Blast on a Mission!

Nice spot for a track for Blast today...a week ago there was still way too much snow to use this place. His track was a bit over an hour aged, we had plastic, cloth, leather articles.

I've just led him up to the scent pad, from an angle, for him to find the direction. (We did the same with Emma, forgot to mention that!) He headed out nicely, good speed.He made a circle before we reached this area, and then took off like a shot. The track goes to the far side, before the bushes, making a left turn.Just after the turn, he is totally concentrated on the track. Tascha got a nice profile shot here.We move on, there were a few pilons and markers out here, not sure what the purpose was, but he ignored them. We move into a narrow stretch between the back of the building and bushes and then come out towards the front area.His corner was exactly on the left of the yellow marker, he first checked near the corner of the building and back to the new leg heading left of me.We moved off the grass, over a narrow parking area, up over a grass hill and into this parking area. The red line shows the corner and turn the right. He was determined to pull across to the grass, so I let him go, he soon indicated loss of track scent and came back to the asphalt.I'm letting him work it out, he is turning in the right direction and will move out towards the centre shortly where the track was laid.We head down the centre and will make a left turn shortly after passing the white truck.This is an open left turn over to grass. I'm about to turn and follow him as he commits.This is the cloth article after moving onto the grass. (Plastic was back before the little building, also on grass.)And here the fun began. He is just dropping down into a ditch, about 2' deep. At the same time, he has picked up the scent of his final article, quite a ways out on the hard surface. He suddenly charged up and out of the ditch, while I hadn't even reached it yet. I leaned back with as much weight as I could to slow him down, but he was on a tear....I thought I was a goner for sure. Trying to stay on my feet, I am running behind him, across another stretch of grass. He's full out heading toward the asphalt, and I thought I'd be going head first....Somehow I managed to keep upright and not tripping and we reached his glove. This was not a fun experience. I couldn't believe he had scented the glove from the distance we were from it, and never saw him so eager to reach an article!By the time I got there, he was showing me, and hopping around, and I couldn't help but laugh at that point. However, I also felt lucky I did not end up mushed on the ground with a broken ankle or worse. Rotten dog, he was so pleased with himself!

Sat.Mar.31st,Emma

We decided to go out today, as snow is being called for once again, and colder temps. tomorrow. Today was sunny, cold enough, and quite windy. I laid the track for Emma and we aged it one hour. It was pretty tough with the wind and gusts around the building. Asphalt was a bit of a problem for her today after an hour of wind, sun and dry. Overall, she did quite well, though.

Above, Emma has made her first corner and Tascha is making sure Emma commits before following along.Second corner, she took off like a shot, but close to the corner of the building, and now in shade, she took some time making sure she was on the track.A left turn took us into the parking area, and the wind was more gusty out here. This area took Emma some time to work through, but she never really got very far off the track on either side. When she reached the corner, she scratched at it...interesting. She finally began to head down the correct way, paralleling the track, as the wind was coming from the right. "X" marks her second article, wood, which also helped draw her to it. (First article on grass, plastic,3rd leg.)She will continue past the article and back onto the grass again, make an open left turn under the tree branches.The broken yellow line shows where Emma went, probably the gusty winds coming alongside the building, carrying the scent past the next corner. Once she came back, she did great.This last distance took her running to the leather article. A bit of a difficult track today, and Tascha had to keep remembering to 'back up' when necessary.

Kira and Tank in the field...

Just out for a couple of walks after tracking Tank yesterday, and took one with Tank and Kira. She doesn't get many walks with "anyone" other than me, so this is a lot of fun for her.

Kira 'walks all over' Tank, even though he has 20 lbs. on her, you'd never know it. In a rare opportunity for Tank, he actually got this ball, but not for long. She works at it until she gets it out of his mouth, and he knows he'll never get it back!!!Just a recall....I've got two balls!!!Coming back for more. We were playing "two balls" into the field. Pictures were yesterday, note the snow is finally all gone, I was trying to keep them away from discovering the water in the far field.

Blast on Sunday

Tascha laid the track for Blast on Sunday and we planned it in a downtown small park next to a gov't. building. This place is well used with dogs being walked, so I knew that could be an issue. However, same old story, when you're gone, you don't know what happens. His track was aged an hour and ten mins. + when we started.

