River's "So Close" UTDX Attempt!!

Judge JoAnne Mcleod with River, sitting with Pat, Barbara and Chase

A huge write-up on the Alberta Kennel Club's urban test has been sent to the CKC Tracking Chat group. Below is only the portion describing River's track. However, in synopsis, of 11 UTDs, there were only two passes all weekend. The two dogs were both Goldens owned by Barbara Loree. What a great weekend for her! Barbara wrote up the bulk of the information below for the chat list, and my editorial comments are added. I could not be more proud of River, who did the entire track in very hot weather and in a strange place - we have never tracked at the University of Calgary. We went one day, but ended up not tracking as it was too hot. I just followed her on a loose line like I always do. She was awesome and as always, I love her to pieces. The judge, JoAnne Mcleod, said at the luncheon that River demonstrated what an urban dog should look like, and she told me we were a joy to watch. These words mean a lot to me. I have cried a few times, but I am ok...and proud!

The pass rate for UTDX is around 10% so to come that close is very meaningful. We'll keep trying! She loves tracking and everyone encouraged me to keep it up with her after seeing her do this track, which also felt great.

Here is the write-up...it was written by Barbara Loree for the chat group, and I have added a few of my own comments:

UTDX May 16, 2010

Track #1 – German Shepherd (F) Lindau’s Uncharted Course TDX UTD JHD HCT – Donna Brinkworth
SO close… *This is Barbara’s write-up with my notes added. Thanks Barbara, great tracklaying! Even though we did not make the last turn, it was a very proud day for me and my 10year old girl.

This track started in a park-like setting in full sun on a warm day beside a main road. River didn’t’ commit right away to the track after investigating the scent pad area, she tracked right and left in a circle then committed after a few short minutes. (Donna says: whew). Once on track she tracked true on her first leg and made her first turn into a small pathway through some bushes. She actually turned one pathway past where the tracklayer had entered but she completely recovered by checking left coming out of her pathway and picked up her second leg heading over the road dead on track.

She was still exactly on track as she headed over a grass berm into a parking lot where a family of 3 bold bunnies where standing to greet her (me: damn bunnies – someone has to say this!).

After a few barks of frustration from River the bunnies left and she then tracked into the parking lot right and made a beautiful right hand MOT turn and tracked straight to her first article (wood). (Donna says: at this point, I watered her, and had a short tug o war when she playfully grabbed my tracking bag, yeesh! She was in a very funny mood, she is a quirky dog, however her jovial mood made me feel very good about things).

She restarted well and headed for a shade tree (which was just past the 3rd turn). She enjoyed the shade and casted right and left and investigated a parked van before committing to the track which went over a road onto a sidewalk and heading for a small building. Before making the next turn past the small building she cast and investigated behind the building to the right then recovered quickly and tracked beside the building. She made her right hand turn on grass passed the building exactly on track. (Donna says: when River came to a set of wood stairs going up to the door of this metal building, she sniffed underneath, then went up one or two and sniffed – and at this point I was pretty sure the track passed along the front of the building so went with her).

The team tracked over another road onto a sidewalk where River was immediately pulled right of the sidewalk to a plastic cup lid (not an article). (Donna says: I knew it wasn’t, but I had this giddy moment where I was going to pick it up and happily wave back to JoAnne, but didn’t…) River continued to pull right of the track and went by her 2nd article that was on grass on the left hand side of the sidewalk (Donna says: at this point, that plastic lid did not seem so funny anymore…).

Here is her map. The B means "bunnies." Orange shows where she was off track slightly but she always came back...but at the end she got too far and it was a busy road to cross...

She indicated loss of scent then ventured further left towards the parking lot but all the time she was circling back towards the track. She searched the road and headed back towards the grass coming closer and closer to the article they had missed when all of a sudden her head snapped left and she committed to back tracking into the scent of her 2nd article (plastic) (PHEW). (Donna says: PHEW. Also, when I waved back, how nice it was to see everyone’s beaming faces. This is one of my very best memories of the whole track…)

Once back on track she checked the right side of the sidewalk a few times and the roadway once then committed to the sidewalk and tracked a beautiful long leg in front of a building passing by the main entrance. The team was right on track staying on the sidewalk as they approached a main road when she immediately committed hard across the road passing the final turn. (which was a left turn on the sidewalk onto grass before that road) She casted right and left on the other side of the road and unfortunately committed going right and heard the whistle. Once they were put back on track on the sidewalk, she easily made the turn and tracked the final 50 m of grass to her final leather article. SO CLOSE!

