One dog - three exercises - tracking clinic notes

Here is a look at one dog at the Cranbrook Tracking Clinic, showing three different exercises over two days, but one style of tracking by the dog.

Jagger is a 6-month old sable GSD who has been imprinted in Schutzhund so learned at the tender age of 3 months old to footstep track. If you refer to my earlier post called "The trinity of tracking" you will see that I believe we need to go back to this focus on the primary track when our long-term goal is to ALL get our UTDX. Jagger showed that this early training paid off. He is calm on track, and his head never comes up!

Here he is on the first afternoon - we did "three straight lines" on veg so I could watch dog behaviour and handling of each participant. Margie has a very calm manner and great body language, using her body and a soft voice to block him rather than doing any yanking on the line - keeping him on track and keep it positive and motivating - and stress free. You can see she is letting him track, but ready to jump in if necessary. There is food at the toe of every step here.
On day two we did another straight line, but it was a transition from veg, onto non-veg using bait and a jackpot on the article. I like that he doesn't rush to the article - as he is not article-focused yet, so he keeps his focus on the track itself.

On this transition, dogs went from veg, to gravel, back to veg. Check out that deep nose in the gravel. Gravel holds scent nicely compared with harder surfaces and every dog had this kind of reaction. Notice that she is still "letting him track" but ready to help if required.

Of course, an important factor is to make sure your tracks are marked well and you know exactly where you walked! Plus, it is important to know how much food to use for your dog and where to reward. Keeping a journal is the best way to keep track and plan your training sessions.

Tracking Clinic in Cranbrook - first morning

Seminar organizer Chris Burke of the Cranbrook Kennel Club and Snowyriver GSDs waits her turn with her beautiful puppy Sidney, and the Rocky Mountains in the background.

I was so excited to be asked to give this clinic. The drive down was beautiful and being a new resident of Western Canada I love the opportunity to play tourist. I have been posting my photos on my new Photoblog (link in the sidebar menu). It was also a great chance to meet more people who are interested in tracking. We have very few test opportunities in this area, so as the new CKC Tracking Council Rep for Alberta, I am on a mission to inspire people to have more tests, and to get some urban tracking going!

This is a Google Earth map I laid out of the seminar area. Cranbrook has so much green space - lots of places to practice on all surfaces! The seminar took place in the Library, at the far left. We spent a lot of time on the high school soccer field - the big green square near the centre of the map. And we spent more time at the arena, the big building to the right of the high school field. The black lines are my lines - I measured all of these areas ahead of time using Google Earth so that we could practice some 'pre plotting.'

On the first morning, I gave an introduction including a lot of information about starting a dog on all surfaces. As usual, the participants learned "how to walk in a straight line" and how to measure paces. Measures in tracking are so important if you are going to keep track of your training sessions in your tracking journal and know how to assess and progress.

While people were counting their paces, I laid an urban track for River. I had scoped out the nearby arena the day before, driving around in my car. That night I did a Google Map of the track. Two people who were more familiar with tracking came with me and we plotted it together while I talked about scent in urban areas and what I anticipated River would do. When the track was an hour old, River ran it, and the entire group followed along. I am waiting for the photos taken by a participant, but here is the map - I am going to refer to the coloured arrows in the discussion below:

OF COURSE this turned out to be the hottest part of the entire two days, so River did feel the heat (for March). But she did so well I was very proud, AND I was also proud that my predictions bore out. River did exactly what I thought she would on the track. Before starting, someone asked me what I thought the hardest part of the track would be, and I said that the area along the front of the arena was complex, but River really had no options but to continue along (and hopefully she would). When she turned right, away from the building, I felt the hardest spot would be the MOT turn right, on the parking lot, just beyond the end of the loading dock's concrete barrier. Sure enough, River did cast left and right before deciding the track went right. I "pretended" not to know to the extent that I let her sort it out. I feel we have truly become a team. She turned 9 this month and I really feel the pressure to find tests for us to try for her UTDX.

