Friday, January 2, 2009

EXCELLENT!!!

Well, the first major change I made today was to switch to weight Scarlet with a triple beam balance scale. This will give me a more accurate weight, and had been my intention to make the change as we neared the lower weights.
I decided to repeat the same drill as yesterday, after all it has been almost 2 weeks since I had worked with her due to my surgery. 10 grams of grackle is holding her weight steady for a 24-hour period, so I fed her the same amount again today. I cut 6 grams into tidbits and put the other 4 on the lure. As I raised my hand to call her for the first time (a full room flight) I could see the light bulb come on. She finally has the game down. There was no hesitation on any of the 10 flights, and she was anxiously awaiting me to raise the glove each time. I do not even have to show her the tidbit anymore and she is still inbound. We have maxed out the indoor flight range so tomorrow I will move her outside on the creance.
The other 4 grams I place on the lure. I set her on a perch and dropped the lure about 1 foot away and 1 foot below her. She does not recognize this part of the game yet, which is understandable as this is only the second time she has seen the lure. It took me dropping the lure a few times while whistling for her to finally jump onto it, but after she did she was amply rewarded. I should have introduced the lure sooner in the training, and have a feeling this will be what holds us up from hunting sooner. Ironically, it is the same hold up I had while training Katana...you would think I would have learned by now! Since I am in no rush, however it is no big deal. It will allow me more time to reinforce flying to the fist as I continue working with the lure. I don't want to free fly her before she is ready...and before I am ready! LOL. I am still in a lot of pain from the surgery, so an extra few days will not hurt anyone.
I am VERY happy with her response today, and will continue to keep her at 107 grams until she proves I need to do otherwise.

5:00pm - 107 grams....Fed 10 grams grackle

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