Donna says: SHUCK! (sorry, this is an in-joke from the test)

I’ll add here, that I am so proud of my girl too. I have had a few little cries, but want to share something here. Today I went back to work. I told one co-worker about my track and drew the fateful “missed turn” to explain it. He is a VERY experienced SAR person and understands this. He congratulated me for simply trusting my dog, and that is how I tracked the entire way, just following River.

But then, another co-worker came by to ask about my weekend. Again, I waxed on about the test. When I was done, I said “how was your weekend?” She told me her mother was in intensive care and they were worried they were going to lose her. When she left my office, I threw away my little sketch of that last turn. She is a friend so I know she didn’t mind hearing me out.

However, this is a good reminder to me about how lucky we are to enjoy such a wonderful activity with our dogs and our friends, pass or no pass. I hope that every person in the test appreciates the wonderful dog they went home with, and keeps on training to enjoy the company of friends and stillness of nature on lovely summer mornings.

And that is what tracking is all about! Good luck to everyone else this year.

Donna Brinkworth with great notes from Barb Loree, proud owner of two new UTD dogs!

Pat S and Barb L and their dogs TCH Hanna (Weim) and Likah UTD (Golden) on day one with JoAnne...

A very proud Chase UTD decided to bring me his leather after passing his UTD on day two. I love this photo!!!

A Tale of Two Urban Tracks

I have been having a lot of interesting adventures (and misadventures) with Jet in the past month. We've had bunnies, crows and mice, missing articles, evil non-articles near our tracks, snow, rain and sun! In this post, we have some good sessions with interesting results. So I call this post a tale of two urban tracks!

After years of tracking with River, going out with Jet is like starting from scratch. Her behaviours are different, AND I am training her differently than I trained River.  We are at the stage where I am starting to be neutral and encourage her to problem solve. I am allowing more freedom so she can take over from me, as I fade out of the picture. I am happy with her work but a few things have cropped up, of course!

One thing is that I have to learn to read a new dog and three things stand out.

• First of all, I need a lighter touch on the line than I have with a German Shepherd due to her size.
• Secondly, Jet likes to go slightly off track, face the wrong direction and think or take stock of the scent. When you watch the slideshows below, you will see it (and the video). A week ago at a track in Olds, she was standing there, and I was waiting, when we heard this loud HONK HONK! A car was coming along and I am sure the driver thought there was something wrong with me!! It did not phase Jet at all, of course.
• Thirdly, her little legs move SO FAST! I can't register what she is doing sometimes. River moves a lot more slowly and she is a bigger dog to observe - so everything is more obvious. So, this has been fun and challenging for me, as always...I learn with every dog!  

Our two latest tracks are below, in video and slideshow formats. The Google Earth maps are also below.

Track One - "The Do-Over" Track
Sunday May 9 morning
Weather - light rain in morning, warming up, no wind
370 meters
Just over one hour old

A couple of weeks ago, I was not happy with my article placement in one parking lot. After receiving advice (public on the CKC chat list and private from friends), I went back on Sunday and put a turn in the same place but went beyond the parking lines and put the article in a better spot. I videotaped this turn. I also had an issue in a previous track with both a NON-article (someone's sock just past my corner). On this track, there is another sock - what is with these college students and their socks??? I am so happy to report that Jet sniffs and ignores it. This is a huge win for us!

Track One Map

Track One Slideshow (missing sections are on video below)

Track One Video




Track Two - The "Interesting Scent Puzzle" Track
May 10 evening
Weather - sunny and warm, no wind, dry
340 meters
Exactly one hour old

Because I felt Jet was hesitating a little on this track and needed a good successful one - I did another track on Monday night. I loaded the first part of this leg with bait and used water on the turn. As the track progressed, I used less bait and other clues. I threw in a second non-veg turn at the end with no bait. By then she was on...but she did arch wide in her search for the article. In part she went to see a paper cup, but...

...I also followed the advice noted in track one, above. On the first nv leg and turn I was avoiding the yellow lines and making the turn away from the lines. She is dead on here. The article is way too close to the next turn (you should NOT find this kind of set-up in a test) but she does it beautifully, along with the next turn to veg.