Discussion:

First Leg - Green arrows

• Scope out the area and know where you are heading before even starting.
• Pick a landmark to walk straight. Walk straight up and create a good "walk up" to your scent pad
• Try to have a good veg start on an urban track. A good start is the key to any good track.
• Make sure you remember where your scent pad is located. A good idea is to use wooden golf tees. Urban stakes can be removed in public areas by kids, groundskeepers, etc.
• Give your dog a GOOD scent pad! In an urban environment the dog will have more challenges, so ensure it takes in the scent before charging off as well. When I make a scent pad I will let scent pool by standing and moving about. I sometimes put my articles down while I do this, to add extra scent. The scent pad must be one meter in area.
• When walking, don't take BIG steps. Walk slowly and steadily to allow more scent to pool.
• Watch for a good landmark for your first turn. In this case, it was a road sign that lined up with a clear path along the front of the building.
• A WOOD ARTICLE was placed after the turn as a REWARD for River getting to that point. I paired up wood on veg...a more difficult article on an easier surface. The choices are wood, cloth or plastic for UTD, with leather at the end.
• There was a gravel play area and play equipment and bench near this spot, and as I predicted, River did go and stick her nose under the play equipment where I suspect some scent was trapped.

Second leg: Pink arrows

• The entrance double-doors here will pull scent over from the track. As predicted, River went straight for the doors, then came back to the track. An urban track will NOT go into this building, so it is acceptable to gently restrain your dog and ask it to find the track.
• Along the front I aimed for a great crack in the concrete to walk along. Cracks like this will hold some scent. There was stone landscaping along the front of the building which will hold some scent. River checked it as we went along.
• The second pink arrow points to a narrow walkway along the front behind the loading area. There is a chain link fence on the right, and the building on the left. A dog can get pulled through something like this and might overlook an article. I put a LEATHER article 3/4 of the way along. The leather has more scent and was noticed by River. It slowed her down because the turn was coming up right past the walkway.

Last three legs: blue arrows

• Even so, she overshot a bit, to check a patch of grass. The turn followed the sidewalk, over some more boulders and onto the parking lot where this leg followed along the edges of the painted lines. I used chalk marks on the pavement to show where the track was, as we always want the dog ON the primary track, so we need to know where we walked. Painted lines can also hold some scent.
• The concrete wall to the right trapped scent. At one point, as I predicted, River did go check along the wall. She came back to the main track. I let her check it out. Her line got caught under a tire, and I had to run to untangle it.
• As predicted, at this third turn River had many options - go left, go straight, turn right. The correct choice was to turn right. The wind was blowing the track to the left and that is where she went. She went nearly 30 feet off track (I knew by my line, which was a shorter 30 foot line). In urban tracking dogs are allowed a greater distance to cast off track but I still prefer my dogs to be right on the track, although I will let them search and even if I know where the track is, I will go with them to let them satisfy themselves that there is no scent there.
• Sure enough, River got to the other side of a car, when she changed her mind and trotted straight back at me. She checked around the corner again, the went the right way. She went down the loading ramp for a few steps, came back, and once she was past this giant scent trap - she found her next article.
• This article was PLASTIC and was put there to reward her and let her rest after that corner. There was a big food reward under the plastic.
• After this, River found her next turn and the final article (leather) easily.

It should be noted that this track was more complex than an urban track, to show people the types of things they may encounter in an urban area. In total it was 340 meters and River did it in 15 minutes. We had to run straight back for the car where she gets more treats as part of her routine. The next day, everyone worked on urban transitions in this same area.

Cranbrook BC Tracking Seminar - Caden's demo track

I am back from Cranbrook where I gave a Beginner's and Intro to Urban Tracking Seminar for 10 working dogs. I have been busy going through photos and will do a full report on the phases of the seminar. On the second day we did some map-making and plotted a small 'hat - shaped' TD on a very contaminated soccer field. I ran it with Caden and the group followed to watch from the Judge's and tracklayer's point of view. Here is a photo one participant took of Caden that I love, nose down and dead-on this leg (second leg) of the 200m track. I rarely train Caden without food so was very pleased to see how dedicated he was right to the end.

The dogs and participants in the seminar were fantastic! Stay tuned for pictures over the coming week.

Cranbrook BC Tracking Seminar - Shaman holding down the fort

This is how Shaman spends his days. Come to think of it - that's pretty nice...

Tomorrow I drive to Cranbrook to give a Beginners Tracking Seminar. Everyone is coming - River, Caden, Jet and Ted. But Shaman is staying home. I feel so sad to leave the old guy - so I have been letting him come back and forth with me as I load the car.

