Search with Kira Wed.night

I've been doing quite a bit of work with Kira and scent searches. I don't put too much on here, but she's pretty amazing and I've been working on something a little different for a couple of weeks. I have small cotton pads that I am using, so they are identical, and not carrying any other scent - like a piece of leather might be, or a material item. To begin with, these cotton pads had my scent on them, and then I had a friend scent some and they are popped into a plastic bag, sealed. I also have my husband scent some and do the same with them. I can then age them as long as I want before using them as hidden articles.

Kira was 9 months old yesterday, and she amazes me with her eager work ethic and finds these cotton pads so quickly I can hardly believe it. They are completely out of sight, and vary from floor level to over her head. I don't make it easy.

The red arrows in each picture point out the locations the cotton pads were hidden. In this case, it was between the cushion and the place mat below it. She had to flip aside the cushion to get it.Back in between the frig, and cupboard, she had to reach in, and scratch it out with one paw.Down between the magazines in the crock, she worked to get it out, then sat and looked at me, as it had gone further down, and I removed it.This one was back on the edge of the tub between the shower curtains.Between pages in basket up on a shelf. She indicated, tried but couldn't reach it, as the basket was coming out on her, so I removed it.Underneath the pillow on the bed. She scented around the top side of the bed before jumping up and locating the pad under the pillow.Under the blanket over Trusts' bed.

These cotton pads were scented 24 hr. previously and remained in the plastic bag until I placed them. I left them 20 min. and took her outside for few minutes and back in to do a directed search on leash. I used 4 different areas to place them (7) and she just zipped around finding each one with no problem. A happy girl!

Blasts' Track on Wednesday

So Blast went on his track Wednesday after the rain and approx. 1/2 hr. aging. It was already hot and humid by this time. A few things jumped out at me "later" and again while playing with these pictures. He's done so little urban work. I previously planned to work closer to him, to help keep him on the track. He's generally been ignoring any food I put down, continuing on the track, but today, in these pics. it's obvious the food is stopping him, and drawing him back. Not what I want.

My hope was the food would focus him ON the track but this doesn't seem to be working.

His first leg was a short grass one, out to the gravel driveway and his first turn. I left one piece of food just out on the gravel, which he has stopped for here.First corner with treat on there as well. You can already see how he has passed it and then turned back.Again, the leg moving on down the gravel, he passed the food, and turned back for it. So the thing is, he is "being" stopped by the food, after already tracking on past it. Yet my aim was to be closer on the track at all times by using the food......At the article, plastic lid, he paused briefly and tried to move on. I held the line taut and walked up before he could move on to pick it up.

Moving nicely along here...hmmm...no food.Blast has taken the corner, cutting it short, and moved onto the grass. Working nicely here, there was no food on any of the veg. surfaces.Red arrow points out the wood article. I moved up quickly and played a bit with it before telling him to work again.This was kind of funny. He is directly on the next corner, and stops to 'look ahead' at where we are going before moving on. I guess he 'approved', as he kept going, funny guy.He crossed this area very nicely with only two little food treats on it.Short grass is no issue for him, nearing another corner which I made in the shade of the small tree.Stopped again...the treat here was actually placed as a reward for passng the hydrant and ignoring it!And again, he had continued on, but stopped and turned back for the treat at the transition from gravel to sparse grass (looks better than it was!).Easy on the stretch of grass beside the building, the breeze was coming directly towards us here. He has gone a long way with no articles, not even sure why I placed two in the early stages of this track, and then nothing until the end...maybe the heat and humidity was frying my little brain again...A few food treats out onto the hard surface, but this time he was moving along well, without stopping for them. He either picked them up on his way, keeping his nose down very nicely, or just went past.Blast cut the last corner and headed for the cloth article. He certainly seemed to have scented it well back and he could not see it, as it was in a little hollow. I actually had left it in water, which was now evaporated.It appeared a car had driven over it also, it was well mushed into the dirt which he was digging at. Good boy. Nice work.

Kira visits Clarion Resort

(Just stuck this in ahead of the other tracking posts as this is quick with just 4 pics.)

A quick trip on an errand today, so took Kira along for a "walk through" at a nearby hotel/golf/resort. The hotel area itself was very quiet, I think everyone was out at the golf club, it was jammed packed full. I didn't take anything in (to hide) just wanted to "look" around. I did have her search in a couple of areas, and praised her for her negative responses.

