Two SchH Tracks, two CKC tracks today

Today I met Pam Prescott and we did two Schutzhund Tracks for our boys, Sting and Caden. While we did those, I laid and aged two CKC tracks for Jet and River. Jet is working towards both a UTDX and a TDX. She is good on hard surfaces but needs more work problem solving on difficult terrain transitions. I found this great area where there are piles of dirt and rubble at the college and laid a track there for her. It started on a boulevard, then crossed a road to the rubble piles, went through tall weeds, some as tall as me, and ended in behind a senior's complex. She was dead-on and I had to jog behind her. I normally would not do that, but I wanted her to feel motivated and she was so on, I think it was rewarding for her. The track was nearly 2 hours old with long legs and 4 turns, with three articles.  Here are a few highlight photos taken with my iPhone.... 

Culvert

First article and approach to the rubble piles...

Up and over, hill and dale... 

Second article in the tall, dog-eating weeds! I have never tracked with such a small dog...

Into tall grass. Lots of nice transitions on this mini-TDX.

Final article. Good girl!

River's track was 2 hours old, and approximately 400 m. I just want for her to keep her tracking up and have fun. She had a rough time on the first parking lot and I was a bit worried. After the first article, she picked up and was dead on for the rest of this track which went mostly through the main entrance area of the college.

After going through that portico above, she went along the sidewalk to the main entrance.

I just loved how she decided to go up these steps. She started once, hesitated, then just went for it! You can see her nose down here. She followed along the main doors, then stood for a moment looking out in the direction of the track, and suddenly took off again down the stairs.

And there she goes! I think I am so used to her doing a great job in urban tracking that I did not convey to my friend Pam how amazed I am at River's ability. River makes this look really easy at times - belying the actual difficulty and skill involved. I always enjoy just following her - there is so much mutual trust and support involved when handling a dog on these surfaces and at this level - and I think I follow her a bit casually now, because I know exactly how she likes her line to be handled. Mostly I just stay out of her way and let her go.

Here she is with her head up, "strolling" along. I explained to Pam that sometimes, urban tracking doesn't really look like tracking as the scent flows differently and often rises off the hard surfaces.

River at her final article. Woo hoo, River! For some reason her 'down' ear is up here. I guess she was excited!

Here is a well-lit shot of Pam with her boy Sting who is now 9 months old. Sting has amazing drive and focus for his age, and Pam is doing a great job with him. He did his longest track ever today, about 180 steps, or I would estimate about 150 m. It was 40 minutes old with two rounded turns. He simply aced it~!

And here is my boy Caden. Caden always has so much go. I KNOW that once we start to compete, he will be one of those dogs who always gives 110% to tracking, thankfully. But today, he was not as focused as I would like. His first leg was off, second leg was good, third leg good - and final two legs on sand were iffy. I thought the sand would be a good experience but it was really dry. I am very pleased at his improvement and flow on turns. I am putting a big treat on each corner so that it stops him from over-stepping, and as he eats it, he picks up the direction and turns nicely. So that was a good win today. His track was approximately 400 meters with 5 turns. No articles yet.

Caden after his last turn on the sand. Look at that tail. He LOVES tracking!