Gretzky has been doing quite well lately after his motivational tracks. He does get distracted, so I had planned to put more tracks under his harness before I tried to certify him. But a local test, Chuckanut Dog Training Association, had not yet filled and it closes in few days, so I arranged for a certification try with a local judge Jan Wesen who just happens to be the club's president.
Overnight it had gotten down in the teens and the ground was still frozen when we started the track at 9:30. The field puddles that I was concerned about had frozen over, so he would not have to wade through deep puddles. But then, we had only tracked on frozen ground once in his short career.
Gretzky started nicely for the first five feet and then found a clump to lift his leg which allowed him to notice the troll in the field behind us (all Westies think other people in the field are trolls). He followed the first leg with frequent detours to check out old scent or pee marks, watched Jan, but kept going back to work on the first leg. Near the end of the first leg, we crunched over the ice which was a new experience for him. He circled at the corner rather than go back and forth, spent time watching Jan, but after re-scenting him, he went out a leg to the left that tried to split the distance between two puddles. He was confident and I followed.
Partway down the second leg, he noticed Jan again and really fixated on her for quite a while but went back to the leg. He went forward and when he broke off, it turns out I was on the corner and he was 20' beyond. Again he fixated on Jan, but kept circling although not very deep to the right. I knew it could keep going straight or go right but not left. Finally, I reeled him in and re-scented him. He went right out to the right and showed confidence as I let the line slip through my hands. He was looking so confident it was pretty to watch. We had only gone 40-ish yards went he did an open bend to the right - has he found some contamination and switched tracks? No, Jan had bent the track to avoid another puddle ahead. He kept his tracking posture so I followed him. Another bend and more following.
Gretzky handled the third corner within a few seconds and was off running so I tried to keep up. A fourth corner was open and he again handled it in just a few seconds of reaching it. He was increasing speed and I was having trouble keeping up so our light-comfortable-tension increased significantly. He approached the glove, stopped several seconds, and was ready to follow the tracklayer out of the field when I caught up with him and started his foodless but fun party. Yippee! He really did a great job dealing with the frozen ground and the pesky distracting troll who followed us. At the end, he got to run up and greet her which was great fun.
Overnight it had gotten down in the teens and the ground was still frozen when we started the track at 9:30. The field puddles that I was concerned about had frozen over, so he would not have to wade through deep puddles. But then, we had only tracked on frozen ground once in his short career.
Gretzky started nicely for the first five feet and then found a clump to lift his leg which allowed him to notice the troll in the field behind us (all Westies think other people in the field are trolls). He followed the first leg with frequent detours to check out old scent or pee marks, watched Jan, but kept going back to work on the first leg. Near the end of the first leg, we crunched over the ice which was a new experience for him. He circled at the corner rather than go back and forth, spent time watching Jan, but after re-scenting him, he went out a leg to the left that tried to split the distance between two puddles. He was confident and I followed.
Partway down the second leg, he noticed Jan again and really fixated on her for quite a while but went back to the leg. He went forward and when he broke off, it turns out I was on the corner and he was 20' beyond. Again he fixated on Jan, but kept circling although not very deep to the right. I knew it could keep going straight or go right but not left. Finally, I reeled him in and re-scented him. He went right out to the right and showed confidence as I let the line slip through my hands. He was looking so confident it was pretty to watch. We had only gone 40-ish yards went he did an open bend to the right - has he found some contamination and switched tracks? No, Jan had bent the track to avoid another puddle ahead. He kept his tracking posture so I followed him. Another bend and more following.
Gretzky handled the third corner within a few seconds and was off running so I tried to keep up. A fourth corner was open and he again handled it in just a few seconds of reaching it. He was increasing speed and I was having trouble keeping up so our light-comfortable-tension increased significantly. He approached the glove, stopped several seconds, and was ready to follow the tracklayer out of the field when I caught up with him and started his foodless but fun party. Yippee! He really did a great job dealing with the frozen ground and the pesky distracting troll who followed us. At the end, he got to run up and greet her which was great fun.
7_14 Two U's at 50 & 65 minutes
Given Gretzky is now certified and I am entering him in a TD test just 13 days from now, there are several things I want to work on for the remainder of this week. Next week will be a very light week so he is fresh and eager for his test track. But this week I can still try to build some needed skills such as age, and familiarity with the test field terrain and typical distractions. Today will be age.
Of course, in the cold wet weather we have having in February around here, tracks will not be aging as fast as they would in warmer-dryer conditions, but the test is nearby in space and time so it should work for his current training. So I plotted two U-shaped tracks and laid them in one order and ran them in the opposite order. The first was 50 minutes old when I started it and the second was a little older than the target 70 minutes. I had noticed a very large flock of robins flitting around the property the day before - there must be something they like around here.
