vikingdobermans.com Blog

The difference a day and place can make

April 8th

I decided to take Charlie Brown tracking for my lunch break from work…. we went to St. Joseph’s Manor and the conditions were great.  Grass hadn’t been cut recently and was ankle deep.  I laid a track and waited a short time (maybe 15 minutes).  Track began to the right of the box, not straight ahead and Charlie had no problem figuring out the direction.  I had laid my first leg into the wind and I’m sure that helped him.  There was food in the box and the first few steps.  The indentations from my footsteps were clearly visible.

Charlie hit all the corners, he kept his nose down.  Good article indication, steady speed (although I did give him a few “go easy” commands).  I stayed about 6 feet behind the boy.

This was an easy track and Charlie did a good job.

April 9, 2009

I decided to take Charlie tracking again today for lunch.  It was slightly warmer, slightly dryer and the grass at Villa Julie was good, but not quite as good as the day before, with a few more patchy areas. 

I laid my first leg with the breeze to my back and the track was all left turns with an article on each leg.  There was food in the scent box, but no food in the first few footsteps.  Charlie missed the first two turns, overshot each one, then circled back and found the leg about four or five footsteps from the corner, having gone straight at each corner.  The first three legs he was pretty good and was in each footstep.  The final leg, with the wind cutting from right to left, he was off a footstep to the left.  When he got to the final article his platz was crooked (and that came from being off the track a footstep).  All article indications were good and fast.