12-3-24

 Hanover Courthouse. Short grass, sunny, 40 degrees, 7mph wind, 40% humidity. Track laid @12:25 & aged 2hr 35min

This was a modification of the obstacle exercise on the website, as I couldn’t find a road or parking lot with a long stretch of asphalt suitable for use during the week to do it the ‘right’ way. This site also has a wire field fence along the side by the woods & a privacy fence bordering the last leg. (Seren has worked up against fences many times in the past.) I scuffed out of all turns. In addition to start & end articles, I placed one on legs 2, 5, & 10, with food 10 steps beyond each article. Also 1 food drop on leg 4 & 7.

I was pretty pleased with this session. The only areas where Seren had trouble was when cars moved around in the parking lot when we were near that area. She was distracted to the point of being mesmerized at times, but got back to work with some prompting after the vehicle left the scene. She has had this issue in the past & got over it with practice, but we haven’t worked around traffic in a good while. Certainly something to keep in mind before entering any VST tests. Two pedestrians on the other side of the road said hello & Seren briefly lifted her head & wagged her tail, got right back to work on her own.



Comments

  1. Anne (Mila)December 3, 2024 at 5:01 PM

    Impressed she got right back to work after people greeted here instead of wanting to go socialize! Sounds like you worked in some good obstacle-type scenarios. Will leave it to Judi or Mary Ann to give insights 😁!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jack's JourneyDecember 4, 2024 at 8:06 AM

    I'm pleased you were pleased with her. That said, this looks like full length 'testing' to me ... just be careful not to overwhelm her. I know you have tons of experience but sometimes looking ahead to a test clouds our thought process. Work the parts and keep her wanting more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seren trackingDecember 4, 2024 at 10:50 AM

      So if my intent was to approximate the obstacle exercise from the website, using an asphalt road as the obstacle, rather than woods, what should I have done differently?

      Delete
    2. Jack's JourneyDecember 4, 2024 at 5:53 PM

      I personally would have reduced the number of turns. I only mention full length and testing and overwhelm to echo your comments in an earlier post about watching for burnout. You know her best.

      Delete
  3. JudiDecember 4, 2024 at 4:41 PM

    Betty, I think that was pretty good use of what you had available. Not sure I would have aged it that much (unless she’s done this drill previously at a younger age). I suspect the age didn’t bother her, but as we’ve discussed before, it’s not trouble on this track that’s the warning—if overfaced, it will show up at some point in the future. So maybe make sure her next couple of tracks are short, young and fun. I am impressed you found all of the narrow areas to cross the road!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seren trackingDecember 5, 2024 at 3:20 AM

      I hate aging tracks so much that I will gladly look for any excuse not to do it, but then…

      Delete

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