Gretzky started with confidence, noticed the birds flitting around, and wanted to chase them. He was willing to go back to the track, but we had many places along the first track that he paused, stared at them and wanted to bolt after them. But after 15-30 seconds, he was willing to go back to the track and he could re-find it quickly and with confidence. He overshoot the first corner while being distracted by a robin but circled back and found it. The second corner was straight-forward for him and we had a long fun party at the glove.
Track 2 was better in that there were fewer birds flitting around it. He overshoot corner 1 again and circled a couple of times before committing to leg 2. The fence-line just past corner 2 pulled him over but he circled out, fringed the last leg and converged with it about 30 yards out the leg.
Given Gretzky is now certified and I am entering him in a TD test just 13 days from now, there are several things I want to work on for the remainder of this week. Next week will be a very light week so he is fresh and eager for his test track. But this week I can still try to build some needed skills such as age, and familiarity with the test field terrain and typical distractions. Today will be age.
Of course, in the cold wet weather we have having in February around here, tracks will not be aging as fast as they would in warmer-dryer conditions, but the test is nearby in space and time so it should work for his current training. So I plotted two U-shaped tracks and laid them in one order and ran them in the opposite order. The first was 50 minutes old when I started it and the second was a little older than the target 70 minutes. I had noticed a very large flock of robins flitting around the property the day before - there must be something they like around here.
Gretzky started with confidence, noticed the birds flitting around, and wanted to chase them. He was willing to go back to the track, but we had many places along the first track that he paused, stared at them and wanted to bolt after them. But after 15-30 seconds, he was willing to go back to the track and he could re-find it quickly and with confidence. He overshoot the first corner while being distracted by a robin but circled back and found it. The second corner was straight-forward for him and we had a long fun party at the glove.
Track 2 was better in that there were fewer birds flitting around it. He overshoot corner 1 again and circled a couple of times before committing to leg 2. The fence-line just past corner 2 pulled him over but he circled out, fringed the last leg and converged with it about 30 yards out the leg.
A Thousand Swans a Chattering
One of the fields that might be used in the test is home to a huge flock of swans this winter. While I am no bird expert, others have called them swans although there may well be some Snow Geese mixed in with them. Regardless, big white birds who leave behind very large Tootsie Roll Treats which some dogs find delectable. They feed on the roots and stems of the silage grass which has been very wet this winter as well as feed off the bottom of the field puddles. The result is the grass leaves are all combed-up as well as heavily trampled by their web feet. So unusual conditions for many dogs including Gretzky. The Swans had been all over the field but congregating on the left half of the track (as pictured below). When I laid it, they flew past the dirt road on the left, and were mostly in that position when we returned to run the track.
I laid the track and ran it in about an hour, combining both the unusual ground cover with aging more than Gretzky had experienced on a full TD. Gretzky was aware of the Swans in the distance when we started but seemed very willing to get started so we did. He handled that leg nicely and made a nice corner to the right although somewhat to the side of the leg 2. On this leg, he got interested in the Tootsie Rolls but instead of trying to eat them, he seemed content to over-mark them. So there was some wandered to the side on leg 2. He circled widely on corner 2 but picked up leg 3 and continued to over-mark what the swans left. After the intermediate article, he started to fixate on some swans on the far side of the frozen field puddle who were start out onto the pond concerned about him (both he and they are white, so who knows what they thought). But they stayed away and Gretzky got back to work. Once he made corner 3, he was moving faster and with more confidence. In the region of the last corner, which was where the swans had been congregating when I started to lay the track, he again got distracted by their leavings and may have delicately sampled a particularly gourmet fresh one. "Back to the track!", re-scent, and he was off and to the glove in no time.
So while I had to restrain and anchor Gretzky several times when he was distracted by the birds themselves or wanted to go too far afield to over-mark the Tootsie Rolls, it was a good training session.
One of the fields that might be used in the test is home to a huge flock of swans this winter. While I am no bird expert, others have called them swans although there may well be some Snow Geese mixed in with them. Regardless, big white birds who leave behind very large Tootsie Roll Treats which some dogs find delectable. They feed on the roots and stems of the silage grass which has been very wet this winter as well as feed off the bottom of the field puddles. The result is the grass leaves are all combed-up as well as heavily trampled by their web feet. So unusual conditions for many dogs including Gretzky. The Swans had been all over the field but congregating on the left half of the track (as pictured below). When I laid it, they flew past the dirt road on the left, and were mostly in that position when we returned to run the track.