I was hoping the trains were running (this was for ME) but only one was on the go. It's a really neat, and very large display; I guess now they only get it all working when a lot of people are there. Just stopped and watched for a minute.Down one of the hallways near the bar area, weren't even people in there...maybe we were too early in the day?! I did have her search this area, around, under and on the chairs.Heading back towards the front past the train set up again. She stopped on her own to sniff this leg and I called her off, as I betcha someone's little dog lifted their leg on it!!!So we are heading out towards a back door here to cross over into the golf club. This was more interesting, lots and lots of people, quite a few interested questions. I reassured a little group of fellows that she wasn't sniffing their golf bags so their drugs were safe. One fellow suggested it was good she wasn't a cadaver dog as his buddy was closer to death than he was alive. Ha.Ha.Ha. Men are so funny...?! Have to joke along with them, and they don't mind what we do. The ladies were definitely more interesting to talk to about what we were doing there.

Of course, my battery went dead after the above picture.

Out Tracking...YAY!!!!

A window of opportunity, and I was raring to go! Unfortunately the weather seems to have affected my brain recently, and I set out after heavy rainfall stopped with plans to lay a track for Tank, zip to another location, lay a track for Blast, age a bit, and then back to Tanks. So far, so good. By the time I began, the sun and humidity was back to our recent normals - awful - and I laid tracks too long. What was I thinking? Then Blasts' track was ok age-wise, only 1/2 hr. but by the time we got back to Tanks', it was 1 1/2 hr. However, they actually did very well, the long lay-off and conditions today sure didn't dampen their spirit. But I did kick myself!!!!!

Tank on his first leg. Not many pics. of his track, between his normal tugs and speed, either most pics. were fuzzy or I just couldn't handle the camera.Passed the playground area and a corner, now nearing another corner and wood item ahead past the gates. He actually had veered off to the right here and was scooting back to the track.He briefly indicated the wood article, then something caught his attention to the left.When he turned back to it, I asked for a down and treated.Then fast, blurry pics. past two more turns and into gravel/sand area. Yellow arrow points out early morning deer tracks which he ignored. This was just a short cut across the non-veg. surface, over to grass again.I need to work on my line painting for these pics. It's been so long since I had tracks to put on, I forgot how long it takes to crop pics. and paint tracks on them. Also couldn't load pictures last night with weather glitches in service.Second article, plastic, Tank flips over. No treat there, I gave him one after he lay down. After this, no pictures for a while..too bad, got none on hard surface, only the end. He was moving quickly, not right on the track on hard surface, but working and coming back, but also had a man kind of following along watching which distracted me, more than Tank. Tank actually had two corners on the asphalt.Just reaching the final article, a small cotton glove. We played tug with it for a bit, and then turned back to talk to the man who had been following. I always try to explain to anyone interested what we are doing as they are very curious and interested. Tank did this full length (as it turned out) and too long aged track really great after being so long away from it and having turned 'instantly' hot and humid after laying it. There was little sign of water after the heavy rain.

Will do Blasts' track later, have a lot of pictures of his. Also did a really good 'search' with Kira in the evening, and will post something on that later as well.

Looks Can Be Deceiving...

Awww...Kira looks like a sweet little softie...

This was one of the few ever brief pauses outside when she just spied me picking up something and dropped her log. After all, she doesn't carry just 'sticks'.And here she is as her normal 'she-devil' self...how else could she have x-ray vision eyes and see me hiding around the corner?!!Kira is striving to morph into the devil wolf dog like Blast!

Impossible Hunting Expedition???

This dogs' nose just blows me away...this is Blast! In the middle of June we had been returning from a walk and he had the "long" hose in his jaws. Something drew his attention and he took off at a run, through the bushes towards the east fence. He 'flushed' something, I never saw, and came back without the hose. I called him out, not wanting him to chase. He had covered such a distance and the growth was so thick, I didn't think we could find it again. I thought I had a "good idea" of the area it might have been in, certain he dropped it when he spied the "prey". We left it for a couple of weeks as it was too hot, too difficult to plow through. When we did go back, darned if we didn't flush a mother grouse and babies just barely able to fly. He was still close to me, and I stopped him quickly. So much for the hose again.One day last week, I attempted to go into this area with him after a long walk. We were both already hot and kind of beat, and by now, the growth was nearly to my waist in places and very thick and difficult to get through. I tried to direct him into the area I thought it would be, but it was so hard for him to even get through. I lost interest, called him off, and we went home.

Well, we just tried once more this afternoon, last time, I figured. It was now a good 6 wks. and you couldn't see even part way to any ground out there...bushes, vines, berries, ferns, weedy stuff. With David here, he said he'd come along, we would spread out a little. Blast "humoured" me by searching in the same, but larger, area. But then he ran WAY off at an angle, I figured we were done and something else caught his attention. But then...I saw him a long ways off from where "I" thought we may find it, and he had begun a tight circle. As I walked towards him, up came his head with the darned rubber hose and I swear, a big grin on his face! I'm so stupid and he's so smart!!! These pictures are after we came out of the bush on a pathway; he's very hot and very tired. David was trying to move the raspberry canes back in this area as they kept smacking poor Blast in the face. He was just happy!