the kennel, so if you need assistance, call the kennel and set up a lesson with Joe.
I head back to CT for the Springfield Sportsmans Show February 18th through the 21st.
For now, busy unpacking and getting my southern Quinebaug Kennels office set up!