River's NV turn yesterday - and a wee SchH rant

Here is the last third of River's track. YES, she may be from the dreaded show lines, but she doesn't know it. I love her, and she has a lot of heart and has always pulled through for me in tracking! She was never taught footstep tracking, and bears a lot of my training errors, and thus has been my greatest teacher.

Observe her on a LOOSE LINE finding the track...this is the last part of 650 meters and she is 11, she should be tired but she works through it. What more can you ask for?





How many SchH dogs can do this?

3 hours
Loads of contamination
Hard surface tracking
Hard surface turns (NV = Non-Veg)

And more importantly - how many are interested in doing it? None, really. There sport is on grass, it is about style, and it is about precision. It too, has it's beauty and has it's place.

I defer to Wallace Payne's comments when I attended his tracking seminar - he said (my paraphrasing) - People, SchH Tracking is a DANCE... if you want to try real tracking, try AKC or CKC tracking... Thank you Mr. Payne for your open mind, and for sharing this message.

I know the two sports are different. But I get very tired of how some (not all) SchH people look down on this style. I appreciate all styles and try to learn from everything. Yes, I know that I have learned a lot from SchH tracking that I have applied to my younger dogs - Jet and Caden. I know it will tighten up their tracking on hard surfaces.

But without understanding how scent works or appreciating other tracking styles, *some* SchH people will cringe when they see a dog work out transitions and keep their head up on hard surfaces. Others have an open mind and accept different stypes and goals, of course.

I spend a lot of time explaining SchH to my CKC friends - that it is motivational, that it is not hard on the dogs, that it is beautiful to watch, etc. So, I feel it's time for me to express this side of the coin!

It is a lack of understanding on their part - not a lack of ability on my dog's part. Though I have to yell, as she is getting a little deaf!

End of rant.