Three Blind Tracks For “Ash” and Her Comrades "Quila" & "Teah"

Ash’s passion for tracking continues on in the merry month of May.  Her comrades and I have been getting together for “blind tracking” sessions a couple of times a month. This past Wednesday, Lynn and her golden girl “”Quila” and Kristine and her rottie “Teah” joined us for another practice session on the range.

 When tracking independently, we plot and lay our own tracks and make mental notes of our dog’s working style and behaviour. Getting together as a group has allowed us to share our observations and lay blind tracks for each other. This approach has helped us gauge our progression as handler/dog teams. The “track layer” plots and draws a map of the track and follows behind to lend a helping hand if the team encounters any difficulty.

We have been concentrating on laying one blind track per team at a distance of 450 feet with three or four corners with the lost article at the end.  The best part is watching each team as we progress and “put into” practice all the wonderful tips we have been gifted with from various coaches.

Below are some favourite photos from our Wednesday session with Ash and her tracking comrades.

Me & My "Ash" after a great morning of tracking

My thoughtful thinker "Ash" picking up the third corner of the blind track laid by Kristine 

Lyyn & "Quila" after a great session of search and rescue practice

Lynn and "Quila" working hard on their blind track laid by me

The lovely Miss "Quila" 

Kristine with her pretty and talented rottie  gal "Teah"

Kristine and "Teah" fully focussed on the blind track laid by Lynn

Miss "Teah" shows off her happy face

My beautiful crew member "Ash" enjoying a rest break after our great day of tracking with her comrades

May Long Weekend - Tracking Along With The Crew

Our May Long Weekend on the range was a busy one for both me and "The Crew". Fencing, tracking, arrival of some of the cattle, and a photo shoot of our neighbour's lambs were all apart of the agenda.

The weekend  kicked off early with a day of tracking on Friday. Some of Ash's tracking comrades came out to Raven to work their dogs and enjoy the beautiful sunshine on the ranch.

Below are some pics in no particular order from a busy but great long weekend in May in Raven!

The arrival of some of the cow calf pairs on my neighbour's quarters. The crew is already watching over this herd. More cows to come along with my Black Angus gals - so stay tuned!

Ash and I working a blind track laid by Lynn

Kristine and her Rottie gal "Teah" working nose to ground on their blind track

Lynn and her Golden 'Quila" working smoothly on their blind track

Lorrie and her Afghan boy "Shamar" foussed on their blind track

Miss Cybelle dashing through the slough

A Little baby ram at my neighbour's farm strikes a pose

My neighbour's sheep calm before the storm

Miss Cybelle doing her laps:-) Hey a ranch dog must stay in shape!

Some nice robust lambs having their dinner

Miss Ash after a fun romp on her pasture

An interesting reflection down by one our sloughs

Timeless Tuesday (Sistahs "Ash" & "LL" - The Journey from Montana to Alberta)

Country Canaan Sistahs!

In keeping with my dedication to pick a Tuesday each week to pause (paws) and remember a moment in time with the desert crew, here is my next installment for "Timeless Tuesday".

Today's "Time Machine" takes us back to March 2009 when Larry and I welcomed our third addition to the "crew", Miss D&J Ha'Aretz Northern Alchemy "Asherah".


Before making her way to her new home in Raven, Alberta, Ash stayed with Annabel and Adam Lombard on their ranch in beautiful Fromberg, Montana. Ash flew from Du Quoin, Illinois with her litter mate “Lacy Lue” to make the flight more comfortable. We had planned to meet across the Montana border when the weather was fit for driving. In the meantime, Annabel and her family took care of little Miss Ash while we waited for our blizzards to subside. Ash got to hang out with sistah "LL" for a few extra weeks and enjoy all the action on a Montana ranch.  Since it was lambing season, she was introduced to her first woolie creatures, a beagle-mix named Trixie, an older Canaan male named Jake, chickens , and barn cats. We couldn’t have asked for a better early adventure for our new girl! Thank you Annabel and Adam, and of course, sistah Lacey-Lue, aka "LL"!

"Ash" In Montana With SISTAH "LL" ( Some pics of the sistahs from Annabel)

Asherah “Ash” (left) with Montana litter mate sister "Lacey Lue", aka “LL" (right). I remember when Annabel sent this pic – she was sure to note that the girls were not riding shotgun in the truck. They are parked in the pasture.I think this is where Ash got her love for trucks. Ash was definitely destined to be a country Canaan like her Montana Sistah "LL".

Ash on top with sister LL taking a pup break on Annabel's lap

The sisters keep an eye on the new lambs with Trixie and some human friends

Ash's First Introduction to Life on her Alberta Ranch with Crew Members Master "Macc" & Miss "Cybelle"

Welcome to your new home Miss Ash!

Ash's first Alberta expedition - here she is exploring the big "white" world on the range where only cattle fencing exists and winter sticks around for a very long time. "Wait", she says " I think I see something over there!" 

I think I will just approach with quiet feet and not disturb the "Big Macc" from his watch duty.  

I guess, I should just sit and do whatever this big guy is doing. He is very big, doesn't talk much and seems so serious. 

"Ok, I think my butt was getting cold so I think I will try and pass him since he kinda looks like he is catching a wink on the job. Look at me below  - I think I can do this watchdog thing!"

Boy does this guy take his watchdog job seriously to heart – he isn’t even aware of my presence and has not inched a step – ok, now is my chance to go off to explore more! 

Ash and Cybelle getting to know one another

Cybelle  whispers to Ash the secrets on how to be an effective Canaan mouser – she says the bosses like when we are on rodent patrol – just one of our tasks.

Cybelle supervises Ash's training on rodent patrol

"Look at me! I am hunting on my own!"

Ash’s first solo hunt – her early training tips from Cybelle paid off! 

"Ok, what is next on the agenda?"

Larry introduces Miss Ash to her first driving lesson

"Ok, boss, I am ready for my next challenge!"

"Do I have to pull that?"

"Ok, it is a bit higher up than the quad but at least I am not afraid of heights! - wait is that a moose I see over yonder?"

Rest break for the crew– well, at least for Larry and Macc. Miss Ash was now on watchdog alert! Macc in his sphinx repose beside the boss. Below, Miss Ash dines on her raw diet. 

Ash says “ I think I am fitting in nicely with this crew – don’t cha think? 

She certainly "fit" in nicely with our Crew. And, when she was old enough she was introduced to her first ranch chores on free-ranging cattle. She along with the rest of the crew emerged into great working stockdogs.

"Ash" working alongside crew member "Cybelle" when we needed to move the herd to their next rotational graze zone

Like the rest of the crew, she became a natural at heading off any bossy gals when needed to be moved

Learning to respect mama and calf when feeding

She has turned out be a pretty amazing gal - "beauty and brains" with a great work ethic in both stockdog and tracking tasks.

And she has turned out to be a great "watchdog" - I guess her early training from "Macc" also paid off:-)