FINALLY!!!!!! A Track!

The temperature was nice, there were a few locations with roads and parking lots bare, and snow....no grass....but at least something to start working on! This was our FIRST track since October! All I wanted for Trust was somewhere to start...and this was the perfect spot. We did curved legs, lots of turns, short legs (actually some too close, but space was at a premium) and my "tracklayer of the day", Tascha, remembered to drop 3 of the five articles! ha.ha. Doesn't matter, it was a great day. Tascha also took the photos, over 40, so there's a bunch here, it was hard to pare them down. My main goal, with these conditions and the 1st track of the spring, was for enthusiasm from Trust and a decent job...I got both!!!!!!
Arrows show the start pad and direction - I prepare Trust to begin, she was itching to go.

Nose right down in the footsteps. I wasn't even concerned with aging, we "think" we ended up being away about and hour and a half for the aging process.

Headed (right on) the track over the dirty snow and into the gravel road. I knew we'd be turning left there, as the other side of the road is private property.

I figured the track was most likely up the middle area, but as is normal, she worked up the side of the road, where scent would collect against the dirty snow curb.

Here she had come out across the centre area at the end of the roadway opening up in front of the corner of the school. She picked up the track (blue) and moved up into the sidewalk (yellow). We've been here last year, and she is always sucked in against the corner of the building and around the pillar, before coming back out on the sidewalk, then moving right.

She is right on the track up onto the sidewalk. It turns right, but she (as shown in prevous picture) checks out against the school where scent would collect.

We've moved quite a ways up the sidewalk by this photo, and the track does go along the centre of the sidewalk. Blue arrow points out first article. Trust worked nicely along here. When we reach the next corner of the building, you can really feel the wind, and again, she turns left from the track, goes up around the buildng about 20' before turning and coming back to the track.

Sitting to indicate blue plastic lid.

This was a strange area, trying to figure out what she was doing. She went up the snowbank and around the pole, sniffing right in against the base of the pole. Then she came back on the sidewalk and up over the snowbank and into the paved area on the left. After checking it out, she came over the snowbank again, and then moved off the sidewalk to the right and across the road.

The line was wrapped around the pole here, and I was untangling it as she headed towards the road. The wind was coming mainly from the left here, so what was drawing her over that snowbank???

Across the road to the far side, where a small amount of dead grass/mud was showing. A left turn, continuing on along the edge, and then another left turn back across the road.

She had just committed to the turn here, and I was catching up.

The line was under a back leg here, so I told her to wait while I moved up to untangle her.

We continue on towards the next parking area. The track went through the centre here, but again, she's working along the edge. Oh, to have on of those dogs that keeps their nose right on the track on hard surface.......

I knew she had cut a corner here, the track would not have clung around the corner as she was going, and made sense it would have been further out in the pavement. But she was working it, so I let her go, of course. But then, we missed an article by doing this. I saw it, and because we were training, I encouraged her to look for it, and to circle back around until she found it.

In a UTDX trial, you must find all three articles to pass.

And here she is at that article, which was a metal plate. I wanted her to work and find and indicate it, to reward her. I also knew the final article wasn't too much further, and having found only one previous article, it was important to find this one on that day.

I gave Trust extra pats and rubs and praise at this article.

We moved on through the puddle and into the sand/gravel area and she quickly zeroed in on the final article, an old work glove. She is smiling in the above photo. She knows "she done good"! Then she got to play with the tracklayer/photographer...Tascha. I was very pleased with this little track for our first time out. She was really keen to work and the very long layoff didn't seem to matter much. I hope we have enough rain SOON to get rid of the snow so we can actually go and work some "real" tracks, "real" soon!!!!