It has been snowing all night and day and I have gone out and laid a very tough track for my dogs. I did practice earlier this week and all of the dogs seemed to be handling some harder turns. I have decided to add some terrain changes. On this track the dog will have to go through an opening in the hedge at location #1. They will then have to go over our old wood pile at location #2. Then it is on to a lightly wooded area for location #3 before crossing back over the wood pile at #4. The track through the woods is very twisty and there are several tough turns on the track.

Daphine was the first dog to get to go out today and track. I know I have not been keeping her blog updated much since she has not been going to class, but she has continued to work at home and is doing very well. She is sort of in between Dynamite and Dixie as far as seriousness and focus on tracking. She does a very good job but will stop and air scent here and there. On this track I enjoyed seeing her deal with all the terrain changes without any problem. She was focused and seemed very sure of herself. On this particular day she did not fool around at all. Daphine will have to get her turn at class very soon.

Happy Tracking!
 

It is now Thursday of the first week and I am going to lay another serpentine track for the dogs to do. The big difference this time is that the track will be in the farmer’s corn field next to the house. This track will be a little longer than the one in the yard. I am also sure there will be several deer cross tracks. I am using less food since Dynamite does not seem to need it and less will help Dixie will stay focused on the scent. This track is about 200 yards long and has big arcs. We are still not ready to work doglegs or 90 degree turns. The track is flagged! Dynamite and Dixie have already been out tracking so now it is Daphine’s turn. Daphine is a very happy girl she really enjoys spending time with me no matter what we are doing. She is a great retriever so I suspect that teaching her to pick up the glove should be pretty easy.




It is now Thursday of the first week and I am going to lay another serpentine track for the dogs to do. The big difference this time is that the track will be in the farmer’s corn field next to the house. This track will be a little longer than the one in the yard. I am also sure there will be several deer cross tracks. I am using less food since Dynamite does not seem to need it and less will help Dixie will stay focused on the scent. This track is about 200 yards long and has big arcs. We are still not ready to work doglegs or 90 degree turns. The track is flagged! Dynamite and Dixie have already been out tracking so now it is Daphine’s turn. Daphine is a very happy girl she really enjoys spending time with me no matter what we are doing. She is a great retriever so I suspect that teaching her to pick up the glove should be pretty easy.
Daphine is not as serious working as Dynamite but just as accurate. She stays on the track very well but will stop and air scent and then double check to make sure she is still on the track. She also goes part way in each direction at cross tracks to make sure she is on the right track. She also checks out the rows in the corn field to make sure the track does not turn and go down any of those easier paths. Maybe she is just as serious but just wants to make sure she is right all the time. She finds the food drops and wants her cookies. After being rewarded she quickly goes back to work the track. At any rate she does a very good job and even plays with the glove at the end. I toss it a couple times for her to retrieve and then she is off tracking the group back to the house. 
Ok I still have time so it is to the next dog! Happy tracking!

It is Tuesday December 9 2008 and I have laid my first a track at home. For those that may not have seen Dixie’s blog I started attending formal tracking classes with her on Mondays yesterday. I have decided to train some of my other dogs at home on her tracks. I laid a track across the front of my yard. It is the same serpentine type course that we did in Dixie’s class with a very big arc. I would estimate my track to be about 100 yards. Daphine is the third dog to do this track with me today. I have been spending some extra time with Daphine over the last couple months taking her to class and trials with me to socialize. I expect she will be a good worker as she is very toy and food motivated and enjoys spending time with me. She needs to build some more confidence and we need to work on our working relationship so tracking should be good for us. I did not add any additional food drops on the track so she will be starting with much less than Dixie had yesterday. I do not expect that to cause any problems but I am ready to stop and spend some time playing with the girl if she gets confused or does not understand the game. Off to get the dog.
Daphine is very excited to be going out alone with her dad and thinks maybe she is going bye-bye. I take her out back to potty before heading to the front where the track is. Again like Dynamite I am pleasantly surprised when Daphine approaches stops and sniffs the start article (sock). She also very quickly puts her nose to the ground and takes off down the track. She is not on the scent as intense as Dynamite and stops here and there and air scents but then re-turns to the track quickly. She also does not show any of the problems that Dixie has with the food drops. She indications the drop, waits for her cookies and then goes back to work. She does touch all the flags along the way, marking them as if they were articles. She stops and sniffs the cross tracks that Dixie indicated on her run but stays focused on the real track without any real problems. She finds the glove and is very excited to do so. She and I play a little with the glove. She is enjoying herself and scenting very well but not nearly as intense on the scent as Dynamite was. All in all it was a very good start for her. Ok I still have time so it is off to get the next dog! Happy tracking!