Quinn's Tracking Blog

On our road trip to Arizona and back, I hoped to find some space for structured tracking practice. Unfortunately I was not able to do that, but as the days passed and we found ourselves in very unfamiliar conditions, I did have many opportunities to watch Quinn use his nose. This prolonged opportunity to closely notice his behavior was so interesting that I wanted to record some of the things I observed for reflection as we continue our tracking adventure.  During our travel days, other than driving my only job was to take care of Quinn. I was very concerned with managing any symptoms or complications of his condition (Atypical Addison's Disease) that might be brought about by travel stress, so I was already extremely focused on him during every walk and bathroom break along the way.  Our first overnight stop was Nashville, Tennessee. The weather and landscape were not noticeably different than at home. Our hotel for the night was undergoing some type of renovation or repair (...

We've been pretty busy with NASDA training and trials, but we ventured out to a new location to do some tracking on Friday.  With gas prices as they are, some of our 'further afield' locations are getting prohibitively expensive to visit often, so I contacted Chesterfield County Parks & Recreation to ask for suggestions. Their first recommendation was Beulah Park, so we went there to check it out. There was a big open area, but the grass (and soil) were extremely dry. Some areas had no grass or vegetation at all. I wasn't sure how challenging this might be for Quinn, so I laid a test-track: straight, S10W20FD10 (a pattern he is very comfortable with), and double laid the track just in case.  The first track was around 75 yards long.  Temperature: 77° F  Wind: WNW 1 MPH, gusts to 8 MPH Humidity: 50% Overall: Sunny and warm, fairly dry Track 1: Laid 10:56 AM, Run 11:08 AM  Quinn stayed cool in the car (with AC!) while I set the track. I let him have a brief ba...

Class has ended but exploring the wonderful world of tracking continues!  The Plan , such as it is: Quinn has qualified for a few things at the NASDA 'championship events' this fall so we will be working hard to prepare for those. I am planning to establish Mondays as regular tracking practice days (after our swim time at Paws to Swim, since they've kindly allowed us the use of their big field) and work in extra practice days as much as time and weather allow. After September, with nationals behind us, we'll focus specifically on tracking again for the winter. We both LOVED tracking class this year so participating again is definitely at the top of our list!  I hope that some of the things we're working on for NASDA (blind searches, Quinn's confidence, handler-letting-dog-figure-things-out, etc) will support us in tracking, even though the sports are not the same.  Anyway, as for today: Temperature: 57° F  Wind: SW 3 MPH, gusts to 14 MPH Humidity: 72% Overall: B...

RDOC Tracking Class for 2025-2026 was an adventure! After lots of cancellations due to weather, we had our last class meeting on Tuesday, 3/17.  True to form for this class, the weather was wild! Very strong wind always seems to distract Quinn so I was really proud of him for working as well as he did.  When I looked at the map that our fabulous track layer (Susan) gave me, I realized this track was about 40 minutes old. That was a first for Quinn so perhaps contributed to some of his distraction/uncertainty in this effort. Considered in a vacuum, it was not our strongest effort in class, but taking the conditions into account, I don't think it was as dire as I initially felt. We got there in the end, and learned some useful things along the way. Quinn was further hampered, as always, by his handler's bumbling with the line. I will keep working on it!  

Thursday was our best chance for tracking based on our schedule, so despite the weather, we went to Dorey Park to practice.  Weather conditions at beginning of session: Temperature: 48° F  Wind: N 12 MPH, gusts to 36 MPH Humidity: 86% Overall: Rapidly getting colder, rainy, VERY windy  Track 1: Laid 11:34 AM, Run 11:42 AM  In light of the bizarre weather and our first attempt on a longer line, I made a pretty simple track to start with: flag with article (sock) with food inside; scuff 10, W20FD10, repeat to R turn. Scuff 10 from the turn and repeat W20FD10 to the final article (glove) with food. Quinn had no trouble with this and we had a little celebration then walked back. There was trash blowing around before/during/after, so I picked up what I could. I was impressed with his focus on the track even though there were some empty food containers amidst the trash items near the track. He checked a few but did not really pause or indicate them so I let him keep going ...

Quinn's first multi turn track! Part 1:    Part 2:  Part 3:  

After class last week, I updated our track-laying pattern a bit, and focused on some turns and uneven terrain. In class we talked about knowing our dog's dominant side and Quinn is definitely right-handed, so today both of our turns were to the left.  That didn't seem to pose any challenge for him, though! He's such a good dog. Weather conditions: Temperature: 55° F  Wind: 0 MPH Humidity: 99% Overall: Sunny, warming up quickly  Track 1: Laid 9:56 AM, Run 10:04 AM  In keeping with our tracks from class, I set up as follows: start article with food inside at the flag. Scuff 10, walk 15 with food drop at 7. Repeat till the turn. I put a flag about 5 steps before the turn (usually I use landmarks but today I was trying to fit in as much as possible before it got any hotter so I used a 'warning' flag like we did in class. Hope that's okay?!)  I scuffed 10 after the turn then resumed the W15FD7 pattern, similar to our second class track from last week. I don't thi...

 Quinn was able to return to class on March 3rd and showed me that all my worries about what he would (and wouldn't) remember were entirely unfounded.  

Quinn has been tentatively cleared to start activities again so we are excited to be back to tracking! On Monday, I wanted to remind him what tracking is and make sure we were all-systems-go to return to class on Tuesday (3/3).  Usually I lay out all the tracks I want to do at the beginning, but since I wasn't sure how he was going to react (and how hard to push him), I laid one track at a time, got him out to run it, and then let him have a break in the car while I set the next one.  Weather conditions: Temperature: 39° F  Wind: NE 2 MPH Humidity: 69% Overall: Cloudy, cool Track 1: Laid 9:53 AM, Run 10:01 AM  Track 1 was very elementary, but it has been a while since we put the pieces together. I made a scent pad, scuffed (robustly!) 5, food drop, repeated for about 75 feet, article at the end was a glove. I was not sure he would remember what we were doing so I put an article at the start flag and had him lay down and think about it before asking him to track....

We were very excited to learn about turning at class on Tuesday! We gave turning some more practice today at Tucker Park.  Weather conditions: Temperature: 40° F  Wind: NNW 1 MPH Humidity: 57% Overall: Clear & calm  I wanted to be confident that I knew where the turns were, so I used landmarks around the park to keep track of where I put things. In order to make use of the available landmarks, I set a first track that was around 60 meters total length, and a second track that was about 70 meters in total. (I have finally explored how to use Google Earth to measure!) I thought since we are so new at turning, I'd stick to the shuffle 5, walk 3, food drop on step 2 (S5W3F2) pattern that we've been using. At the turn, I scuffed five steps in the new direction with more gusto than usual.  I thought turning was going to be A Very Big Deal, but Quinn doesn't seem to think it is. It was a little challenging to keep track of him AND my turn landmarks without a flag, so ...

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:...