Caden Brings the Ball!

Tonight I got out my old portable jumps from my days of obedience with my Rough Collie Katie. I have not used them for Caden, and decided to have some fun with him. I played around with throwing his precious yellow ball over the jump a few times. The jump is set at his wither height of 24 inches. In SchH he will have to jump much, much higher! This is baby height! Caden is so athletic, he has no problems jumping. Next, I had him lie down with his ball, then walked to the other side and called him over the jump. After a couple of those - I tried putting it together.

Caden is such a keen worker - he figured out the game - this video is our 7th try! I sound excited, but seriously, he jumps, brings the ball back and sits! I swear he even did an OUT.



Here he is doing a recall over the jump. My grass is pathetic this year - but it has not stopped raining long enough for anything to dry or enjoy sun. The soil is damp and it is very depressing. Back to Caden - nice and straight and a good sit!


We had been using the chairs in the background to do a 'group' heeling exercise. He did OK but I need to practice this more. In this video, he does a straight recall. We had been working and playing hard for about 45 minutes by this time, so he is a bit tired. I must admit, I don't mind him that way!

Sorry my neighbour is mowing. Hmm... she has one old dog and more grass...




And when he was done, he pulled a Border Collie stunt, and ran to water! Jet and Ted lie in this little tub. Caden splashes around in it. I always keep fresh water there for the dogs. They just love it. Maybe the SchH people should have a tub like this handy for the dogs after they work! It is a great idea and cools the dogs down.

Two short, tight training tracks on hard surfaces

Nice rainy evening - might as well track! These are very different than the long tracks that are more like UTDX test tracks on the June 5 and June 12 posts.

River at the article.

Caden at his glove

It was spitting rain and the parking lots were wet, so I decided to lay two very different tracks this evening for Caden and River. Since Jet is pregnant, I am not working her so much - she went for a walk this morning and has been sleeping all day! So she stayed home tonight - it felt weird to leave her at home, I've got used to tracking with that little dog. It's funny how it has hit her so suddenly, all she is doing is sleeping.

Jet on the couch with her current favourite toy

For Caden, I did some 'berm hopping' as we called it back in Thunder Bay. He started on a boulevard, then went to the parking lot, turned, crossed another berm, and went out for another turn on the parking lot. So he had grass every third of the way to reconnect before striking out for another hard surface turn. I also picked up a few handfuls of grass to toss down for the first few steps on each transition from veg, over a curb onto the parking lot, which I think helps him - especially on the second transition which is much more confident.

He worked so hard and was so diligent - and did a great job. I asked for a platz at the glove. He is not article trained yet but I think it will be easy. I am really happy with his hard surface turns here. He is very nose down but I allow him to think a bit - without correcting - because he is such an honest dog - whenever he goes off the primary track it is to sort it out, not to goof off. His track is 30 minutes old. He lifts his head a lot, and in part I think it is the moisture in the air and perhaps I should have aged it more.

At the 2:30 minute mark you can really see him get into the groove and begin to track nicely on the parking lot. He finds all of his turns pretty quickly. He's not super-experienced on hard surfaces but he is very nose down with lots of drive. Good boy!



River's track started on veg but the rest was on a big parking lot. I laid parallel legs with concrete barriers in-between. If you want to see a UTDX - trained dog get pissed off, you will laugh at this video. When she steps onto the parking lot - it is obvious she knows the article is to the right. The blue line shows where she tried to go to the end. It sure shows WHY you should not have tight tracks and parallel legs in urban tracking. However, I like to practice different scenarios. River tries about 3 times to go to the right but then, finds the track and a treat and off she goes.

This is a training exercise with treats along the way - so I prevent her from cutting over to the wood article. She is a good girl and plays along. You can see her dip her nose and touch the hard surface - but she knows all along that she COULD just cut across to the end. It made me smile, but I was proud of how she worked with me. Technically, if she went straight to the article and cut out the entire track, she would be within the 40 meters allowed in the regulations. Something to be aware of when plotting! Yet (I am sorry to say) I HAVE seen tight legs like this from time to time over the years, in tests.

River's track is ONLY an hour old. It is very easy for her fine-tuned nose and in parts she is moving pretty quickly and doing her regular nose dips to check the scent. You will notice that her track does not flow as nicely as it does when I just give her a loose line and let her do her thing. Tonight I did prevent her from cutting over to the article - and it shows that she is fighting me a little. This would be unacceptable in a test, but training is not testing! I put enough treats for her to be rewarded for working with me and she did realize here was scent there.

