Quinn's Tracking Blog

Quinn and I joined Ann Li and Skyler at Dorey Park for some Christmas Eve tracking practice! The weather was amazing and we had a wonderful time! Ann and I traded off and set tracks for each other. We repeated the S5W3F2 pattern for Quinn because I wanted to make sure he was really solid at that; but on this occasion we were able to repeat the pattern for a longer distance because we had plenty of space. As we are tracking, whether it is from track to track or start to finish on one track, I feel like he gets more confident as we go. (Great motivation to practice a lot!) Having a big space to really let him settle in and work was nice!  Weather conditions: Temperature: 50° F  Wind: N 6 MPH Humidity: 78% Overall: Clear & calm Track 1: Laid 10:22 AM, Run 10:30 AM  Three things Quinn did well: He was ready to GO when I clipped the leash to his harness! He wasn't rude about it but very happy and excited to get to work. He knows & likes Ann, and he lives for socializ...

Today we ventured out for some tracking practice at Rockwood Park. We walk there frequently and there are some good open areas that usually aren't too busy in the afternoon.... Unless it is 65 degrees out in December - oops! The park was busier than anticipated but nevertheless, we persist.  Weather conditions: Temperature: 63° F  Wind: WSW 7 MPH Humidity: 47% Overall: Sunny, very warm, breezy   Track 1: Laid 3:20 PM, Run: 3:31 PM Our ‘standard’ warm up of 5 shuffle/scuff steps, food drop, repeat until we run out of room.   Track 2: Laid: 3:25 PM, Run 3:35 PM Our new pattern of 5 scuff steps, 3 regular steps with food on step 2, repeated as far as the area allowed. (S5W3F2)   Track 3: Laid 3:46 PM, Run: 3:50 PM Hoping for more focus, I repeated the pattern from Track 2. Unfortunately I managed to turn the camera on and then immediately off (???) so this was our strongest effort of the day and absolutely no video of it exists! Three thin...

 I am very behind on compiling notes and videos into blog posts! Quinn and I ventured to a park in Bumpass for some practice on the way home from other errands. I set a little warm-up track and a longer track per Judi's recommendation from our last blog.   Weather/conditions: Temperature: 61° F  Wind: SW 7 MPH Humidity: 15% Overall: Cloudy, warm, breezy Track 1: Laid 2:53 PM, Run 3:05 PM Quinn's warm up track included a scuffed scent pad at the flag, then I scuffed 5 small shuffle steps + a food drop, repeated 12 times to the article. (Not my best videography - phone was not quite at the right angle!)   Three things Quinn did well: Pretty focused and clear on the job at hand.  Down at article without cue.  Efficient and businesslike! (We had a lot of NASDA practice on either side of this effort so I was pleased that he seemed to make the switch between activities without any confusion. Good dog!!!)  Three things to improve: Let him straight...

 Quinn and I were thrilled to get out to play this morning! I set a "warm up" first track for him and a longer second track just to see what he would do and he was wonderful. We had some schedule challenges since our last practice but even when we struggled to get out to actually track, we worked on indications as much as we could at home. I was delighted that he laid down at each article with no cue from me. (They were not super fast downs but he tends to be a thoughtful and methodical guy - so I am pretty pleased with this!) Weather/conditions: Temperature: 20° F  Wind: WNW 1 MPH Humidity: 61%  Overall: Clear, quite cold Track 1: Laid 9:49 AM AM, Run 10:01 AM Quinn's warm up track included a scuffed scent pad at the flag, then I scuffed 5 small shuffle steps + a food drop, repeated 12 times to the article (glove).  (I switched to a wearable mount for my phone so hopefully it's easier to see what we're doing this time!)    Three things Quinn did well:...

 After a few days off for the holiday and a NASDA trial*, we were excited to get back to tracking! Since our tracking at class (11/25 at Cool Water) went well, I tried to emulate the set-up of those tracks for our practice session. I had watched Susan carefully and made lots of notes; this unfortunately did not stop me from getting so absorbed in the pattern that I sometimes forgot to count how many steps I had actually taken. Happily, slightly lengthier tracks did not seem to pose a problem for Quinn and he was very enthusiastic and generally pretty focused. There were other dogs, vehicles, and people around, all of which he tends to view as potential new best friends. I was pleased that even with such tempting distractions, Quinn refocused each time. Our "down" at the article was a little rusty but that's my fault for not getting more practice time during the holiday week. We will keep working on that.  Weather/conditions: Temperature: 37° F (Balmy!) Wind: N 2 MPH Humid...

 We were back at the SniffSpot this weekend so I wanted to fit some more practice into our week. Quinn was very willing to participate! We just did one track this visit.  Since our last two tracks went smoothly, I went ahead and added 5 steps, and also took slightly more normal length steps (versus the very tiny shuffle steps we started with!) Still dropping a single piece of hot dog at every step.  I had Quinn off leash with just his collar on for the first part of our visit, before I laid the track. I was excited that HE was excited when his tracking harness came out of my bag. I think he's getting the idea of this new game!   The footing (dirt path --> somewhat grassy trail) posed no problem for him. I thought he was very focused and methodical overall. In fact I was so impressed that I was still admiring him at the article and was later to get going with the treats than I meant to be. I'll try not to get distracted by my amazing dog next time! Weathe...