I laid the track and ran it in about an hour, combining both the unusual ground cover with aging more than Gretzky had experienced on a full TD. Gretzky was aware of the Swans in the distance when we started but seemed very willing to get started so we did. He handled that leg nicely and made a nice corner to the right although somewhat to the side of the leg 2. On this leg, he got interested in the Tootsie Rolls but instead of trying to eat them, he seemed content to over-mark them. So there was some wandered to the side on leg 2. He circled widely on corner 2 but picked up leg 3 and continued to over-mark what the swans left. After the intermediate article, he started to fixate on some swans on the far side of the frozen field puddle who were start out onto the pond concerned about him (both he and they are white, so who knows what they thought). But they stayed away and Gretzky got back to work. Once he made corner 3, he was moving faster and with more confidence. In the region of the last corner, which was where the swans had been congregating when I started to lay the track, he again got distracted by their leavings and may have delicately sampled a particularly gourmet fresh one. "Back to the track!", re-scent, and he was off and to the glove in no time.
So while I had to restrain and anchor Gretzky several times when he was distracted by the birds themselves or wanted to go too far afield to over-mark the Tootsie Rolls, it was a good training session.
8A.2 TD in Pasture
This session is to focus on Gretzky tracking in a clumpy pasture where the scent will pool down channels between the clumps of grass and offer opportunities for the dog to get off the track. It was a cold afternoon, very windy, and a light-dry snow started to fall as I was laying it. I also wanted to age it to an hour again as I hoped Gretzky would be more confident on it than he had been on the swan track the day before.
There had been little snow accumulation by the time we reached the start flag but the wind had continued to pick up and was perhaps 30 mph from our rear on the first leg. Gretzky started nicely, found some contamination (coyotes) mid-leg but choose to go on by himself. He showed loss of scent right after the first corner, circled to the right, came into where I was standing, and when forward. He did that a couple of times before he circled to the left, noticed something in the cow path that had been used for the second leg but did not commit to it. He circled back forward and started to wander to the end of his line forward following the first leg plume. I restrained him slightly and he circled back 270 until he came to the second leg and took it nicely. By the time he reached the second corner, he was in the groove and stayed in the cow path so again I had to restrain him when he was perhaps 60' past the corner. He circled nicely and found the next leg behind me and committed. The rest of the track was accomplished with confidence.
While having to restrain him on two corners is not ideal shortly before a test, the test did not fill so I am not keeping anyone else from having a test track. So I can hope conditions are good on test day even though Bow is noted for its wind and storms on tracking test days.
This session is to focus on Gretzky tracking in a clumpy pasture where the scent will pool down channels between the clumps of grass and offer opportunities for the dog to get off the track. It was a cold afternoon, very windy, and a light-dry snow started to fall as I was laying it. I also wanted to age it to an hour again as I hoped Gretzky would be more confident on it than he had been on the swan track the day before.
There had been little snow accumulation by the time we reached the start flag but the wind had continued to pick up and was perhaps 30 mph from our rear on the first leg. Gretzky started nicely, found some contamination (coyotes) mid-leg but choose to go on by himself. He showed loss of scent right after the first corner, circled to the right, came into where I was standing, and when forward. He did that a couple of times before he circled to the left, noticed something in the cow path that had been used for the second leg but did not commit to it. He circled back forward and started to wander to the end of his line forward following the first leg plume. I restrained him slightly and he circled back 270 until he came to the second leg and took it nicely. By the time he reached the second corner, he was in the groove and stayed in the cow path so again I had to restrain him when he was perhaps 60' past the corner. He circled nicely and found the next leg behind me and committed. The rest of the track was accomplished with confidence.
While having to restrain him on two corners is not ideal shortly before a test, the test did not fill so I am not keeping anyone else from having a test track. So I can hope conditions are good on test day even though Bow is noted for its wind and storms on tracking test days.
8.3 TD-like in a Snowy Field
There was a couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground but it had cleared up and was sunny, cold, and windy. The top half of the grass clumps poked out of the snow, so it was not a solid covering. This would be the last "challenging" track before Gretzky test in 8 days. Gretzky had tracked in the snow last fall but not recently, so snow might be one challenge but most dogs find it easy (also handlers typically like being able to see the footprints clearly). So I decided to age it 50 minutes as a second "minor" challenge. And to do a different design, I constrained myself to six 75-yard legs so it became the shape shown below.
As we approached the start flag, I expect the neighborhood dogs to start barking loudly but apparently they were inside for a rare change. So we had a quiet field with no recent contamination and no visual distractions. Gretzky started nicely casting a little bit as he got used to the snowy conditions but settled into the track. He showed loss-of-scent clearly shortly after each corner, searched with purpose, and committed to the next leg. No real drama anywhere on the track and lots of fun playing at the glove.
There was a couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground but it had cleared up and was sunny, cold, and windy. The top half of the grass clumps poked out of the snow, so it was not a solid covering. This would be the last "challenging" track before Gretzky test in 8 days. Gretzky had tracked in the snow last fall but not recently, so snow might be one challenge but most dogs find it easy (also handlers typically like being able to see the footprints clearly). So I decided to age it 50 minutes as a second "minor" challenge. And to do a different design, I constrained myself to six 75-yard legs so it became the shape shown below.
