Sunday, March 21, 2010

Trust working through the Army Reserves

Trusts' most recent track was around a high school, and through the army reserves next to it. We were able to cover many different types of areas in these locations. There are just three pictures here, as these were (to me) the most interesting spots. The top photo shows us coming off a grassy area, her 3rd leg, and onto pavement. The track was aged 3+ hr. and was over lunch time.
When we came through here, there was no-one to be seen. She spent ages moving up and over the entrance area to this building. Her turn was actually just before it, (but could have been past it) and moved up along the building. I had to think that people had been in and out at lunchtime, nice day, perhaps hanging around there eating or who knows what? Patience, patience, patience..I knew the track couldn't be "there" but she had to check it out. Finally, I firmly told her to "find" and she whipped about and headed up the side. But it had to be her decision, not me "forcing" her off.
The photo below shows her beginning to move up the side, on grass, towards another parking lot where she found an article.
The actual turn (here)would have been on the pavement before reaching the entrance sidewalk (just barely out of the picture to the left)
Below we are moving off the parking lot behind the buildings (above) where she had found an article before making a left turn. In this photo, she has just indicated another plastic article which was left directly on top of a sewer grate. I love these interesting, and sometimes difficult, article placements in training. These two plastic articles were both tiny black plastic tubes about 3" long. These articles and placements would not be in a test. She actually had six articles and my friend who laid the track made it a fun challenge.

From this article placement the track went straight ahead and turned right, around where the truck had parked, across the grass island then across the road into a parking area at the school. We did a lot of hard surface on this track and also lost one article to a fellow picking up garbage!