Quinn's Tracking Blog

 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:...