I found out last week that he is blind in his left eye and may have limited vision in his right eye. He may have had a stroke at some point, and he is fighting cancer. I do my best to make life fun for him, and he fills me with admiration for the way he is still so confident and interested in everything.

I am very excited about the drive through the Rocky Mountains. I think I will stop in Banff for lunch! Caden is so well- travelled now - from Pennsylvania to Duluth to Thunder Bay, to the west, and this will be his second time to Banff!!

There are ten working dogs in the seminar, and I will be covering urban as well as beginners. It will be so great to be getting back to talking about and teaching tracking. I will "feel like myself again!"

I'll be sure to bring my camera!

And this is how Shaman spends his nights...

Jet-in-the-box

Ted is so quirky. I always feel these eyes on me - and usually he is trying to entice me to play with a toy. He is toy crazy! I think there may be some truth to those latent retriever genes way back in the Border Collie. Ever since I introduced Ted to the joys of retrieving a toy, he has been completely obsessed with anything (remember, Ted is the dog who brings me bits of thread he finds, in case I might make a game of it...). So I grabbed my camera a few nights ago because he was on the couch staring at me like this, through the pillows...

I said - hey Ted, whatcha got? And of course, he reached down and there was his little "puff." When he gets excited like this, I swear his eyes turn pure black, but the glare from my camera won't let you see that. He was very pleased with himself, figuring the game was on. Usually I take the toy and say ONE...TWO... (and on three I throw it so he backs up and starts to crouch and quiver...) and then....THREE! and I throw it. He trots around in a circle wagging so hard it is ridiculous, then tosses it back for me to throw again. But neither of us saw what was coming...

Jet-in the Box! Ruining everything! She is such an evil wench...I can just picture her lying in wait to get his toy!

And the worst thing is (according to Ted) that Jet doesn't want to play with it. She just wants to HAVE it (you can see it tucked in under her chin - what a comfie "pillow" it makes!

Border Collie - Aussie cross wins Britain's Top Hero award for SAR work

Here is an interesting story from the news about a Border Collie - Aussie cross who was awarded Britain's top canine hero at Crufts for his SAR work:

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2009/03/10/top_dog_feature.shtml

Top of the pups
Emma Midgley

Berkshire search and rescue dog Brock has picked up a prize at dog-show Crufts. Brock, a collie-cross Australian shepherd dog, came first in the 'Friends for Life' contest, in which the public votes for Britain's top canine hero.

Brock beat off stiff competition in the form of an assistance dog to a former army soldier, a police dog who saved his handler's life and a hearing dog who lived with a very young girl.

See Brock in action >

Trained to detect where a missing person was last located, through air scenting and trailing work, Brock was responsible for finding the body of government scientist Dr David Kelly and helped, in these tragic circumstances to provide closure for his family.

Brock has also helped to bring home many Alzheimer’s sufferers and others, who are despondent and go missing in the lowlands.

Lou Holmes, Brock's owner said: “Brock is my pet dog. He lives at home with me as one of the family and he loves his work.

"However, Brock is special because he is not only my friend for life but also a friend to all those who may be in need of him when their loved ones go missing.

"One particular search was for a lady affected with this whose carer had left her house door unlocked and she wandered out. Brock was able to track her from her house through the streets some hours after she had gone missing.

"Luckily she was found and brought home safely. Without Brock, the police would have been searching for hours possibly days until someone found her."

Brock is the only non-police dog to have ever received a Chief Constable's Commendation in the Thames Valley area.

Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs is a volunteer search dog group on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to assist the Police and other emergency services in locating lost or missing persons.
All team members have full time occupations and Berkshire SAR Dogs relies on donations to stay running.

Berkshire SAR Dogs have had more that 130 callouts since their formation in 2002 and were called out 43 times in 2008.

Find out more about search and rescue dogs >

Good links for Stockdog Nationals and trial dogs

The organizers of the National USBCHA (US Border Collie Handler's Association) have started a blog. The most recent post on the blog is called...