For the second non-veg legs and turn, I did my usual thing and walked out along the edge of the lines. This more closely approximates what you would find in a test. There are a lot of variables at play here, but the difference in how she handles the non-veg is interesting. She chooses to make the transition a bit to the right rather than between the two cars, lining her up with a curb that she has to go over - not the best entry. Then, does she go off on that leg because of the cup, or does she go to the cup because of how the scent is behaving? I stay on track (at the edge of the lines) so you can see where she is relative to it. She is very sure of the location of the article though! A happy ending.

Track Two Map

Track Two Slideshow (missing sections are in video, below)

Track Two Video

Part One

Part Two

Part Three (to end)


I love working with my little Jet. She is ungodly smart, tough, and loves a job. Over time I look forward to having the same teamwork and comfort with Jet that I have with River.

Video of River's 23 hour old track

River does a body snap to find this metal article in part 3. I know it is not what you would find on a track (hopefully) -- metal on non-veg, between curbs, and by a light. But sometimes I do weird things in training, so I am prepared for everything in testing! She blew my mind when she did a body snap for it. I think it may be my favourite moment of the track (aside from the beginning, oh and the end).

The entire description of this track is in the post below (May 9). It was 900 meters and 23 hours old! I laid it on Saturday morning, and ran it on Sunday morning. The light rain freshened the track, and only one article was missing. I was shocked that a lot of my dried liver was still in place too. Clearly the critters at this college are not tuned into tracking yet!  So without any further comments, here are the videos (missing one small chunk, sadly due to my error) and the parts of the map to go with each. There are some new buildings at the college, so you will see the map is not always completely accurate, particularly in part 2 where her article blows up to a building that is NOT there on the map!!

Full map

Map of part one - start and first turn... (move that flag and start around the corner, oops)...when she made that first turn, I knew she was on. She goes offtrack for some personal business and I rush to turn of the film (!). Listen, I exercise my dog. She just seems to get her system going once she tracks. It is interesting, it looks like the scent rolled off the berm into the curb in one part.

Video part one



Map of part two (I missed a big section because I got muddled up...) ...in this part there is a duck on the track, and also - she finds an article that blew or was tossed off track! I am looking ahead while I film, so was so surprised! I thought I saw it ahead, but it was a straw in the grass, lol.

Video part two



Map of part three - the parking lot and metal article - but it starts with her marking duck poop (argh)...I guess seeing that duck earlier had her dander up! (Oh nice, and the thumbnail for the video is of River and the duck poop, yeesh! Can I change that?)

Video part three

Map of part four - not much going on here - wind our way through the residence area. I don't let her go into a children's play area. Pretty straightforward. She looks under a footbridge that I am sure attracted scent.

Video part four



Map of part five - there was a missing article after another non-veg turn. It was the only missing article! But she finds a piece of food. You may recognize those windows from a few weeks ago - when Jet found mice running up the walls in this exact spot. River checks out a chain link fence that can trap and hold scent, then goes up some stairs (another nice body snap) and as she gets to the last article, you can hear me getting choked up. She is my 'tracking champion' - in my heart!

Video part five


My special girl!

River's 23-hour old Mother's Day Track!

After a hard day yesterday, today was a great day tracking! Yesterday, I laid a track for River at 11:30 AM. I planned to run it around 6 PM. But my friend John Krayzel called and I ended up going to Edmonton with him - as he picked up his beautiful new Macaw named Molly...

Sidebar...here she is today, enjoying her new life in Calgary...and that's John's hand (that's all you get to see, because this is a DOG blog)...but now I am thinking of getting a parrot too! John has two GSDs that do SchH, so he might be able to handle a big bird like this, we'll see...

Back to tracking - so when he called, I worried about the track, and John said "why not leave it overnight and do a super-track in the morning?" So, thanks to John, I did exactly that! I am so happy I did because this morning I watched my 10-year old girl successfully do a 23-hour old track.  I cried at the end! It was a very wonderful Mother's Day Present to me from my girl River.

In this photo, she found her article which had blown up to the building and was 15 feet off track.

