Seren tracking

 Dorey Park Each dog had a 3 turn track with an article on each turn. Dog was to stay for food, petting, & praise until released to get back to the track. I think we all did a little better than yesterday. Seren had #1, Dylan #2. Both aged 90 minutes. I am noting that Dylan tracks with his head higher than Seren & is more easily visually distracted. Also tends to look, rather than smell, for article when he gets close. Probably has always been this way & I am just now perceiving it. Need to give him more ‘hidden’ articles. Seren    https://youtu.be/l2QOsEMQC2U?feature=shared Dylan    https://youtu.be/5Df2_5i1kEU?feature=shared

 Taylor Park Each dog had a 2 turn track with 2 intermediate articles. Focus on me making a bigger deal out deal  out of articles & also dog taking responsibility for being on track after turn, showing me they are sure by pulling into harness. Both tracks aged 1hr 15 min. Seren has #1, Dylan #2. It’s going to take a few sessions for me to be smooth about dropping food on articles 🙂 Seren had an air scenting episode on leg 2 that took a while to get through, & to a lesser extent on leg 3. Took me longer than it should have to remember about stepping behind dog when they are slightly off track. Clearly I need more practice. Both dogs had good turns & restarts after articles. I didn’t notice the sky until looking at the video - so pretty! Seren     https://youtu.be/-PBrSlGebdw?feature=shared Dylan   https://youtu.be/U4d4mYGeLIg?feature=shared

 Judi’s field.  72 degrees, partly cloudy, 8mph, 64% Both dogs had a straight track with multiple articles, some of which were off to the side of the track. Food drop 10-20 steps beyond each article. Age 30-40 min. Neither dog had any issues with re-finding track after going off to side to article. Seren pulled into harness nicely, needed reminders to wait for me to pick up article before re-starting. Great attitude. Dylan needed reminders to lie down. Seren:   https://youtu.be/g-pNZGA1Nmk?feature=shared Dylan:   https://youtu.be/ggF9cL5Dx2A?feature=shared

 JSR Park Seren: 2 acute angle turns with articles on the turns. Age 1hr45min. Tried to concentrate on pulling into harness, staying directly on track, working with 20’ line at times. She really wanted to cut corner at 2nd turn. Mostly did well video:    https://youtu.be/7tJj6ougzHI?feature=shared Dylan: 2 turns, intermediate article on leg 2, end article up on a bench. Age 2 hr. Worked on pulling, being on track from the start. He found the glove up on the bench this time. I have difficulty keeping the right amount of tension on the new line, especially when it’s wet, as it doesn’t slide the same way the biothane does. video:   https://youtu.be/NX0pYLu-fm8?feature=shared

 Klehr Field Both tracks aged ~1hr. Dylan had an article above ground level challenge, Seren had going through gates practice. Just as we started running tracks, kids arrived for little league practice (earlier than I would have thought). Dylan was distracted by their arrival on the scene, tho it was pretty far from his track. He was, however good about getting back to tracking. Didn’t seem to perceive glove up on bleacher - it had food in it, but not particularly smelly stuff. We will work on this some more. Seren was totally nonchalant about the other people, even tho my brain was pretty rattled. Had to stop her track after going through 2nd gate, but I forgot to turn off video, so it runs much longer than necessary. Dylan video      https://youtu.be/GEBGroPb0zA?feature=shared Seren video      https://youtu.be/oJCo7NYJAUE?feature=shared

 JSR.  Seren had Dylan’s track from last time & vice versa.  Seren:  crows got the meatballs off the baseball infield again before I even finished laying the track.🤷‍♂️. She started well & pulled into harness. Had a moment of pause shortly before 2nd turn - ?confusion, disappointment in the lack of food? but did get going again & finished in grand style video   https://youtu.be/DSA1GwS9e5Q?feature=shared When we got back to Dylan’s track, it was being mowed. Start flag & article were gone, end flag was gone so I assumed article was as well. Almost bagged it, but then decided to give it a go. Put 2 articles in my pocket, harnessed up & went to where I thought start was. Threw down an article & off we went. Dylan did great! There was standing water in the bottom of the hole/bowl area which he didn’t seem to notice. Made turns accurately & got to end quickly, where I threw out another article. The original end article (his slipper😢) wa...