Conditioning for the National Finals, by Scott Glen

Here is the link. This blog is well-worth following!
http://2009nationalsheepdogfinals.blogspot.com/

There is a new blog on the Alta-Pete website too, that profiles the trial dogs - http://altapetestockdogs2.blogspot.com/

The first profile on February 1st features Maid, who is my Jet's mother. I remember coming to Alberta for a clinic with Scott in 2005. I parked near a grove of trees and thought Maid was tangled up where she was tied. Trying to be helpful, I went to untangle her, but she made it very clear to me that she was not tangled by sorting herself out before I reached her. She was just wrapping around one tree for a better view of Scott who was in the arena. I had a good laugh at how she was so clear to me about this. At the time I liked her - not knowing I would end up with a Maid pup!

Jet and Maid in Michigan 2007
Jet had just come from working and is not really paying attention to the camera; and Maid is listening to Scott whistle...oh well, we tried...



Ted and his father Pleat at the same Michigan clinic, 2007. This was the weekend I took Ted home.

Winter at home in Thunder Bay

Jet and Ted in the snow, Winter in Thunder Bay, 2007

After the snow we received here this week I realized how much I really miss the snow in Thunder Bay. There was lots of it, and it was that nice snowman kind of snow...these pictures were taken in November 2007... I don't want so seem like a "snow snob" but as they say, a picture is worth a 1000 words...

Is that my car?

Needless to say, aside from chores, there was no herding happening...

And here is my house in Summer, 2008...

The one good thing about winter was that there were no mosquitoes (that is what that little gazebo on the deck is for - to sit and enjoy the outside from inside the screens!)

A new method to predict tracking test outcomes

River in my back field in Thunder Bay, July 2008

Today is River's birthday! It's hard to believe she is 9 years old! River is my first Urban Tracking Dog and she is ready for her UTDX. Now that I have moved to Alberta, I am in unfamiliar territory and trying to figure out when and where to try for this title. She is probably tracking better than ever right now, and at that age when she is physically fit and also very wise.

I've written so much about River that I thought I would focus on this goal, on the event of her birthday. What does the coming year look like for River? I think that on my quest to write something different, I may have come up with a new formula for deciding when to enter tests, and what the outcome will be. I found it here:

http://www.cafeastrology.com/

Quite honestly, results in tests are so random that checking River's birthday horoscope seems like as good a way as any to plan the year. I must confess here that a good and trusted friend told me today that I am starting to look like the crazy blog lady lately - I believe it is directly related to the coming spring and wanting to get tracking! I promise that once I get training in earnest, and once the classes and seminars begin, this blog will look more like a training blog.

So here we go - River is a Pisces. We all know that Pisces are known for their dream-like qualities in that they are dreamers more than doers. But will this mean River doesn't buckle down? Here is what her horoscope says...

- "Your creative impulses are strong this year...favourable activities are dancing, swimming, photography and entertainment..."

I hope that does not mean 'being creative on track! I suppose one can't expect 'tracking' to make the list, but a little happy dance after we pass, and a photo with the judge sound really good...

- "Good overall emotional balance..."

Bonus! Sounds like a pass to me!

-"You are likely to be at the top of your game this year. Your self confidence and positive attitude will reward you..."

Even better news!!! I am really liking this method of predicting our test outcomes.

- "You will have a 'what will be will be' attitude..."

Nonononononononono

- "Your energy levels will vary, waxing and waning in a somewhat moody fashion..."

nononononononononoooooooooo...

- "You will enjoy a boost in your personal popularity..."

YES!

- "This is a year of preparation, chance, and refinement..."

That sounds about right - River is prepared, we will refine our teamwork, and of course, chance always plays a role in tracking tests!

- "Number 7 is your number for 2009."

Track 7??? A test on the 7th day? 7 days of practice a week? 7 cheeseburgers if you pass? I need help to understand this one... but will watch for that number!

And lastly,

- "...get in touch with your deepest needs and uncover your personal power..."

OK. I must convince River that one of her deepest needs is to pass, and then, hold my end of the team up!

I hope that you have found this unique new method enlightening and that it helps you to determine when to enter tests this year, and what outcomes you can anticipate.

Since I am also a Pisces, I think this might make us a good duo. I've always felt we share a special bond with similar personalities - quirky, emotional, love bones (oh, no, that is River).

Speaking of bones - here she is with her birthday bone (with sincere apologies to my friend for yet another photo of River with a toy or a bone...)

Here is River tonight with her birthday bone. Happy Birthday to my special girl.