As always, I use a loose line and let her choose the pace and direction. Only one article was missing. The tracking gods gave me a light rain in the morning to freshen the scent. I am uploading video but won't post it all (it was 25 minutes). Sadly, I thought I was recording the first article and some interesting footage through an open air warehouse area - but actually stopped recording the whole time. But I got the rest on video and will treasure it for years to come.

Below is the map, and I will post the video in a new post later this week.

I am so proud of my River! Here she is at the last article, nearly 24 hours after the track was laid.

Other News

****I am also very excited to report that Kim Cooper's GSD "Chaos" earned a TDX in Ontario today, to finish her TRACKING CHAMPIONSHIP!*** I read Kim's message on Facebook while I was out with River, and this added to the happiness of the day! Congratulations to Kim! Her Belgian also earned a TDX today, so it was a double-header. I had this honour with my dogs Hawk (GSD) and Kate (Rough Collie) in 1994. I will never forget that day - earning two TDXs in one day is not a common feat!

Tracking Day - my vision vs. reality

Jet poses with her wooden article at the end of her track today.

It happens sometimes...things are going along just great, and one day you do everything the same and nothing goes right! That is how I felt today.

I had a vision of how my day would go and here is how it went: Lay a track for Jet with a simple open turn, and follow with my video camera to capture the elegant manner in which she flawlessly gets to the end. Then, lay a U track for Caden and work on his technique. Use less food and make sure he buckles down. Communicate my wishes to him through telepathy, which he picks up because he loves me so much. We work as a team and he also does a flawless track. I am so proud and happy! THE END.

Well, that was the fairytale!

In real life - Jet got sidetracked by a sock way off the second corner that was not mine. She pulled very hard to get to it, and indicated it. I told her NO, get up, let's go. The wind was blowing that way, and now I wonder if it picked up my scent. Maybe next time, I will just tuck it into my bag rather than say NO. CRAP. BAD DONNA. When I said no, it really shook her up. So when she next came to the plastic article, she did not indicate that. Then, my cloth article was missing - and she circled around the area but it apparently blew away -as the wind had picked up.

After that, she went out and did a very nice hard surface turn, even though the wind pushed her past the actual turn and she did some detectice work on the far side of the parking lot area to get to the article - without my interference at least! Initially you can see how she stands and looks away from the track. She does this all the time, when she thinks. She never faces the track, then she whirls around. It is strange but consistent.



However, you might see that she looks stressed at the glove. I put an insurance article beyond the parking lot on the grass, just in case the glove went missing, as it was out in the open. She easily found this and did seem a bit happier there. I just let her relax at it. I sat on the ground and fed her, and patted her. This was not an ideal performance, but we did muddle through it. One of those days!

And, got a grass stain on my new jeans when I did it. ACK! Why did I wear them tracking? I should know better. A college professor was going by (I assume a prof by his age) and he offered to take a picture of me with Jet. That turned out kind of cute at least, not that I want to remember this practice session, particularly.

Because of the wind (I assume) Caden too, pulled so hard to pass his corner that my fingers turned purple. He is so strong! He did a great job up to there. Then I put him back on track (well, I made him find it and he did) and he did a nice job until 10 feet from his jackpot and nearly pulled me onto my face. I am afraid I can't share the video because I kept recording while I nearly fell and had lost feeling in my hand - maybe I could dub in some music so you can't HEAR me in all my frustration begging him to slow down and muttering under my breath (I admit it, I hold nothing back!)

I laid a LONG track for River that I was going to do tonight - but I had a surprise invitation for a drive and dinner from my friend John.  THAT sounded much nicer than more tracking today. I guess that makes him the Knight in Shining Armour in the fairytale!

These days happen. But a day tracking is still better than a day in the office (as the saying goes)...Tomorrow I will do another track with Jet and hope it goes much better! I plan to re-lay my track from last weekend with a few tweaks. I wanted to do that today, but there were too many cars in that lot for some reason.

Don't people know I am trying to track? Yeesh! Grrrr...

Clearly Caden HAS learned that if he runs back to the car he gets a treat there - seriously this is an important part of my training routine. I love Caden's drive to work and he loves to track. I know we will get it together for the SchH style we are trying to perfect.

I know we will, I know we will, I know we will...

TOMORROW, I will run River on her track. I laid it at 11:30 AM so it will be nearly 20 hours old but I know the morning moisture will freshen it up. I can hardly wait! See - the tracking addict clings to the vision of the next track! Yet, I do love to track with River. She is an old partner and we work well together. These young guys - Caden and Jet - they are testing my ability and sometimes my patience, and making me dig deep to remember I love to track! Tomorrow, Jet and Caden will get a nice baited track each too.