 JSR Seren:  turns in a deep depression in the field. She did fine with the turns but apparently there were some very interesting scents along the woods on the 1st leg video: (note date is incorrect on video)     https://youtube.com/watch?v=QeDO97G6Aa0&feature=shared Dylan:  bare dirt, fence gate, woods. He had some trouble when first on the bare dirt of the ball field, I think not so much that he couldn’t follow the track but because he was looking really hard for all the smelly meatballs which were no longer there while the crows sat on the fence laughing. Rest of it was really good. video:   https://youtube.com/watch?v=1ldC3f6ulyU&feature=shared

 JSR Park Seren:  young track with aim of requiring her to be on track from the start, pull into harness with about 20’ feet of line out.  & make a turn in a shallow ditch. No turn flags. She did very well. https://youtube.com/watch?v=mrTGF5ppy6c&feature=shared Dylan: also a young track, requiring him to be ‘on’ from the start & pull (not really an issue for him). He had some challenging turns - on bare dirt, just after going through a gate. He has gone through that gate before & straight into woods, so he thought it might go that way again, but he figured it out. No turn flags, fairly short line. He also did well, tho I think he would have gone further into the woods if allowed. https://youtube.com/watch?v=rA50l8IRUq8&feature=shared

 Courthouse Park. Sunny, 63 degrees, 10mph, 55%.   Seren practiced turning in ditches. She was reluctant to pull into harness at first, but when I didn’t go with her she really dug in & insisted. Indicated intermediate article from a couple of feet away, I’m guessing due to wind. End article was gone - there had been a dog walker in the area while track was aging. (8:45-9:30) https://youtube.com/watch?v=uNdADgK0saw&feature=shared  Dylan:  8 turn stairstep. 8:25-9:05. Young man came to practice some soccer moves not too far from end of track, just as we were getting ready to run it. I thought to wait until he was done, but then groundkeeper started mowing near beginning of track & was obviously going to mow over track, so I went ahead. Dylan did quite well until he got within critical distance of soccer practice & then wanted to join that. Happily, my new line did not slip through my hands, but I thought for a second my elbow was dislocated. He got bac...

 Oak Knoll MS Seren:  2 tracks, each with a turn at a storm drain. Turns heavily fooded & scuffed. Age 1 hour. She did well, was willing to pull even with line at 20 ft. Did not miss any of the food at the turns😄 video 1   https://youtube.com/watch?v=Fs4iJuOrHSY&feature=shared video 2    https://youtube.com/watch?v=5cZ6quF9qvk&feature=shared Dylan:  1 turn track with 6 intermediate articles, food 10steps after each article. Age 10 min. Needed verbal cue to down at start, did the rest on his own  Pretty much ignored moderate traffic on nearby road. video   https://youtube.com/watch?v=VcavinWAw5k&feature=shared

 Oak Knoll MS Seren: 8 turn stairstep, still working on pulling into harness. Turns flagged. At some turns line was short, at others, 20ft. She was less willing to pull hard at some turns (#5), especially with the longer line. So this issue is not resolved, but I think we’re on the right track. video:   https://youtube.com/watch?v=Xr9ysbCZapY&feature=shared Dylan had a 4 turn track dealing with sidewalk crossings. He did very well video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=yXaAHRfic4c&feature=shared Next up, articles for Dylan, turns in ditches for Seren

 JSR Park Cloudy, 59degrees, 6mph, 86%. Age 15 min Both dogs: 2 turn track, looking for pulling into harness & starting correctly. Turns not flagged. Scuff 15, walk 15, food, walk 15. Scuff 15 into & out of turns Both did well, so will start adding turns & increasing age as weather permits Seren video:     https://youtube.com/watch?v=VCvpO07wA5M&feature=shared Dylan video:    https://youtube.com/watch?v=qw-u5KGTP_g&feature=share

 Oak Knoll MS, 9am, sunny, 68degrees, 8mph, 57% Still concentrating on pulling into harness & being on track from start flag. Each dog had a 2 turn (1 in each direction) with legs ~50yd long. Scuff 15, walk 15, food, walk 15.  Turns scuffed, not flagged. I did not let line out much beyond 20 feet, frequently less. Both dogs did well - Seren seemed enthusiastic & Dylan pretty much ignored runners in the distance. Seren video:   https://youtube.com/watch?v=EuS2ydXTzAc&feature=shared Dylan video:    https://youtube.com/watch?v=Lspi67Xgf90&feature=shared

