Between the time she laid the track and when Gimme ran the track 45 minutes later, a guy came through with a riding mower and mowed over our track (lime colored line shows where his mowing overlapped our track). He even crossed the pavement, essentially mowing down our track in a reverse direction. I didn't really expect Gimme to be able to track through the mowed grass, but I wanted to see what she would do with it - fully expected to break off, and restart further down at the third article. I should be ashamed of myself for underestimating her capabilities.She had a tough time starting out. Fortunately Nadine laid the start article at the base of a tree and the mower didn't get to it. Gimme went back and forth over the track, 10-15 feet to either side, studying the area and slowly moving forward. I thought maybe she was just working with the subtle clue presented by the direction I faced her at the start of the track. It soon became apparent she was actually reading the little bits of information on pieces of grass with Nadine smell that were blown far and wide. From those she was able to deduce the general direction of the track. I was astonished and amazed to watch her do this, especially when you consider how much information tracking dogs get from crushed vegetation and on this track there was no crushed-veg information available. She found the first article, a much battered sock, which had been picked up by the mower and thrown to one side.
When we got up on the pavement under the portico, where the mower had traveled the reverse of our track, Gimme developed a new strategy. She still went back and forth, but now she was reading the edges of things where track scent must have blown. She read the bases of the pipe railing, brick columns, and trash cans. From those she was able to deduce the track direction in a general way.
When she got back to the narrow area of mowed grass on the other side of the portico, she actually worked the nearby sidewalk. The second article pulled her into the grass, after which she went back to the sidewalk. Once she got to the parking lot it was easy-peasy to finish the track.
I don't have big enough words to express how impressed I am by Gimme's ability and persistence. Someone recently suggested I should have used corrections to teach her how she is "expected to behave" around other dogs (referring to limitations because of her reactivity). I've seen this person's three dogs, which are all good at only one sport (obedience) and how slow and resistant they are to learn new stuff in my parkour class. I think I prefer a dog with creative intelligence and an abundance of confidence, who thrives solving hard challenges, instead of a dog who is so limited. Gimme works in 7 different sports and has 63 titles. I love her versatility.
On Sunday, May 19th, I laid a short track in the vicinity of the MDSA building. Because the presentation time got away from us, we didn't do any shooting, so I couldn't follow my usual plan. I normally lay a track, then we do shooting, then I run the track, which is then about 90 minutes old. This time the track was only 25 minutes old. It was about 70°, with a very light breeze.
As I laid the track I was accosted by a ground-nesting bird trying desperately to lead me off to the right. She got within five feet, flapping and fluttering in her broken-wing act. I didn't know what else to do, so I continued straight ahead and after about 30 feet, Mrs. Killdeer lost interest in me. The area where I saw her is shown with a green square next to our line of track. I laid an article about five feet onto the pavement, figuring it would be a good reward if Gimme made it through bird-distraction-country. She isn't normally interested in birds, but I rightly figured this would be distraction at a whole 'nother level. On a side note, it was fascinating to see mommy-bird's instinctive behavior, trying to save her babies from a potential predator. I made a mental note to be sure to shorten the amount of line I gave Gimme in this part of the track, since I didn't want to risk injury to mommy-bird.
Gimme did well with the first part of the track. She struggled a little bit with the first corner. It turned near the edge of a building and between a utility pole and a wheeled trash bin. I figure the breeze was moving in an interesting way. The track between that corner and the bird-zone was uneventful. It was a good thing I shortened the line before we reached the bird-zone, since she was very intent on Mrs. Killdeer. The only thing I could do was to encourage her to move straight ahead - she wasn't tracking at this point, but I figured it was what I'd do in a test. As we got further along and the bird went on about her business, I was about to re-scent Gimme when she caught the scent of the article and rushed to it. From there to the end of the track was again easy peasy. I love Gimme's decision to go right back to work once we were away from the extreme distraction.
On Thursday, May 23rd, Nadine and I met at Game Farm Park. Since Gimme was now deep into her false pregnancy, I asked Nadine for a simple track (starts in upper right corner of picture) and we ran it while it was only 45 minutes old. It was overcast, about 60° and minimal breeze.
There was nothing particularly challenging about this track - all stuff we've done fifty times, in this same location. Gimme was willing to track, but I found her a little distracted and needing more support. She seemed to know which direction to go, but not enough to commit. Her best corner was the first one. The second corner wasn't as clean, but she did know where it went. The third corner is on the top of a circular mound (about 4' higher than the surrounding area) and she missed it. She went straight ahead and pulled like she meant it, so I followed her and Nadine had to call us back. When we came back to the corner from the other direction, Gimme picked it up and went in the right direction. From there to the end of the track she did well enough. I certainly wouldn't want to enter a test with her in this mental condition. Once we were headed back toward the car, I ceased to exist and Gimme only wanted to get back to Lenny-baby.
I've noticed this issue before and I've asked Sil to focus on this tendency in our lesson (coming up in 2 weeks). I suspect it is something I've unintentionally taught her to do. The big problem is my inability to read when she's left off tracking in favor of a walkabout. Nadine said she lifts her head higher than her usual tracking posture. I'll be looking forward to what Sil says.
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