Last Monday, I had time to lay a quick track around a school that we’ve used numerous times. This is a nice place because it isn’t being used as a school right now. However, there is some activity at the building. I was hoping they wouldn’t mind some weird woman in a business outfit and a wool topcoat with a fanny pack around her front wandering around the grounds muttering to herself and dropping trash!
This time I remembered to keep the track within the lighted areas of the school. The last time I tracked here, my start flag was in the dark when I returned. I again focused on transitions with giving her areas of non-veg. I also added a non-veg turn on a sidewalk as an extra challenge.
Devon once again started very strong. She was really thrilled to be tracking again. She transitioned onto the parking lot very well. I’m glad I’m still using a hand touch in water occasionally on non-veg surfaces. Devon was using these spots to get her confidence up and double check herself. If I can be sure of where I lay the scent in water, I don’t mark it with chalk so she won’t learn to look for chalk marks the way she drags me to flags!
On the long stretch of parking lot, Devon tracked with her head up higher than she has been. I know Steve’s been working with Archie on dropping his head more on non-veg. While some say they track just fine with their heads up, I agree with Steve that it’s much easier to read them with their heads down. I tried to stop when Devon’s head came up and she was even a little off the line to see if she’d drop her head and look for the scent. This did work pretty well and pulled her more true to the line. She did want to jump to the grass pretty quickly when she saw it and found the track up there. I’m seeing more serpentines in her future and turns on the non-veg before the grass! That will be something for us to work in the spring!
The rest of her track was very nice. She explored and was comfortable tracking through a covered porch next to the maintenance building that held lawn mowing equipment. She has previously struggled here, as did Archie. She also found a metal article in the dark in a rubber mulch (black) playground area. I was impressed! I knew it was there but I could not see it; I would have known where to look if she passed it. However, she was right on the track and had no problem finding it right away. Devon’s non-veg turn was alright. She knew there was a turn and explored the area, but she was also quick to jump to the grass. Again I think we have some more serpentine work to do.
The biggest challenge with both of our tracks on Sunday and Monday was how cold my hands got. It was only 30-32 degrees, and I had heavy layers on. I wasn’t cold except my hands, which were so cold they became extremely painful. I couldn’t spend any more time outside with her because of this intense pain. Unfortunately even though Devon enjoyed the change of pace, it will be a while before we do any more tracking. I need warmer weather!
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