This is a Surprise!

I have no idea how I got these on..playing around and trying different things to put something on blog, didn't check until tonight!  I bet I can't find how I did it, but will try....These pics. from a track Tank did 2 wks. ago.  After I laid the track, coming back to get into van..below, the fellow on the mower showed up!  My start was right beside the pole, and he completely cut over the whole area of my first leg and start!
When we returned to do the track, above, we encountered this on our second grass leg!  Fellows were walking all over and around the area, and an article was almost right beside them!  When Tank and I reached them, they were standing there on a break, and we had to pause and chat, as they were curious about what we were doing.  Tank actually did the cut grass and this area quite well.
Now back to figuring out this stupid blog issue again!

This is just a test, for me, really.
I've not been able to load pictures for five - six days now, and still can't find the solution.  So, I want to see if text comes up.
There were a bunch of automatic updates around the same time frame, 5-6 days ago, so think some 'demon' has caused me this issue.
Will hopefully get it fixed soon!
s.

Back to Aug.6th--Tanks' UrbanTrack

Our start was just back from the package of garbage on the left.  We saw a man, woman and dog walking back on the other side of the road, and thought they had first walked up along the edge here.  Tank was certainly following "something" along the edge, for a long way, before coming back on to the track.

There was a really tiny ball about 1 1/2' off the track, we were curious to see if he would find it...sure enough!  I told him to leave it, and he went back on the track.

His first turn would take us to a cement walkway.  He had gone slightly past the corner and curved back to the track just before it headed onto the walkway.

He has the odd small piece of food along the hard surface, and keeps right on the track.

The red line shows the track.  He had followed it dead on until we reached the curve and the overhang above, and walked out onto the pavement.  After a few feet, he came back up onto the walkway, on the track.

I stood back from the turn left, while Tank checked into the doorway entrance to the building, turned and came out onto the left leg.

We've worked here before with other dogs, and at this spot, they all usually try to go 'right', back into an "opening" beside the building.  The highway is close behind, a very busy corner.  All we can figure out here is that the busy highway traffic and open area is pushing and swirling scent over into this area, making it tricky for the dogs to "get past" this spot. Tank is still "looking" in that direction, while the turn is to the left, through the parking lot.

This is his first article, a sock.  He will continue alongside the white line and then make a right turn, continuing on through the parking lot. There were actually four hard surface turns in this track, one on the cement walkway, and three in the parking lot.

We had turned right and he came back, I think, for a pc. of food.  He had been moving nicely without food, and don't like to see it draw the dog back.  However, I put a few down as reward past some difficult spots or past turns. 

Same leg as above, making a left turn with the next article, wood, beside the pole.  I walk up to give him a food treat for this one after he lies down.

Tank continues over the pavement and will go up onto the grass and make a right turn.
This track had about 3/4 on hard surface, four articles, aged 3 hr. and had gotten fairly warm.  I had hoped for a cool morning, but you can't control Mother Nature.  We had planned to age tracks for three hours, but I always feel a track agine in heat is just that much more difficult for the dogs.

Tank is just making his right turn on the grass.  He had gone up to the edge of the road again first, and came back...confirming my thoughts at the start, the someone had been walking along the edge while we were gone.

What can I say.....?  Pit stop!  He actually found a tiny bit of shade to stand in...

And we continue on.  A little ahead, he will make an open right corner over to his metal article.

He's just about to reach it in this picture.  I was going to leave it on the cement circle but it was afraid it would become too hot there while aging, so just left in down in the grass.

Tank seemed a bit concerned about 'this thing' deeper in the grass and seemed hesitant to touch it at first.

I told him to 'down' and when he did I approached and treated him.

Off again....across a driveway and over onto a narrow grassy area with a quick turn alongside a fence.  You wouldn't encounter this in a test, but in training, anything goes if it serves a purpose in experience and training...at least that is my method.  No problem, Tank is on the track and reaches his glove.  We had a little "sardine party", the same as Blast did, and played with glove.  This was a nice place to end on a hot day, in the grass and some shade for him for a few minutes of play and reward.  He did great and I was really pleased with how he worked.  It was a pretty difficult track with so much non-veg. surface and turns.  Thanks to Tascha for helping us today and taking the pictures...all 108 total...!  I have a few more of Emma to do yet!

UTDX Track for Blast Sunday

 Now this is a Bum View - actually, two bum views!  At the scent pad with Blast.  I'm trying to get him to spend a little more time there, as his preference is to move off quickly, and then to check the directions.

 Which he did, then moves out on the track.  This is a really nice location, behind a building and then we move around to the front later.

 Above, we are on our third leg, I made short legs through a treed area for the first section.

 The fourth leg curved around a bushy area and his first article (wood) is there.

 No reason, I just liked this shot of him.  Tascha took some nice angles of us tracking, and I had a huge number of pics. to go through to pick from.

 As we move out past the bushy area, we go through a narrow portion on veg. still, with the building on our left.  This takes us out to the front area.

 Another left turn out here and we start out over hard surface on a driveway.  Blast went a little to the left of the actual track while I waited, and he came back to the track.