 JSR Park  sunny, 63degrees, 14mph, 49% Same tracks as testerday. Both dogs did very well. Seren got a little wind blown shortly after start but quickly corrected. Will ad in turns next session Seren video:    https://youtube.com/watch?v=czWDhJATlTE&feature=shared Dylan video:    https://youtube.com/watch?v=9xSneiWxgYg&feature=shared

 Klehr field. 8:00, sunny, 56degrees, 9mph, 85%.  Both dogs continue working on ‘on track’ from the start flag, pulling into harness. Reinforcement pattern= scuff 15, walk 10, food, walk 10. Repeat for ~100yds. Run fresh Both started & pulled nicely, even with line at 25ft. Seren briefly checked & discarded bits of trash. She also indicated end article ~6ft before she got to it. I have no explanation for that. Dylan examined a cross track that appeared to have been made by a bicycle but went back to his track on his own Will repeat this scenario next session Seren video    https://youtube.com/watch?v=da-j0_ZTaQs&feature=shared Dylan video  https://youtube.com/watch?v=7_dwqASlc-A&feature=shared

 Surry P&R. Sunny, 62 degrees, 8mph, 59%  Both dogs same track as last 2 days. They both did great, pulled into harness steadily even at 30 feet. Next session we’ll try scuff 15, walk 10, food, walk 10, scuff 15, walk 10, food, walk 10, etc. After that has been successful a couple of times in a row, start to add in turns. Seren video      https://youtube.com/watch?v=jD-bPv3U8Ws&feature=shared Dylan video    https://youtube.com/watch?v=6bOYNRHXLJo&feature=shared

 Dorey Park.  9:00, sunny, 55 degrees, 4mph, 79% Same tracks as yesterday. Both dogs started well & pulled steadily, even with up to 30 feet of line. Dylan was mildly distracted by walkers in the distance, but nothing like the last time we were at Dorey. Will repeat this tomorrow, & if all goes as well will increase walking steps the session after that Seren video    https://youtube.com/watch?v=YWGh-mZwtuw&feature=shared Dylan video    https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q_nm8HvEaJs&feature=shared

 Courthouse Park. 8:30. Light rain, 57 degrees, 11 mph, 70% For both dogs, ~100yd straight line track, scuff 15, walk 10, food drop, repeat. Still working on pulling into harness. Let line out to 20 feet or so for short periods. Did not let dog get more than 2 steps off start flag unless dead on track. Tracks run fresh. Both dogs started well & were willing to pull into harness, tho strength of pull seemed to lessen a bit as I got further down the line. Puzzling behavior from Seren - about 6 feet from end article an extraneous scent right on the track caught her attention. She studied it a few seconds & then had a lot of difficulty getting back to work & on to the glove. I don’t know what that was about, will see if it happens again. Dylan did something similar tho further from the glove, it was obviously something he felt needed to be urine marked, & then he got right back to business. Will repeat this scenario next session, maybe not give Seren as much line or for...

 Wilder MS. 9:30am. Sunny, 72 degrees, 3mph, 54% Same tracks as yesterday, also run fresh. Both dogs stellar in all respects, so next session will do scuff 15, walk 10 between food drops. no video

 Trevvitt School. Partly cloudy, 61 degrees, 8mph, 73%. 8:30 am. Same thing for both dogs, working on getting them to pull into harness & to be on track immediately from the start flag. I used new line for Dylan. Each had an approximately 100 yard straight line track, completely scuffed & run fresh. Food every 30 scuffs (~20 feet). Start & end articles. Dog had to be exactly on track for at least 2 steps before I let out any line at the start. Kept line @ 10-15 feet & didn’t move until dog was pulling hard. I was surprised that Seren had no issue with this exercise, pulling almost from the very beginning. She kept getting blown off ~1 foot to the right by crosswind, but repeatedly corrected herself. Dylan also did fine, which did not surprise me. Will repeat this again next time, & if still good will move to scuff 15, walk 10, food, repeat. after that. No video