The first leg was pretty straight forward, though Gimme did go to the right side a few times - going out about 25' and then coming back to the track. She overran the corner, but then came back and made the turn. On the top of the plateau was a large-game bedding spot with our track passing through the middle of it. Gimme stopped right at the edge of it and smelled it for a long time, without stepping further into it. Then when she was done she marched right through it and found the first article 20 feet away.The second and third turns were both 45° degree turns. On the second turn, she started to follow the track, then turned and went the opposite direction. She checked there several times before committing to the downhill trail. She overran the turn at the bottom of the trail, but turned back and got to the next article quickly.
When I laid the track I walked about 15 feet up the wrong trail. I didn't know where it went, so had to turn back and go on to the right trail. I was curious to see what Gimme would do there. She went just 15 feet up the wrong trail and then without lifting her head, turned back on her track, came back to where I stood and followed the track to where it went onto the next (correct) trail.
She dithered a little bit straight ahead as we came down the trail and out of the woods, but then turned and followed the track. Where it proved most interesting was when we got to the road. The track turned right and followed down the edge of the asphalt. Gimme was certain it had to have crossed the road straight ahead of her. I went with her and let her check things out. She was very interested in continuing straight to the toy-plane flight building, but I didn't go with her. I think in a test where I didn't know the track was behind us and to the right, I might well have followed her. When I didn't go with her she came back to me, crossed back over the road and picked up the track along the edge of the asphalt to the nearby article
The rest of the track was mostly uneventful. There were a couple of excursions to the side here and there, but she wasn't too determined to follow them. She did parallel the track in one long segment, but given the breeze, she may well have smelled track blown out there from the track in front of us.
I'm pleased with how she did and I think I've finally decided what I'd like to do in my free lesson with Sil. At the last seminar I told him she sometimes commits to a line that isn't the track and pulls me hard in a wrong direction. After watching her showcase track, he said she did this when I didn't follow her first, subtler line out. He recommended we only do marked/known tracks. Since I've been doing only marked/known tracks I see she is better, but still sometimes does the false line out. It's possible I'm missing a subtle line out down the track, but I need Sil's expert eye to tell me what I'm doing wrong. After all it can't possibly be her mistake, eh.
On Tuesday, May 1st, Nadine and I met at Auburn Cinema. I asked her to lay a track around the building, sometimes close and sometimes further away. The track was 245 yards long, aged 45 minutes and it was 58°. Nadine laid it in 14 minutes and Gimme ran it in 25 minutes. The breeze was strong and continually changing direction, so it ended up being more challenging than what we expected/planned.
Gimme started out well (upper left starting on grass). She crossed the road readily, but then couldn't' decide what to do from there. She went back and forth along the leading edge of the grass repeatedly and then finally took the plunge and was quickly rewarded by the first article.The first turn was about 30°, going under the marquee overhang. She did well with this and then was presented with a line of people waiting to get tickets to track through. They were kind enough to move apart a little bit so she could get through. From there we turned 30° in the other direction, down the grass strip, across sidewalk and then into the parking lot. The track basically bounced against the curb turning 90° to the right. Instead Gimme was sure it went along the curb and she followed it quite a distance before she indicated she might not have the track. Right after she turned back, she caught scent of the next article and got across the side lot to it. She picked up the turn there and got through the next turn easily enough.
The next turn proved to be a big challenge. It was a turn away from a landscaping strip back toward the building. Gimme was interested in every direction except back toward the building. She finally did go toward the building and made the next turn easily. The track went along the sidewalk, right at the edge. Gimme followed along somewhat parallel to the track, but in the landscaping and grass between the sidewalk and the building, at varying distances.
She overshot the turn at the end of the sidewalk, but then turned back, took the turn and was rewarded by an article. Our next turn was a left turn between two industrial size garbage containers. One was leaking something particularly foul and it was running right across our track. Gimme went back and forth and wasn't at all interested in going through the stench. (I always thought dogs liked stinky stuff, but apparently not dogs of the Empress persuasion) From there to the end of the track she did a lovely job.
This wasn't a very clean track, but the strong and variable breeze presented us with challenges beyond what I intended. So, overall she did well, given the conditions.
I continue to be amazed at her persistence.
No comments:
Post a Comment