River's Urban Track and GREAT NV turn!

River did a really nice job on her track at Olds College. She is so much more experienced than Jet. This was a 600 meter track with 8 turns (one was open angle) and three articles - plastic, metal and leather. In this post there is a Google Map, a marked slideshow, and a video.

I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I LOVED following River. For 10 years old she did a great job!

This Google Earth image did not show the new parking lot and road, which I roughed in with white lines in the image above.

When I laid it I was a bit worried about the construction going on at about the midway point. I had not planned a wonky turn on gravel, but there was nowhere to go when I laid it. River not only aced it, but turned and gave me a look as if to say "are you keeping up?" At that point I was so excited. I love tracking, because I never know what will happen.

I used a technique you will see on the Birch Bark Hill blog, where Susan uses coloured lines to show you what is going on. The blue line in these pictures is the track, and the orange lines show you River's little deviations. Each one is explainable - going to check a doorway, a manhole, and going around a box (in that picture, I put a purple arrow showing you how I had to fling my line over it so it would not get caught!).

I videotaped the end, so you can watch a slideshow of the track, then the video of the last part. I believe you scroll over this with your cursor, and then click on the little coloured circle or the title (which is a link) and open a bigger version of this to watch.



And here is the video of the hard-surface portion of her track. She was so "on" that I just ran behind trying to catch it on video. As you notice, her head is up for most of it. Somehow conditions were right for her to be dead-on right to the last article. I love my girl! I love following her!

Let go and let dog... lessons in non-attachment

The 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace is a book written by my guru Dr. Wayne Dyer. I first bought this book a few years ago, and just bought my fifth copy, because I keep giving it away to people. It is a delightful little book with pastel graphics to illustrate his 10 Secrets. He originally wrote the ten secrets as a speech for his daughter's graduating class, then decided to publish them for everyone.

I just bought a 50-Card Deck with the ten secrets printed on each card. There are five points to be made for each secret. I have decided to read one card a day as something to meditate on, for both life and specifically as it relates to my dog training.

Today's card is from the first secret which is:

HAVE A MIND THAT IS OPEN TO EVERYTHING AND ATTACHED TO NOTHING.
Open your mind to all possibilities...

I like this one because it is how I try to train my dogs. For many years I have tried to keep an open mind about the many methods out there for teaching tracking, then use whatever tool works for a specific dog - whether it is my dog, or a dog in a class or clinic. 

In dog training, people often get attached to one method, even to one breed. This can cause strife between people whose attachments raise barriers and create conflict. In the big world, attachments to ideas, beliefs, complaints, history and attitudes can cause the same kind of disharmony.

I am trying to understand the Buddhist idea of non-attachment. Another of my favourite teachers is the Zen Master and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He writes: Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints.

This is hard to understand and probably even harder to put into practice. Non-attachment doesn't mean detachment. It does mean you free yourself from the affects of harmful emotions that result from being attached to anything too strongly. It also means you are able to "let it go" and not hold grudges or resentments. When you are not attached, you are able to remain inwardly peaceful no matter what is going on or what is being said around you. If you've spent any time at any competitive event (dog events included), you know that this would be a good thing to master!

Here is a quote from me! I like to say "LET GO AND LET DOG..." to people when I describe tracking. One of the reasons I find tracking such a rewarding hobby is that it teaches us to let go in a very practical way - if we could not let go of our desire to control our dogs, guide them, and make the decisions - we would never trust our dogs to take us on the right path, or track!

This is "letting go" of your attachment to the outcome. When we try to calm our nerves in a tracking test, it would be good to remember non-attachment. By letting go of the outcome through non-attachment - we also stop desiring so strongly that it clouds our thinking...for example - I want to get River's UTDX very badly and have a TCH dog. But this desire could make me so nervous that I am strongly attached to passing and this will affect both my handling and my nerves in a test. It might even affect my training, and take the joy and fun out of it.

As I try to understand non-attachment - I think in this case I must focus on each present moment with River. She is 10 and I have to remember to be in the moment with her, appreciating the opportunity to follow her on a track.

