Fall #13

 Track goal was Starts (2) in unfamiliar area with distractions

Planned start tracks at Hollymead Town Center at the parking area for Kohl’s. This was Otis’ first experience in a commercial area with distractions. I purposely went early to lay the tracks before there were the additional distractions of cars parking and people talking, going into the store. The tracks were in sight of Route 29 and traffic. They went through a lot of dried grass with trash scattered here and there proximate to the track. I scuffed the start of each track and also scuffed going into and coming out of each turn. I upped the frequency of food drops from 15, 20 to 10, 15. Otis’ starts were strong and unwavering. As he passed unusual smells or trash he would turn to check out the smell or trash then go right back to the track. May not make sense but…this was one of the best experiences I’ve had in viewing his “on the track” behavior/body language vs stopping to “smell the roses.” I was so proud of the way he handled these new challenges and so excited by what I felt I learned, Articles ⬆️. Water ⬆️.






Comments

  1. Jack's JourneyNovember 23, 2024 at 1:31 PM

    his foundation and consistent work are the reason you are recognizing tracking behavior. you're killin' it. congratulations on thinking through better food placement. great place to wrap up a training session with opps i dropped something!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ralph HattoxNovember 24, 2024 at 2:13 AM

    Great thinking to work him in so distracting an environment. You often see dogs who do great in practice in a controlled environment, who then get to the start in a test, hear another dog barking or see the gallery or a cow or even the judges, and forget what they're there for. The fact that he worked through all the distracting trash shows that he knows what his business is. Just hope he has a good "leave it!"....

    ReplyDelete
  3. JudiNovember 25, 2024 at 4:10 PM

    Woohoo! GREAT training! First TDX Saluki coming…….

    ReplyDelete
  4. tracking gracieNovember 26, 2024 at 11:55 AM

    I applaud you for finding new, challenging places to track and are successful. I need to follow your lead.! Good on you!

    ReplyDelete

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