As we approached the start flag, I expect the neighborhood dogs to start barking loudly but apparently they were inside for a rare change. So we had a quiet field with no recent contamination and no visual distractions. Gretzky started nicely casting a little bit as he got used to the snowy conditions but settled into the track. He showed loss-of-scent clearly shortly after each corner, searched with purpose, and committed to the next leg. No real drama anywhere on the track and lots of fun playing at the glove.
8A.4 Pre-test Motivational Track
As I recommend in the book, the week before a test should be very light tracking so the dog will be anxious to track on test day. The previous track (above) was on a Saturday a week before the test. This session was a motivational track on the Thursday before the test.
The track was about 260 yards long with four legs and three corners, one of them open. I laid it in a very quiet park that I had never taken Gretzky to before. The only activity was a farmer working the grass in another field. It was a cloudy cold winter weekday after all. I aged it just 30 minutes.
Gretzky did great. He started confidently, stayed focused on the track, quickly searched at each corner, and committed nicely to each leg.
As I recommend in the book, the week before a test should be very light tracking so the dog will be anxious to track on test day. The previous track (above) was on a Saturday a week before the test. This session was a motivational track on the Thursday before the test.
The track was about 260 yards long with four legs and three corners, one of them open. I laid it in a very quiet park that I had never taken Gretzky to before. The only activity was a farmer working the grass in another field. It was a cloudy cold winter weekday after all. I aged it just 30 minutes.
Gretzky did great. He started confidently, stayed focused on the track, quickly searched at each corner, and committed nicely to each leg.
Test Day
Bow, WA is noted for its strong winds and heavy rains on test day. But this Sunday was beautiful - cool, partly cloudy, with little wind. A perfect day for tracking.
We drew track 5 of 9 which meant we would not be on the primary swan field (yippee). The judges were giving each dog lots of time to work out their issues but none of the first four dogs passed. So Gretzky's track was probably a little more than a hour old when we started which should be fine.
He was quite wild when he got out of the car and wanted to go up to the judges and play. As we approached the start flag, he pulled ahead and sniffed the sock. I changed the line from his collar to his harness, waited about 10 seconds for him to memorize the scent, and he was off. He was very quick to commit to the track even though he did quick leg lifts on many clumps of grass as we passed them on the track. The first leg was long (perhaps 200 yards) heading straight for a house in the distance and Gretzky kept focused on it with just a few detours to look back at the judges behind us. But he was quick to return to the track.
At the first corner, he circled a couple of times before finding and committing to the right and we were off again. That is, until he found a really stinky area that had been pushed down and cleared by the swans or geese. So after a good couple of rolls on his back with a sniff and nibble of goose poop, he return to the track and stayed on it.
He circled at the second corner, then proceeded ahead perhaps 20-30 yards, circled some more and could not find anything, then worked back to the corner and found a leg to the right heading straight for the left side of a big red barn. This was a short 50 yard leg. As he came up to the corner, he noticed the tall woodpiles in front of the barn and noises of someone working in the barn and took off galloping towards the barn. I let him continue on and when he got to the property line asked him to search but we were perhaps 20-30 yards past the corner. He wanted to visit the woodpiles and then as he circled to find the track, noticed the judges and tracklayer standing on the previous corner and decided they would be fun to play with. So each time I restrained him and asked him to find it, he'd turn from one distraction and try to gallop to the opposite one.
Finally he settled down and bit and we searched in the area between the unknown corner and the property boundary without finding anything. Finally he headed roughly to the left of the previous leg and I started to follow him. But he curved to the left some more and we ended up searching a wide area before finally hearing the whistle.
My own advice to myself is that I should have marked the exact location where he shifted from tracking to galloping to the woodpile. They were straight ahead so there was no change of directly, only a change of speed. Had I done so, I would of been able to move back there as we searched. While we did get back there during the extended search, perhaps I could have anchored him there until he settled down enough to focus on his nose and found the fourth leg. But he was so wildly happy trying to get to his two distractions, I kind of doubt it.
I knew that distractions were his weak point before I asked to be certified for this test because it was not filling. And distractions were indeed our undoing. But Gretzky (and I) had tons of fun on the first three legs and at least Gretzky had tons of fun trying to get to the woodpile and judges on the third corner. Not a bad way to fail I would say. And Gretzky does not know anything about failure, just how much fun he can have in the tracking field.
After Gretzky's track, two dogs passed. Congratulations to a Border Collie handled by Susan Dasch and a Shetland Sheepdog handled by Bonnie Logan.
Comments are welcome on Facebook's Modern Enthusiastic Tracking Group
www.facebook.com/groups/ModernEnthusiasticTracking
www.facebook.com/groups/ModernEnthusiasticTracking
RSS Feed