Our next tracking day was July 16th after a one month break. Nadine and I had conflict after conflict in our schedules, so the dogs got some time off. This day was hot and dry and it had been dry since before the last tracking session, a month prior. When we started at 8:00 it was 64° and by the time we finished it was 79°. The track was 500 yards with four articles (eyeglass case, grey wallet, red purse and glove), with a red plaid scarf at the start.
We crossed several mowed paths and followed a mowed path for about
75 yards. We also crossed a paved road. There were some ups and downs
in the terrain, but nothing significant. There may have been
contamination, since there almost always is in this park, but we didn't
see it.Gimme ran it first and was very good. She did have to slow down because of the dry conditions, but she was really solid overall. Crossing the mowed paths and the road presented no problems. She located and indicated all the articles. I love following her because no matter how challenging it is, her tail never stops wagging.
Nadine then ran the track with her three dogs before we went to try it again. While it was warmer than when we started, I knew Gimme was well hydrated and she'd rested comfortably, with a cool breeze from the river going right through the van.
Again the second time around I found her unfocused and easily distracted. There were places on the track where she would stop and just look around until I encouraged her to go on. At first I thought she was tired, but whenever we got within about 20 yards of an article, all the sudden she'd perk right up and drag me along at a fast pace until we got there and she could demand a payoff. Obviously if she could smell the articles from 20 yards, she wasn't having difficulty following the track. This again suggests to me she might be bored by following the easy-peasy "freeway". She totally loves her articles, so knowing she was close to one was motivating.
We didn't go tracking again until the last weekend of July (Saturday through Monday) when we went to the Sil Sanders seminar in Bow, WA. I plan to start doing blogs for the three seminars real soon. There is soooooo much information to cover, so much to share. I'll be taking my newer laptop when we go next weekend to the barn hunt trial next weekend, so hopefully I can get started on preparing the blog information in the evenings. I had to replace my laptop of 16 years right after the last weekend in Bow - the harddrive crashed, but I got lucky and they were able to save my data.
And good news, while at the seminar I learned about the GoPro camera system, where you can strap a camera on your chest or hat and film what you are doing hands-free. I know, I know -- everyone else on the planet probably already knew about them. I did some shopping on line and almost bought one with an all-the-bells-and-whistles kit. Then I got to wondering if there was some way to find a chest mounting contraption I could use with my existing camera. I didn't have a lot of luck finding one, but set my younger brother on the task and he located just what I needed within minutes. Its arrived and now all I have to do is figure out how to use it. So very soon I'll have a lot more video of nosework class searches and our tracking adventures. Yeah!
Gimme doesn't quite "get" all the excitement about some strap thingy... but I'm sure its because she doesn't realize it means her fan club will now get to see more videos and pictures of her lovely self.
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