At the 45 second mark you can see her look straight in the direction of the wood article with her ears up. It's so interesting because it is like a knee-jerk reaction. I love videotaping my dogs because I see this after, not always when I am handling and it helps me read my dogs better. At the 3 minute mark (after I am unstuck from the stupid concrete thing) she tries again to cut over but I won't let her go. These nice damp lots carry a lot of scent, and you can see she finds the track easily.

Private tracking lessons - one on one - field or urban - July long weekend

I am offering private tracking lessons over the July long weekend. If you are interested in getting together to work on field or urban, one on one, please contact me privately! I have lined up a field to work in but can also travel a little to meet you.

All levels offered. June 30 - July 4. We can figure out where to meet - and if a couple of people want to come together we will work it out.

Hopeful for a puppy...

For the first time in thirty-five years in dogs I am very very excited to take the plunge and breed a dog - and tell my friends that Jet is pregnant! Ted is the sire. It is an awesome pairing!!! The ultrasound today confirmed pregnancy. It will be a very small litter, but I am happy with one puppy! It is like a miracle puppy - I adore both of these dogs so much. Now I will pray for a healthy pup or two. I know that people have mixed feelings about saying anything too early, but I have a great need to share my joy with people. All positive thoughts and prayers are most welcomed. Thank you God!

Lakeview Ted X Alta-Pete Jet UTD
You can read about Ted and Jet in the sidebar menu to the left - just scroll down a bit.

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.

Beautiful pictures of River at Olds College gardens

After a great track yesterday morning (3 hours old, 650 meters, nice work), I took pics of River in the beautiful flowers at the Olds College gardens. It was overcast but the colours seem quite vivid. She is 11! My BFF.

This picture was taken on Thursday night at Red Deer College

Olds yesterday - she did an amazing nv turn - I videotaped it - she is amazing.

My crazy life - walking all four dogs after work

I try to give my dogs a full life, which is hard when I work full-time. That means THEY lead a full life, and I don't. Hmmmm.... I need to think about that....

We live two blocks from the railway in Penhold. Well, everyone in Penhold lives a few blocks from them, in truth, as it is such a small town. I love walking down the dirt road there. There is always farm machinery lined up along the tracks, like this big John Deere.

Here they are - Left to Right - Ted, River, Caden and Jet. The joys of my life.

Look! One hand!

I am always so proud of my dogs. Lots of cars slow down to look. I like to think it is to admire my gang. I hope it's not because they are saying 'there goes that crazy dog lady!'

I think is is cute how my dogs pair up - River and Ted (the old married couple) and Jet and Caden, the brats. You'd think they pair up by breed, but no. It's by personality.

I videotaped them. I know, I'm silly with my iPhone.



Kudos to River - she walks the full 2 km still. But she is snoring on the bed now. We all have to go River's pace. Sometimes, I sneak out for a run with Jet and Caden though. My bike is being tuned up and next week I will have it on the road, and that is how Jet and Ted will get their exercise. They love to run with the bike and are so well mannered. I may even try Caden with the bike this summer. I noticed on the walk tonight he was very good about ignoring other dogs!

The drama and intrigue of urban tracking - Jet's UTDX track lessons learned

LONG PREAMBLE.

This was an interesting track - this blog post is like a mini-clinic on urban plotting and I hope you enjoy it. I always learn when I track with my advanced dogs. An hour after running this track with Jet, I ran it with Teddy and have video. Stay tuned for another post in the next day or so of Ted nailing this track on the run! I find a lot of value in letting my inexperienced dogs do this, as my advanced dogs are usually very track faithful - just as Caden ran River's yesterday too.
I laid this track at 10:36 AM in the rain and ran it at 3:15 in the sun. I was aiming for a test-worthy UTDX track for practice. The age of a track is 3-5 hours and this pushed the upper limit. I drove the area twice scouting a track out in a new part of the college where I have not tracked before (last half of this track). WELL, read on to see what I think about the track I plotted and what I learned.

Here is the map - Jet's track is on the right (the blog post about River's track is below):

Driving an area is NOT the same as walking it, and walking it is not the same as 'knowing it.' For plotting and especially for tests, you really need to be on the ground. If people are familiar with an area - they begin to learn the tricky areas too. But, it never hurts to run training tracks as though you may get tricky things in a test - - hoping of course a track will not have these elements. Jet's next track will have to be motivational and fun!
Jet did very well and is teaching me plus showing me what she can do. I try very hard not to interfere - however, when you lay your own track you will not follow too far the wrong way. I do try to assess how my dogs find the scent, and let them recover - but I would NEVER let them wander off to 'fail' as I always want to teach, help and ensure success and a feeling of confidence.

