February 10th, 2026
Location: Endview Plantation
Track Layer: Heather and Lancelot
Article: sock and glove
Food: cheese
Goal for the day: easy short 1- turn tracks
How did it feel? We definitely have had better training sessions. He struggled a bit and I did not feel that great about this practice.
Judi posted about fundamentals, so we wanted to focus on that. We kept our food drops identical to the previous session and planned two shorter tracks (under 100 yards) with a single turn. To keep motivation high, we chose a location with much less contamination than our usual spots. Heather laid the tracks, and her exchange student, Lancelot, double-laid them.
Track 1
We started strong, but the real breakthrough came at the turn. He showed a clear loss of scent a "win" for us because his body language is usually so subtle that it’s hard to read. Identifying that moment of uncertainty is something I have been working on. After the turn, we hit a headwind. Even though he’s handled stronger winds before, he struggled here. There was some confusion regarding the track. Heather was directing us to a spot when I saw food at a different spot. Near the end of the track he did stop and have his head up for a bit but he wasn't just "staring off" as he has in the past. His flukes were moving and he was actively air-scenting. Not sure if he was sniffing for the track or something else though. We finished at the glove, though it’s clear we still have some work to do on his article engagement. He did not engage much with is even with it was pulled.
Track 2
We ran the second track immediately after. Given the cold, dry air, I made sure to offer water first. This track felt a bit more frantic, with more casting back and forth. It was difficult to distinguish his turns from his scent-checks, and we relied on Heather’s guidance to finish. The ending article was a sock which seemed to pique his interest a bit more. We ended the day with a high-value tug game with the glove on the way back to the car to build that positive association for next time.
3 Things that went well
1. Loss of scent communication
2. Flukes moving, active sniffing showing that he is still engaged.
3.
3 Things to improve on
1. Articles. He is so hit or miss with them. I do understand keeping the article on a string during the track. However, I am going to start doing "can you" pickup games off the track. I have been doing these at home. He knows the game at home with no issues. Outside of the house he is not making the connection. We are going to start going pick up article drills away from home and off the track.
2. On Track 2 especially, the casting made it hard to read intention. I kept thinking he was at a turn.
3. Always working on line work and trying to keep it more taught.
I liked track 1. I think one turn tracks (aka 'starts') is a great idea - plotting with thoughts toward the older start having a higher reinforcement rate. He made the turn on T1 very well. And I wasn't sure why Heather stopped you at 2:45 - it looked to me like you were only 'off' by a foot (perhaps that was misleading). But when she does stop you, breathe/pause. Don't immediately jump left or right. Pause, watch him. Heather can say 'support anything to the left' or something like that. So that your feet are still while HE figures out why you've stopped. Then support by moving WITH him in the direction that she says it goes.
ReplyDeleteTrack2 was a bit harder. I know it feels like you are pushing him down the track and I could feel your frustration. Awesome job offering water at the start. I think he is on the verge of a super 'loss of scent' indication success. When he does stall out and Heather directs you, he disconnects. I might take a moment, walk up to him, tussle his hair and restart with a little happiness. I know it's hard. You're trying to get motion and my dog's problem is too much motion. So I often feel "lord of mercy dog, can you not just chill your balls and not act like a crackhead'. My frustration builds his frustration. So don't be afraid to take a break in training, love on him and say 'lord of mercy dog, this is hard but we got this, you and me!"
Regarding double laying - I'm betting Heather and Lancelot walked the track together in single file. That's fine but be super careful about how the fooddrops 'may' be affected by feet. Ideally, in a perfect world with plenty of time, I would walk it the first time putting in flags along the way. Then I would circle aaaalllll the way around, get my food out and ready, put my map away, and focus on augmentation and picking up all the flags except the first two.