Tracking again.

We went Tracking again last weekend. It was very foggy, cold and damp but we enjoyed it. I was doing a Track 5 which got me to within one more track for my Tracker Dog Excellent title. I started well, following a track across a paddock until we got to the first corner. There was a lot of fresh chewy grass that I realy like to snack on and so I had a great time running between the patches until Keith got a bit stroppy and told me I was a Gundog not a sheep dog and to stop eating grass. I eventually went back to the track and did the next leg. Found the sock and did the next corner well, but then there was a section where rabbits had been. I could not resist an investigation, and as long as Keith thought I was tracking I could do what I liked. After a while Keith worked out what I was doing and put me back to work. Found the next sock on the track, had a bit of a play on another corner then found the third sock. On the final leg I got some strange scents on the wind and got distracted by them but finally found the T-shirt at the end of the track and got a big reward from Keith. Judge Sandy gave me a Pass, but only just.
Hannah was doing her Track 7 which is the first of 2 tracks she needs to get her Tracking Champion title. She started off very well and made the first corners well. Her undoing was the acute angle where the wind caused a scent trap in amongst the some rocks and Hannah found the return track without going all the way up to the turn. This meant she missed a significant part of the track, and so she failed the test. Kathy was pleased with Hannah's work but with her getting the 2 track ons for her TDX she had not really had enough training on those acute turns to be able to cope with the difficulty of the track.
The pic shows us in the car getting warm and dry after our work in the bush.

Hannah Tracking Dog Excellent

Here it is. Hannah's Tracking Dog Excellent certificate, and she got it from only 4 trials.

"How can that be?" I hear you ask.

Well, Hannah got a Track On which let her do 2 tests at one trial, and that got her Track 2 & 3 which was her TD title. Then at her Track 5 Trial, she got another Track On, so she did Track 6 on the same day.

Getting a Track On is very rare as it means that someone had to pull out of a trial at the last minute, and that usually means some kind of emergency, illness or an accident. Fortunatley this time the dog was withdrawn as a precaution after a vet visit and there was nothing wrong with the dog, just the handler playing safe.

Hannah getting 2 Track Ons in 4 trials is a bit like winning the lottery (but not quite) which would make her one of the quickest Tracking Dog Excellent titles in history.

The pic shows the certificate, and Hannah resting on her laurals, after doing her Track 5 & 6 about a week ago. Click on the pic to get a bigger view that can be read.