And yet - I will remain open to all possibilities, including the possibility that we will pass at a test. I am open to everything, and attached to nothing.

Whew. This is tough stuff. This is only card one of 50 and my brain hurts!

Another weather report...(or, that was a short spring and summer!)

Seriously, it is a good thing Alberta is getting any kind of moisture, but I am dying with a headcold now, and really could use some warm sun...here is Caden this morning taken with my Blackberry. He is not impressed to do a sit stay out there. The wind is howling! No tracking tonight!

I think his eyes are squeezed shut! Gee Caden, I feel the same way!

Urban Tracking with my Girls this weekend...(long)...

Here I am with Jet this afternoon at the end of her urban track (described below)

I tracked all weekend! Last night I did two tracks, one each for River (UTDX level) and Jet (UTD level). Below are some photos and the Google Maps for those tracks with their paths marked in dotted pink/orange lines. My friend Pam followed along to be "the judge" as they need to be accustomed to being followed on a track. There are also videos of Jet's track. To see it in a bigger window, choose the YouTube option in the lower righthand corner. Hopefully with my commentary and maps you can piece together the chronology of the track. As always, I learned a few things about plotting and article placement by observing my what my dogs told me along the way.

Jet's track last night

As you can see above, Jet had some confusion at her hard surface turn. It was interesting - she only went about 15 feet (3 m) past it and froze. This is her little bugaboo - she is not casting a lot, but likes to stand and take stock. This parking lot was narrow and I made a BAD turn, I think. My turn was up onto a concrete sidewalk lined on either side by cedars. It was narrower here, and the lot widened again after the sidewalk. I thought it would funnel the scent, but instead, she passed the turn and could not get back and had no clue. The cedar may have been overwhelming for her - including cedar mulch.

I want her to learn to work out problems and she needs more work in this area. So I stood neutrally and encouraged her. When I encouraged her - she decided maybe she would lie down as if indicating an article. I was able to verbally get her up and working again but that was a NEW one on me! Interesting how her response to stress is also one of her strongest behaviours when she is working well. She finally was very tentative and once she got onto the sidewalk, it went well to the end. So TODAY, I laid her a track well out in the open with no funky trees or tight areas.

One never knows how scent flows in urban areas. This was a new area to me too. Having seen her do this once, I would reconsider plotting a track that way. If I did it again, I would watch to see if it is indeed a scent trap. One thing about getting to know an area is getting to know the weird spots. This can also be very helpful when a judge comes to town and doesn't know some of the funny scent flows that are consistent. It can help when a chief tracklayer is able to point out these things - even though of course, the dogs must be prepared for everything (but we want them to pass!)

River's track last night

I laid River a really funky track (above) that was NOT regulation but covered so many transitions and surfaces it was simply fun for her and me. I put purple numbers that correspond with the pictures below - taken with my Blackberry. Due to light - we were not able to age it for 3 hours, it was only just over 2 hours old so was fairly easy for her. She was a bit challeged by one footbridge, but finally got past it (and the scent underneath - "yes Susan, she did that too" ) - and moved on.

Photo #1 footbridge - the track went onto the lawn past that snowbank, but she went up and down and looked under the bridge before moving forward. There was a metal article on the lawn.

Photo #2 - brick. She had already done gravel, asphalt, footbridge and lawn...

Photo #3 - I saw this little opening and went for it! River was sucked right through with no hesitation. There was a plastic article just past where I caught this photo.

Photo #4 - emerging onto the gravel parking lot.

Photo #5 - taking the left turn and working her way along. She investigated scent at the curbs but her article (a sock) pulled her back over to the track. 

Photo #6 - Sock - This was near the end, and she had been tracking so well, that when I caught up with her, I suddenly got all choked up. She was really ON and enjoying herself but at that article, she looked so old and tired. I wished it was the end, but she was game and kept going.

Photo #7 - She found her last turn and the last glove. Then, despite looking old, she wanted to run for the car for her last big treat - and found a burst of energy! This will be her last year of tracking. She is showing her age, and every time I track with her I feel like I will cry. She has been my partner in tracking and in life and I love her so much. She has been a GREAT TEACHER.

Jet's track today

Today, Jet did a track at Red Deer College. Right before her track, I was exercising her and she scared up a hare and when it took off at a dead run she was hot in pursuit. Scary! It ran into a parking lot. I used my herding commands to stop her (see the post below for a photo). Here is her map. Her path is marked in pink/orange...