The track

Jet's start - 4.5 hours old, laid at 10:36 in rain and run at 3:15 in sun

I aim for short grass starts because in urban, you often get tricky starts on boulevards

Jet finds the turn

Road cross to parking lot. Note - a video of her great NNV (non veg) "moment of truth" (MOT) - video below

Jet is getting very consistent in her NV style - she stops at the turn, thinks and assesses, makes up her mind - then goes. I love to watch this and simply stay out of her way:

Jet at first article - wood. In UTDX there has to be a long stretch of non-veg AFTER an article.

Jet restarts and is on her way to that open breezeway.

Jet wobbles off track as she enters the breezeway

This is a weird, large rock surface and a big fan blows in here. But she gets through just fine.

She emerges and oversteps her turn by a few steps only. The red arrow shows the crack I lined up with on the curb for my turn. Turn is on gravel.

She turns.

We head in a straight line aiming for a grass turn just off the sidewalk. Red arrow shows a rock depression that I expect will pool scent.

Jet heads down the sidewalk. This is 'not pretty' or ideal - a short stretch of sidewalk with odd transitions on either side. As you can see, I turn on veg ahead - I put green lines to show my option to get to that other boulevard - I did not like it. But if she had found the boulevard that way, it would be OK in a test.

As I suspect - Jet checks out the rocks. Scent can pool here. This is OK and I let her check it out.

She takes the turn. The red arrows show my landmarks - a mowed line in the grass, a crack to follow on the road, and the lightpost. In urban tracking there are so many great landmarks.

Jet goes uphill on the mowed grass. I guess scent must have flowed in here. Interesting. I just watch and learn a lot of the time.

She crosses, down a bit from my cross. Scent can be moved about by traffic and this is not unusual. See the previous post and picture of River crossing her road - same thing happens.

I have no photos of her on the bikepath as I videotaped it. But it was too long to put on YouTube this morning! She avoided the asphalt the entire way - checking it, but preferring the grass. Asphalt is supposed to be the hardest surface as it has a lot of scent of its own. Very interesting indeed. Metal article ahead.

Jet indicates metal with no hesitation! No food under it - just dropped. I was happy.

When I drove around planning this track it looked good from my car. BUT I did not like the section coming up. I expected it to cause problems because it had weird angles and transitions. It looks straightforward but watch what happens...

You can see my landmark here - that big tree. I walked on an angle, crossing the tip of that boulevard. Jet carved left and followed scent along the curb - clever girl. She found the opening between the two buildings too. This would have been a heart attack in a test, I think.

Here she goes towards a residence to the right of the track.

Now she crosses the track. An arrow shows a ledge under a building. This was a godsend as it held scent and she actually went under there. It pulled her to the track.

Here you can see that ledge and Jet's track in green. She reconnects with the track! I was probably the most thrilled with her at this point - even more thrilled than I was with her MOT turn.

Right on Jet! This dog just makes me look good.

Here she is on her way to the last parking lot. The depression in the veg causes a bobble.

Jet is tired. That last section around the residences was horribly hard on her. She has a slight hesitation to enter this parking lot and eats a bit of grass when she gets stuck. I have NEVER seen her do this. I encourage her (I am usually quiet). And she takes off again. A bit of WATER here would have been nice - but the rules say water only at articles. She worked pretty hard back there and it was very humid. Ahh well, I digress.

Jet finds her turn on the gravel lot. In hindsight, I would not plot this. If a dog makes it this far on a test - it deserves an easier end to the glove. Put the hard stuff up front when the dog is fresh... (that's me, the judge, talking). But in training it is good to push a little.

She is a bit up from the turn as I centered it.

And reconnects here. It looks like it should be smooth sailing now, right? Read on....

It's not over till it's over. Now, I see this dip that I had not paid attention to when I placed my article. If I was to replot this track, I would put the article closer to avoid this issue. Scent from the glove is flowing down into the depression. CRAP.

Oh, good, here she comes! I can see the article (I pretend I am in a test)... just need her to indicate it.

CRAP again! She circles back to the damn dip. I would be having a heart attack in a test. Well, not really, I begin to encourage her slightly. Where is it Jet? Find it... - tracking IS a team sport - you save the verbal cues for when you need to haul them out and make them important, like now...

GOOD GIRL!

PS - Here are some comments I got when I posted this to Facebook, fyi

The question: So green is sometimes harder?

My answer:

I think it was humid from the rain all morning - and that caused more scent to be hovering, plus the temperature changed so much from cold to hot over 4 hours. The glove was soaking wet and it's leather, so likely gave off a lot more scent which was circulating. Dogs that get used to urban have much more sensitive noses on veg.

 

Also,  the more you expose them to aging, the more sensitive they can be to these things... even though I aged this 4.5 hours - in that humidity, I could have aged it for a few more hours and it would have been ok. Age is not always 'time' but also 'conditions'