On Saturday, August 25th, Gimme and I went to Medline. I laid a simple track of 5 turns, with an article on every leg. I was able to hide three articles behind the curb of a landscaping crossing and hid the final article between the picnic table legs. The track was aged 22 minutes. The conditions were dry and a cool 62º, with a strong breeze. (the bright blue lines in the upper right are 18-wheeler trailers) I hydrated the track with a squeeze bottle, dribbling plain water in front of me, which dried up really quickly.
My intention was to refrain from helping Gimme unless she showed it was really needed. I also wanted to let her use the full 40-foot line to explore options and make decisions. I've been helping her more readily over the last few months while she's been having trouble with pollen and wanted to make sure I wasn't getting stuck in a pattern of helping when she might not need it. I have noticed stronger tracking behavior from her the last couple of times we've been out, so I thought it was time to dial back the helps.
I have to say she did a really nice job. She used the whole length of the line "exploring options" for the first half of the long first leg. Then she settled down and tracked nicely to the first article. Her second leg had a little exploring and she quickly found the article behind the edge of the curb. The third leg crosses over a strip of grass (from the 2nd vertical white line to the article) which was soggy wet from a couple leaky sprinklers. With all that moisture on green grass, it must have been track-heaven. Gimme ran this segment and then missed the article tucked behind the curb. I stayed in the landscaping and let her use the whole 40' line to find the next corner. In doing so, she got back to the article, indicating nicely. This was really the only help I gave her on this track. She was really solid for the rest of the track.
The final article was a black eyeglass case. To make it less visible, I set it up in the legs of the tables in the employee break area. My track didn't actually go there, because I couldn't get my foot in there, but it was only 18" away. Gimme had no problem finding it and stopped to look back at me. I did my usual high falsetto "whachoo gawttttt?" Her response was reach under there and drag the case out with her foot... and then pounce on it for emphasis...
How could anyone not love her cleverness? Just sayin...
BTW we are headed out for a 3-day barn hunt trial this weekend. I hope to come home with something very special. Cross any body parts you can spare for us.
Titles Achieved to date...
Monumental A to Z High On Liberty
NW1, RATI, RATN, RATO, NW2, L1I, RATS, L1E, L1C, L1V, L2C, L2I, L2E, RATM, R-FE/N, PKD-TL, PKD-N, ADPL1, ADPL2, TD, UWP, ADPL3, NTD, TKN, L2V, ADPL4, SDS-N, ADPL5, ADPCH, ADP1(2), ADPL1(GC), ADPL2(2), ADPL2(GC), VPN, AP, UWPCH, ADPL3(2), ADPL3(GC), NC, NI, NE, SCN, SIN, SEN, CZ8B, NV, NN, ADPL4(2), ADPL4(GC), ADPGCH, ADPL5(2), RATCH, CZ8S, AI, TKI, AV, AE, AC, AN, R-FE/X NW3-V, NW3-E, SI, RN, R-FE/NS, CZ8G, SC, SV, SE, SN, SEA, SBN, SWN, SIA, SCA, ADP-1(Th), ADP-2(Th), ADP-3(Th), ADP-4(Th), ADP-5(Th), and ADP-CH(Th)... 81 and counting...
NW1, RATI, RATN, RATO, NW2, L1I, RATS, L1E, L1C, L1V, L2C, L2I, L2E, RATM, R-FE/N, PKD-TL, PKD-N, ADPL1, ADPL2, TD, UWP, ADPL3, NTD, TKN, L2V, ADPL4, SDS-N, ADPL5, ADPCH, ADP1(2), ADPL1(GC), ADPL2(2), ADPL2(GC), VPN, AP, UWPCH, ADPL3(2), ADPL3(GC), NC, NI, NE, SCN, SIN, SEN, CZ8B, NV, NN, ADPL4(2), ADPL4(GC), ADPGCH, ADPL5(2), RATCH, CZ8S, AI, TKI, AV, AE, AC, AN, R-FE/X NW3-V, NW3-E, SI, RN, R-FE/NS, CZ8G, SC, SV, SE, SN, SEA, SBN, SWN, SIA, SCA, ADP-1(Th), ADP-2(Th), ADP-3(Th), ADP-4(Th), ADP-5(Th), and ADP-CH(Th)... 81 and counting...
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