Part One - So here she goes. I was very frustrated with her harness today, it keeps spinning to one side or the other. I have to fix this fast! You can see it was causing problems. Poor Jet. Last night I accidentally put Ted's harness on her, which was too big. Dogs are so forgiving!



In part one above, she is a bit off but close (you can see my footprints) and gets sucked to the right, in part I think by traffic pulling and pushing scent. I love this though, because she comes back and takes the turn exactly where I walked. She always stops and stands, then makes a decision and goes. I gush on the video over this!

Part Two - In part two, I threw in a turn on a hill to give her a little problem to solve and she handled it well. This was the area where the bunny ran from, even though Jet and I had not wandered this far. She does a little sniffing around a tree, but gets out of it nicely. You can see her look in the track direction before checking the base of the hill. Maybe I could have said 'good girl' here like a "click." I will try that next time, and less line.



What I find interesting when I watch this, is how she stands off the track and looks in the direction of the parking lot. The track over there does not look so far away. What if she took off and hooked onto it? She plays the game and sticks to the track but it is an interesting moment for me, after I watch this video again!

She had another problem to solve today which you will see in part two. I deliberately laid a track in an area where I know River always gets sucked right up to the building windows. There is weird brick under the grass and it is in between two berms. If you look at the map again (above) you can see where she went. This was not an easy thing and in a test, I think I may easily have failed here. The turn I made at the joining of sidewalks was NOT an easy turn. But as you can see with some verbal questioning, she checks it out and sorts it out, with a lot more confidence than she had last night on her turn.

As I watch this again, I think with a judge's brain, and if Jet had gone beyond those pillars, that would have been the end of it as recovery would have been pretty tough. I was letting her work it out but would not have let her go past them. She finds something to eat (?) and when I tell her to get out, she comes back my way. I am not sure I would get away with such a reprimand, but safety has to come first. She gets over the berm and finds her article, yay!

Thankfully (hopefully) you would NOT see a turn like this in a test, at a convergence of sidewalks. I had a similar turn once, left off the grass beside a sidewalk onto grass - in a test. Ahead was a road and asphalt pathway to a parking lot where the glove was waiting. To the right was more grass. I followed River straight. She did something very similar to what Jet does in this video - lifted her head and I am sure, got wind of that article. Scary moment! I failed that test, but learned something very valuable. SO - it pays to be prepared for anything, and that is how I train.

Part Three - I wanted to see Jet solve a few problems, and work her through it. I put in another little hill (berm) with a turn to the parking lot. Hills are notoriously hard as scent flows down in all directions. Jet was way more ON today and after solving that problem between the berms, flew along the hill and I had to speed up.



Jet cut the corner as you can see in the video above - and flew down the hill to find my entry to the parking lot. She nearly nailed the turn, then suddenly ran to the boulevard for a pee. This was upsetting, but she went offtrack to do it, then came back. However, it made her miss the article by being a bit off.

Now that I look at this, I am not happy with the article placement. In the photo BELOW you can see that it is at the end of this little concrete walkway that curves to the road and I can see now how she could pass it and think it is ahead if the scent is pushed that way. I had to verbally encourage her to it - which I would do in a test too, being her team member. She did find it with my help. Of course - I would be an idiot to let her keep going! Some better line handling here would be a good thing too (mental note to self)...

ADDENDUM TO THIS POST (MAY 3): I asked about the article placement on the CKC Tracking Discussion list, and got some excellent feedback from Darlene Barnard (she and husband John provided the seminar to grandfather in many CKC judges for urban judging, and are highly regarded judges and instrumental in VST development). Darlene notes that I turned too soon, hopping from one yellow line to another - BAD! Move my turn out away from the lines, and put that glove well before or well after that oval berm thing. NEVER put an article next to something a dog can pass by and be right. Also, yellow glove, yellow paint - BAD! Dogs are colour-blind, but give a handler a chance, LOL. Thanks Darlene for that feedback! I love it.

I had a plain McDonald's cheeseburger ready for her at the end!

I took Jet out alone and we had a girls day out. Afterwards, we played...she is all business when she tracks, but loves to play afterwards...look at her crazy face!

I call her my Schutzhund Border Collie...

