Tracking With Otis

 After class Tuesday, I wanted to do an easy high reward training track so I put in an article track. The weather was sunny and a bit windy. Otis was spirited and excited to proceed down the track retrieving each article with his usual hopstep! There was one turn in the track at a branch protruding from a brush pile. I turned my feet in the opposite direction but Otis didn’t take the bait. Good boy! Used my 15’ line staying at 10’. Have marked my long line at 10’ to begin using it again. 

1/16  There is still heavy snow cover on the fields at the farm and on both other fields I generally use. I did some exploring and found a field with patchy snow at Hollymead Town Center and put in 2 start tracks there. There is a good bit of traffic on 2 sides of this field and I’m sure folks from the town homes adjacent use it to walk their dogs. Given the terrain and possible contamination I was pleased with Otis ability to track ie going off the track but then coming back. (FD @10, 15) Track #1: I used a clip to mark the turn 5 yds previous to the turn. Great turn. On both tracks I used the 15’ lead trying to stay at 10’ on the track giving to 15’ at each turn. Having video now and being able to watch him track and make decisions is invaluable. Track #2: FD again @ 10, 15 Otis seemed more settled in to this track. I used “Leave it” for something rotting on the edge of the track and the practice we’ve been doing with “leave it” seemed to pay off. The turn was at an evergreen clu...

  Today’s track was a follow up to yesterday’s track, Otis first track in the snow. My goal was to get tracking behavior and not bucking. Suggestions from Mary Ann and Judi: more food on track, maintain 10’ or less in distance on the line and look at my feet on turns. I did put more food on the track-FD every 10. I switched back to my 15’ line and stayed at 10’ and sometimes less. I did not do as well with the looking at my feet at turns goal as I was trying to keep the video on Otis but cast my eyes downward. These suggestions were so helpful and I thought Otis tracking was much improved today!  https://youtu.be/BzZTphgPUeI https://youtube.com/shorts/DXwXIup1tNA?feature=share

 This was Otis’ first experience tracking in the snow. It was also his first time tracking in 8 days. I picked him up from the boarding kennel around noon and we tracked midafternoon. The track was only aged 25 minutes. Otis did buck forward but was not out of control in all directions as he had been the last time we tracked on 1/4. He did not stop for the food drops. I was pleased with the way he got past the brush pile which must have quite a bit of animal scent. The video was taken with Meta glasses. https://youtu.be/VpuvzHnUUgg https://youtube.com/shorts/hx5BgzN51tM?feature=share

 2 start tracks laid early in the AM on/near an elementary school playground and soccer field. The wind was strong and gusting. Otis was as high as a kite. I consciously now try to have a calm matter of fact tone heading to the start. It didn’t help. Otis bucked, jumped and pulled honestly I think north south and east. He would settle briefly to track for maybe 10 yards then he’d be wild again. I honestly don’t know what happened at either turn. I knew exactly where they were but whirling dervish would be an accurate description. He was very excited to find each end article when we FINALLY made it to each one. To further the level of excitement there was a soccer ball that had been left on the field about 6-10 yards off the 2nd track. He barked. He lunged. He play bowed. A reality check for sure…and I will definitely be picking up a variety of objects esp balls at the Goodwill for our practice.

 A great day! The weather was cold and clear. I put in a 3 turn track that aged an hour. I knew the exact ground positions of the turns so I could stand still previous to the turn give him line to work and follow him when he committed. He found all 3 turns and committed then I followed. The food drops are indicated on the track map. The short leg (55 yards) did not have a food drop. We both had a very happy walk back to the car!