February 8, 2025
Tracking class was cancelled due to weather. I wanted to take advantage of having the day off for class and got out a little later in the day. It was still pretty cold but at least the rain had stopped. We ended up having a great tracking day.
Goal for the track: Moving the articles as Fin approaches the end.
How did it feel: Felt much better today. I could tell he was more engaged.
3 Things the dog did well
- He moved down the tracks quicker than he has been. Similar track lengths were taking him between 6-12 minutes. Today these three tracks were finished in about 4 minutes. Overall he seemed more confident and eager to work.
- He almost pulled me down trying to get to the articles at the end pouncing and grabbing.
- He went back to tracking after watching a dog in the distance on his own instead of just staring away.
3 Things to improve on
- Going to start adding more length to the tracks.
- also start spacing out the food more.
- work on rigging something up for when I am tracking on my own and need the article to move.
Track 1
120 yards food every 8 paces, no turn, article used was a coyote tail for lure coursing. He saw a dog in the distance on this track. That’s why he kept looking up. He did go back to tracking on his own for the most part. Heather’s husband, Elliot stood off to the side with a rope the article was tied to. He jerked the tail when we got close. Finwe did see the tail a bit further back than I would have like and then almost pulled me down trying to get to it!
Track 2
120 again however this time food was spaced further to 10 paces with a open left angel turn. Food places 5 steps in and 5 steps out of the turn. Article was a tiny ground squirrel pelt. Much smaller for him to see on the track. It still worked great once it was jerked!
Track 3
120 yards with food every 10 paces again. Trying to be consistent with allowing him to complete the same track twice and then moving forward. For this track we tied up an actual clothing article vs an animal skin. I was hoping with the movement he would still grab it. For some reason he did chase it but then it seemed like he wanted to go to the end flag more and did not grab it right away. Elliot did tug it again and he pounced on it. Finwe also picked it up when I verbally asked him to.
Wow!!! I’m thrilled! He was SO into the game!! Maybe use a leather glove (large work type) and put the smaller hide inside as a bridge to grabbing just the glove. Later we will stuff a fabric glove into the leather one, but for now, I’d use the stuffed glove on track 2 and a hide on the last track. If you his a garden supply store, you’ll find green metal plant stakes that have a circular piece at the top. I think you could stick that in the ground 10ft past the article, run the string through it and back to the track, so you can pick it up and twitch it as he approaches. Let me know if you need a photo of the plant stake.
ReplyDeleteTeam Finwe, nice work! Elliott for the win! Finwe has moments of brilliance and some moments of his momma "pushing" him down the line. Flora I want you to concentrate on keeping tension on the line and not moving your feet when he is trying to work things out. I think you can use a longer line now - to allow him to pull the line through your closed fingers and THEN you move off in the direction he is tracking THEN you hustle up the line to be close to his bum. Team Finwe has outgrown the leash and when he leaps forward to get his end article, you can let the line slide through your closed fingers without being jerked to the ground. So, closed fingers just means the line is sliding with some tension. Not the death grip. Look at Emaline and Otis the Saluki videos. Her line tension is good.
ReplyDeleteNice work!