Track!

October 11, 2008
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Today, we did our first track. With Tessa out of sight, I laid a 30-ft track and placed cheese every few feet. It was supposed to be straight but ended up somewhat curved and cross wind. I then brought her to the start of the track, pointed to it, and watched her get serious. Even a novice like myself could see that was a different kind of sniffing - very intent and focused. She took her time, weaving to the left and right, backtracking, but nose to the ground, thoroughly working every inch of it. She got all the cheese, and the cheese jackpot and lots of praise at the end.

This photo was taken shortly after; as I was moving on, Tessa kept going back to track. No interest in the tennis ball I had just tossed. Eventually, we went for our walk and when we returned about 30 minutes later, she looked for and found the track and worked it backwards...

The following day we tried again on a different field and although she followed the scent she was much less focused. Weather, wind, inexperience of both dog and handler?