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.
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| Me & My "Ash" after a great morning of tracking |
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| My thoughtful thinker "Ash" picking up the third corner of the blind track laid by Kristine |
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| Lyyn & "Quila" after a great session of search and rescue practice |
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| Lynn and "Quila" working hard on their blind track laid by me |
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| The lovely Miss "Quila" |
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| Kristine with her pretty and talented rottie gal "Teah" |
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| Kristine and "Teah" fully focussed on the blind track laid by Lynn |
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| Miss "Teah" shows off her happy face |
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| My beautiful crew member "Ash" enjoying a rest break after our great day of tracking with her comrades |
It is amazing to see how dogs suddenly make great progress when the vegetation becomes lush and green and you see everything click into place. Michelle, you sound so knowledgeable! Great photos. Hi everyone :)
ReplyDeleteHey Donna! Well the credit goes to you for your wonderful coaching! We are putting all your tips into practise and enjoying the progression of each dog and handler. Many miles to track, as we continue the enjoy the sport.
ReplyDeleteCheers from your tracking buddies
Michelle and Ash
Great day... With great pictures... And wonderful comrades!
ReplyDeleteThe tracks are going better every time ... Not sure who is getting better the dogs or the track layers
Missed having Lorrie there.... Next time.
Hi Donna as well.... Maybe you will join us sometime?
I'd love to, I am getting Jet ready for a test in three weeks and really can use the support. However, I am working on urban with her until the test and plan to go to Olds tomorrow morning. But please just let me know when you are meeting. When are cows coming Michelle?
ReplyDeleteI am very proud of everyone. Remember all winter, I said a) the handling and kinetics are developed with the great visuals, and b) if your dogs do so well on ice and in cold, imagine how this will translate to lush veg! I am happy you are seeing and experiencing that and that you clearly are bitten by the tracking passion bug.
Hey Donna, we have some cows now but they are on my neighbour's quarter. We are still working on a bit more fencing on my side to finish the extra grazing zone. So, my herd won't be here until a few more weeks.
ReplyDelete