In addition to Tally's Good Citizen course I have started doing some baby tracks with her. If I have a bad day it is easy for me to do, and the mental, (or should that be nasal), exercise is stimulating for her. At present she is just tracking my scent on a pre-laid line of about 30 yards, ending with a change of direction to a planted food reward after 5 - 10 yards. Last week I saw an advert for Trailing on Facebook and decided to give that a try. It uses the traditional harness and a line of no less than 7 metres, but Trailing differs from Tracking as it relies on a greater range of scent sources - airborne and from the disturbance of shrubs etc., as well as that lying on the ground. As the new starter Tally went first, and was given two very easy short trails. The body scent of the person was presented on a wooden tongue depressor, and she set off to trail. Her target person rewarded her with the contents of the treat pot when she located them. Tally was then put in the car to rest while the other two members of the group worked, and I had a turn at becoming the target for one of them. After her break, Tally was given her first real trail, I'm not sure of the length - maybe 100 yards or so - but it was along a public pathway, then turning off into a wooded area. I was pleased how methodical she was, only rarely air-scenting, and in the main keeping her nose to the ground - probably because of the baby tracks I have been teaching her. She slept really deeply all afternoon. We both really enjoyed it, and will definitely be going again soon.
I love it! She is so lucky to have found you and you her! It's amazing how well they can track and trail. My dad did tracking with his first akita. He would catch the scent on plants in the creek when the target would cross it trying to hide their scent. And I remember being dragged out of bed at 5 am to be that target who had to go walk through a cold and damp field... Years ago, I had flown to Ottawa and when I was in line at customs, a drug sniffing beagle came through to do her rounds. She passed me by without a look, then turned and sniffed my pants just above my knee, then walked away. I made the mistake of saying "that's where my cat was sitting before I left home". The handler made it very clear that the dog was NOT sniffing cat butt on my leg. But the dog and I knew the truth - cat butt scent was worth that sniff!
It is a great feeling watching dogs do what comes so naturally to them. The airport Beagles in Australia, Canada and the U.S. all retire with amazing records for detection. Over here Springer Spaniels seem to be the favoured breed for scent work.. I have a little idea that, if Tally turned out to be good enough, maybe we could help to search for some of the hundreds of dogs which become lost each year. I don't think I could cope with rough terrain though. Maybe in my next life.
Our next session is booked for April 11th - which was the earliest date that wasn't fully booked! I just hope I don't get called for my other hip replacement before then. I have a pre-admission assessment on Friday but I am much fitter these days and can cope with most things pretty well. Will have to see what they think.
