First tracks of 2011 - The boys
This is the third post of three about today's tracks. There are two more below.
Today I did Ted first, then Caden. I am taking things really slowly with Ted. He is a bright dog but disagrees with me about how we should track. He would be the best SAR dog, as his attitude it - let's just go straight to the article. So today I laid a U track using concrete formations in the parking lot to partition the scent. It seemed to work (thanks Steve Ripley).
He did the first leg and took the turn nicely. Sadly, I accidentally deleted that video. The second leg is along a bluff of snow to keep Ted make the turn and stay on the line, and it also works. I noticed his track had a lot of shade and sun because of where it was laid. I would consider these transitions, as in the sun it was noticeably warmer and the snow was softer and probably held more scent. When he finds his glove, you will seldom see a happier dog than Ted Dog. He is All About the Article! We play fetch after (photo above).
As Caden is footstep tracking, I had to find a place where there was undisturbed, shallow snow for a serpentine. He was so excited to track, it was hard to film him. He has not tracked since October and was pulling a bit hard. At the first tire tracks, he follows the scent drift so I have to say NO! He corrects himself.
At the second tire tracks, he does a quick check and goes back to the correct track on his own. After this, he also ignores someone else's footsteps! This is just the first half. It was too long to upload entirely from my iphone.
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| Happy Mr. "All about the Article" Ted after his track |
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| The concrete berms, and the fact that his article was not lined up with his start, helped Ted stay on track and not try to pull straight to the glove. |
He did the first leg and took the turn nicely. Sadly, I accidentally deleted that video. The second leg is along a bluff of snow to keep Ted make the turn and stay on the line, and it also works. I noticed his track had a lot of shade and sun because of where it was laid. I would consider these transitions, as in the sun it was noticeably warmer and the snow was softer and probably held more scent. When he finds his glove, you will seldom see a happier dog than Ted Dog. He is All About the Article! We play fetch after (photo above).
As Caden is footstep tracking, I had to find a place where there was undisturbed, shallow snow for a serpentine. He was so excited to track, it was hard to film him. He has not tracked since October and was pulling a bit hard. At the first tire tracks, he follows the scent drift so I have to say NO! He corrects himself.
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| You can see two faint pink arrows showing the car tire tracks Caden checked out |
At the second tire tracks, he does a quick check and goes back to the correct track on his own. After this, he also ignores someone else's footsteps! This is just the first half. It was too long to upload entirely from my iphone.
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| Trotting with a glove, back to the car for a treat |
Category Article Border collie, German Shepherd, Schutzhund tracking, urban tracking, winter tracking
