Tracking Along With “Ash” & Her Comrades - "Searching For The Pot of Gold"

This past Saturday we met our tracking comrades, Lynn, Lorrie and Kristine at Red Deer College for another group training session. The field and weather conditions were the best we have had in  all the months of training. We have tracked in snow and ice, difficult terrain, chilly temps and fields full  of sloughs  with an assortment of critters and their droppings. Tracking in harsher conditions seems to be paying off when working our dogs on an ideal day which is seldom and few in between -  especially in Alberta when the weather can change every five minutes!

After a brief rainfall in the morning, the sun awoke and burst through the ocean-wide skies. She presented us with a field moist and lush with veg and embraced us with perfect temperatures for the day.  

Once the blind tracks were plotted ( we did 2 tracks per team with 3 to five corners), each track- layer followed behind the dog/handler team to watch and record mental thoughts as they ran their tracks. Since these are “training” sessions, the track-layer has to be prepared to assist the team with any difficulties – like all venues of training, one needs to concentrate on setting up you and your dog for success, and give guidance on working out any obstacles. The tracking comrades continue to offer each other support as we track along with our wonderful working dogs. Even on a perfect day with ideal weather conditions the dog has to work with distractions - traffic in the distance, scenting along sheds and fencing, sirens, transitioning up and over hills, and one gopher for Ash who did one pounce then got immediately back to work.

It certainly was a great sight to see each dog team dedicated to their tracks, working smoothly with  their corners, and scenting for the ultimate “pot of gold” at the end – “the stranger’s missing article.

Since it was a beautiful day, we decided to “top it off” at Starbucks in Red Deer for a cold coffee beverage. It was nice to have Lorrie join us since she could not make it to our last group session on my ranch.

Below is a collective effort from all the comrades of some favourite pics from our session. We even had time to assist Lynn in some SAR (Search & Rescue) training with her golden girl “Quila” after a successful day of tracking. 

Ash finds the  "pot of gold"  (Kristine's missing mitten ) at the end of her track laid by Kristine

Ash  moves smoothly and thoughtfully along her second track of the day

Kristine and her rottie gal "Teah" track up and over hills 

Lorrie & her GSD "Zevah" keep dedicated to the track with lots of  traffic distractions

Lorrie and her afghan boy "Shamar" concentrating on his blind track laid by Lynn

Lynn and "Quila" dedicated to their blind track laid by Lorrie

Lynn praises her girl after a successful search and rescue session 

The Tracking Comrades enjoying their cold beverages at Starbucks 

Lynn introduces me to the Vanilla Bean Frappacino and apparently seems to be quite proud of that:-)

My "easy, breezy cover girl" Ash at home on the range after a great day of tracking with her comrades