Here is some goofy video of us playing. You can enjoy my purple toenails in this if you watch closely. Trackers must be colour-coordinated! Purple jacket, purple nails!


...and then she had the traditional treat in the car... *the rest of the hamburger* - this is important because they need to know that even in a test, there is a reward coming (no food or toys in tests!)

...and then we shopped. Well, Jet waited in the car. She was a bigshot riding on the front seat. When we finished tracking, the wind had really picked up and then there was a torrential downpour. When I came back to the car from the store, she was out like a light - tracking sucks it out of them.

Jet really liked the idea of coming out without the other dogs. I enjoyed her company. Sometimes just having one dog alone changes the dymanics and can be very positive.

After River retires, Jet will move in as my main tracking dog for CKC. She is so bright and confident. She works differently from River. But River will have to ride shotgun of course, coming for car rides.
I love my girls! Stay tuned for more on River's track this evening at Olds College.

PS I learned this afternoon that River's littermate Dante died last night suddenly from bloat. This is such heart breaking news and my heart goes out to Sigrid. I am so sorry Sigrid. Dante just earned his UTD last fall and was also doing a great job in tracking and was a very handsome big sable boy. He was a champion, herding dog, tracking dog and junior handling dog. I remember when River and Dante were puppies. It is hard to accept when they age and we lose our friends.

When herding and tracking collide - Jet's "Bunny" Track...coming soon...

Jet's herding command "LIE DOWN" came in handy today when we scared up a rabbit that flew off right under her nose. She took off in hot pursuit but obeyed me with a down, and came back when I said "that'll do, here." Another tool in the toolbox for urban tracking!

Of course, it helps to say LIE DOON and sound as much like Scott Glen as possible in these situations!

I caught the photo with my Blackberry!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story...coming soon!

Awesome post for beginners - CKC TD track - check it out

http://birchbarkhill.blogspot.com/2010/05/step-by-step-td-track.html
What a great post for beginning CKC trackers, by Susan Coutts!

Early Morning Tracking with Dan Waters

This morning I met my friend Dan bright and early to track. He started with a little puppy track for 10-week old Cilla, Ali's puppy. You can click on Ali's name to learn more about her, and on Cilla's name for her pedigree. Like everything else she does so far (she has only been on this Earth for 10 weeks!) Cilla is gung ho with lots of drive for tracking! I took all of the pictures below with my Blackberry, I can't believe I forgot my camera! I loved watching Dan with Cilla. When I get my NEXT pup, I will start this way. I had not learned this method when Caden was a pup, and I love it. As I always say, I never stop learning! Below little Cilla is tracking each footstep for kibble...

GOOD PUPPY!

As you can see, she is already very focused on Dan.

I did two tracks with Caden while Dan made some helpful observations and suggestions about my handling and tracklaying. Caden was so excited (as usual - when isn't he). It takes awhile for him to calm down. I was using lots of dried liver but he ended up not having a lot of the RHYTHM that they like to see in a SchH tracking dog. He stopped and started, and twisted if he missed a piece. Then, he rushed to the next one, or to the jackpot.

 

Dan asked if he could lay a track for Caden and handle him, as I would not know where it went (and I don't want to botch it up at this stage). While I laid my second track, Dan laid one next to it. Dan's track had almost NO food on it - only kibble after the turns. It was very short, and I was able to watch Dan and get a better look at Caden this way. By the third leg, he was doing his best. After this track, Dan suggested way less food. It is very obvious that Caden can track and he needs more focus and a bit more correction when he loses focus. Now that we know he can do this - it is time to buckle down with him and raise the bar. Below you can see Dan with Caden.

At the end of the track, we platzed Caden to talk, and it was nice to see Caden so calm and satisfied. He truly does love to work and is quite an honest dog, who doesn't manipulate. He always does his best! I do have to be quite clear with him, as he will take instructions well and is a good, fast learner. As with all dog training, I am the slower student! It was great to get out with Dan so someone could observe how we are coming along and give me some great feedback!

Happy Boy...

Dan also tracked Bronson...

 And of course, Ali, Cilla's mom. Cilla looks a lot like Ali.

Dan's dogs are the best tracking dogs I have EVER seen, in all my years of tracking. I love going out with him and I learn so much. Thanks Dan!

In a few hours, I am heading out to do some urban work with River, Jet and Ted.