He is just leaving the scent pad in this picture. Red line painted on shows track heading down to the corner and turning right. He did great on the first leg.After crossing a walkway, things went kind of haywire. He started along the second leg, and then turned back to the side. After this, he turned into a crazy guy. He ran ahead and began racing in circles, same place, over and over. Never, ever saw him react like this in any situation. I was almost dizzy! I called him to me, and stopped him, very seriously telling him to get back on the track. He paused a little and back he went. Absolutely NO idea what happened. All I could wonder was what or who might have been in that area, and doing what?! It was so odd.So here he is, back tracking. He takes the corner nicely and moves to the right.He continued on like nothing ever happened, and crosses another walkway. Shortly after this, is a plastic article to the left. He was about 4' parallel to the actual track Tascha laid. I am rewarding him for the article, and having a good look at him before we continue on. He seems fine...We just crossed another pathway where a lady just about walked right into Blast - was watching him and didn't see her. He looked at her and continued, I was surprised she wouldn't have maybe "thought twice" about barging into a big dog, and a GSD to boot! He will go up this little hill into a parking area and cross it, over and down a big curb and driveway leading to a loading dock.We are just about to climb, or drop over, and he's checking scent to the right. Wind coming diagonally from the front/left.The track turns on a narrow brick walkway heading up into the front entrance of the building. Blast crossed the walkway and checked into the plants before turning back and going up the walkway.The track turns left up in front of the building. It's a really strange set-up here but he followed the track really well.We are moving across to a driveway that circles in front and he is just about at his cloth article.There it is! Showing the "judge"! Blast was anxious to keep going at this article.Moving along, coming to the last corner which circles up around the building.He's just turned past the last pillar you saw in the previous picture, and is turning dead on the track into the bushes - there's actually a clear space he and I can easily go through. It's about 4' and then onto grass.A short jaunt on the grass to the leather square just before the walkway. He's just reaching it now and I'm moving up to him.

We played a bit with the piece of leather but I put a ball on a rope inside my coat and am now trying to retrieve it to play with him. He is being unusually patient with me, he would normally be "helping himself". What a good boy!

Better Conditions, Emmas' track

Out today, with just Emma and Blast, the day was damp, cool, slight winds. I decided to "paint" on our tracks in these pictures, to help show our route and obstacles. Tascha laid my track, and I laid hers. When I laid the track for Tascha and Emma, there seemed to be no-one around...a nice clean track. It was aged for one hour. When we returned, there were people walking across it near the start. We don't know if they were anywhere else. Also a car was parked where someone obviously went into the building, over the track. Anything else? We don't know.

First leg, Emma had a good start. The track goes along the top of a long narrow veg. area, with a couple of narrow walkways mixed in.Emma is nearing her first corner. She continued on the grass, down and over onto the driveway, indicating loss of scent. When Tascha backed up, Emma came back and picked up the next leg dead on, heading across the roadway.After crossing the road, the track goes up onto brick and turns again onto the grass.

Emma took the turn and moved out well onto the grass and suddenly ran off and back. She then had quite a time on the brick area before finally heading back on the grass and on the track again. All we could figure was someone and/or something had been in this area while we were gone. Above, she's moved on and made a right turn which stays on grass.She just reached her first article, wood. The parked car area was an issue, as she seemed to be "tracking" the person from the car into the building, around the corner. She finally did work this out and headed across the driveway ahead, exactly where she should be!Up onto grass again, right on the track taking her to her second article, a cloth glove.They have just moved off the grass into the parking area. Emma had a little trouble here, again not sure if 'something' was there. She circled from right to left and back again. Breeze had picked up, they were headed into it.She made the turn, and is tracking parallel to the track, about 4' back from it. She then moved up onto grass beside the building and searched for her track. Not finding it, she came back down onto the asphalt at an angle. (This was also at a corner of the building).And the angle took her right to the final article, patch of leather. The grass is directly to the right of Tascha.Very good, Emma! She had a few problems, but worked them out with a bit of help.

We both thought she did well...our first track in "more normal" conditions!!!