Seren tracking

 Hanover Courthouse. Sunny, 75 degrees, 2 mph wind, 74% humidity. Tracks laid by Valerie.  Two short tracks on non-vegetated (sprayed), incorporating stairs & ramps. Tracks (2 of them) laid @ 8:00& aged 50 min. Pretty good. Seren needs more work with non-veg starts. She also didn’t think too much of some of Valerie’s articles. Very true to the track.  Watching the videos reinforced my observation that, at least on non-veg, at a turn, the direction Seren first turns her head, even if she subsequently checks other directions, has a very high probability of being the way the track goes Link to video for track 1:        https://youtu.be/rbgI8LZoGto?feature=shared Link to video for track 2:  https://youtu.be/k5X68j68Trs?feature=shared

 Windsor Business Park. Sunny, 75degrees, 5mph wind, 79% humidity. Track laid @9:00 & aged 45min. Working mostly non-veg, with spraying all asphalt & concrete & food q20-25. Leg 1 started on ankle-high, wet grass. Went 120yd (food @50&100) before crossing straight down curb to asphalt for 25, going directly in front of parked vehicle, then another 25 on concrete to right turn. Leg 2 all on concrete 150yd to right turn. Metal switchplate @25. Leg 3 concrete for 25, then asphalt for 25, concrete another 150, then asphalt for 25 to left turn. Plastic switchplate @107. Leg 4 25 yd on asphalt to end (leather) article. Generally good. Great start & metal article, sniffed but hardly even stopped at plastic article, end good. Seren had to work the 1st transition from asphalt to concrete (parked van may have been an issue), & it took her a while to find the 2nd turn. Cut the 3rd turn slightly. I got to practice working with a 10’ line, letting out a good bit of it at...

 Library. short grass, sparse in spots, & woods, wet from earlier rain. 78degrees, 83% humidity, 6mph wind, cloudy. Track laid @11:10 & aged 20 min. This track was to work on turns into, within, & out of woods. Leg 1 started on sparse grass closely parallel to woods, went 80 yd (food @40), then turned right into woods. Leg 2 25yd (food @15), then left turn. Leg 3 58 yd with metal article (switchplate) @30 & food @40, then left turn. Leg 4 10 yd to right turn immediately after exiting woods. Leg 5 75 yd (food @15&50) on lush grass to end article. Generally quite good. Only error was totally ignoring metal article in woods.

 Chamberlayne Elementary School. Short grass & covered sidewalks. 80 degrees, 71% humidity, 6 mph wind. Track laid @10:15 & aged 30 min. Entire track was shaded. Non-veg sprayed & food every 15. Forgot start flag, so just fabric article at start. Leg 1 on grass 50 yd (food@40), then onto sidewalk for another 25 to left turn. Leg 2 130yd, metal article @55, to right turn. Leg 3 65 yd to left turn back onto grass. Leg 4 35 yd (food@15) to leather article Start & articles good. Overshot 1st turn by 20 feet, 2nd one by 10ft, 3rd by 5ft.

 Pole Green Park. 64degrees, partly cloudy, 5mph wind, 81% humidity, short grass with heavy dew. Track laid @ 7:30 & aged 20 min This was an exercise in going up a hill, stopping & waiting at the top while I catch up, then continuing on track. Leg 1 95 yd to left turn. Leg 2 100 yd, food @ 20, thru widely spaced trees, up moderate hill, food @ 75, ~10 yd past top of hill, then right turn. Leg 3 50 yd, food @20, to leather article. Start & both articles good. About 5yd before 1st flag Seren got distracted by competing scent & then it took her a minute to find turn. On second leg went up hill while I waited at bottom & let out line. At crest of hill I cued a down & stay while I went up, putting a lot of pressure on the line as if I were pulling myself up with it. When I got to her, I praised & released to the track, which she took back  immediately. Food drop was perfectly placed. 2nd turn right on .This was confidence building as well as fun.