 We climbed over a grass hilly berm and then out onto another driveway/parking area and over to grass again.  I've put on the track in red above, and a broken yellow line showing where he went.  As I expected, he checked around the corner of the building before moving out parallel to the actual track.

 Doing this, he went "past" the article on the grass, just before the pavement.  He has just picked up the scent and will circle back to the article (sock).

 This would be poor article placement in a test (in my opinion) but is something I like to train for as I know exactly where the track and article are.  It's really like you are tricking the dog, with scent swirling around the corner of the building.

 He has moved into the parking area and cut the left turn short, heading towards another article.  This actually surprised me, as it is metal and flat, so I know he didn't see it.  I'm not sure if he just picked up the track, or smelled the article, which would have been hard.

 Blast went right to it, and pawed at it.  This was just fine with me, I have a treat in my bag for him.  This was a very good find!!!

 We've continued past another driveway, short grass area, another driveway, and into this verg. area, turning left.  He's working very nicely through here, it was actually quite sparse with some tansy and ragweed in there, not too pleasant.

 I just liked this picture, too.  Certainly shows a nice working tracking dog, I think.

 Moving off veg. and onto another parking area with one more turn taking us to the end.

 Blast was a bit to the left up here and began to follow a crack back to the track.  Soooo interesting to see this.  The red arrow farthest to the right points out his glove and the other arrow a container with sardines...yum.

 Right to the article, he's such a good dog.  He's paid no attention as yet to the sardine container.  If he was "looking" rather than using his nose, he could have seen both of these a long ways back.

So, big praise for the article and then I showed him the container with the sardines, took the lid off and in he goes!  I can't stand the smell of them, myself, but both he and Tank absolutely love them at the end of the track.  Blast did a really nice track, working happily all the way.  Having done so little work these last two months with the extreme heat we've had, I'm absolutely thrilled with how he is working.

Short First Track for Emma

 Tascha wanted to work on a short aged, motivational track for Emma, but also an issue she had run into recently with Emma wanting to reach the grass, when the turn was on non-veg. surface.  So this was incorporated into her first track.  Above, she has turned on to her second leg, after walking through a puddle on the 'other' side of her corner.  No water issue with this little dog!

 Her track crosses a wide driveway/parking area, onto grass with a right turn and out onto another driveway. 

 Emma was motoring through here pretty well, good working attitude.

 The track left the grass and crossed another wide driveway.  Tascha made the turn just before the grass.  Of course, Emma checked the grass, but turned back onto the pavement to pick up the track.  Exactly what this was about!!!  Above she found her first article a little further up the track.  Note!  Hoping Emma didn't exceed the speed limit!!!

 Further on up, there was a left turn which she made nicely, further into the parking lot.
Above, she is checking another corner (it's right) but she double checks left first.  Tascha stands and lets Emma work it out.

 And off she went, finding the article shortly, right on!  This track accomplished the objective...short, fun, including one problem area which was successful for Emma.

 Time to play!  Tug that glove, Emma.  Pull Tascha off her feet!

A few retrieves with Emma racing back to Tascha with the glove - which is almost as big as Emma!  Fun, fun, fun...mission accomplished!

Coyote?! Blasts' Urban Track

 Early out Wed. a.m. after a long-awaited rain on Tuesday.  I decided to check a place I've scanned going by numerous times, but it is usually occupied.  There's a ball diamond, a basketball court next to a public school so it is well used both day and night.  The towns' local legion is also in the front.  So it's a really nice mix of short grass, gravel driveways, paved court, paved driveway/parking area. I was pretty early and there was no sign of action.  Perfect!  ha.ha.ha. Laid a nice track.
On returning, I planned to walk from the road to leave a special sardine treat package behind the finish article for Blast.  Suddenly a door opened from a house across the road and a lady yells over to me..."Are you here about the coyote?"  Say what?!  I said I had laid a track for my dog and was about to start on it.  She went on to say a coyote was chasing a deer around the ball park last night and they had called the OPP.  Then she said I "looked official", was I going to take pictures.  No...but wondered what I would take pictures of....did she think the coyote and the deer were still hiding in the bushes...bit my tongue, of course.  Anyway, went about my business, but note once again....urban tracking....see if Blast pays any attention out there....No sign of anything unusual on the first leg.

 He made his first turn, (this is where the night before action was, I assume) and we head towards the ball diamond, where he turns left by the pitchers' mound. 

 He worked the whole area very nicely, nothing seemed of any "extra" interest to him.

 Good turn, and now head out across short grass stretch, across driveway, into another short grass area, where the first article (sock) is, and then a turn onto the basketball court.

 Reaches his first article, just barely into the grass and I worked a bit with him there on his down.  He's so reluctant to STOP at an article, but I had Benny Bully in my pocket for him as an inducement.

 His turn was also close to the edge and he works so nicely on the track across here.  Perspective is hard to see above, but he actually has a decent grass strip after the pavement and then turns right on the grass.  This area had been recently cut, probably ahead of the rain the day before, and so there were mounds of fresh cut grass strips here. He works really nicely along this stretch until near the end, he began to occasionally 'woof' even though still working with head down.  I looked around, wondering what was going on, seeing and hearing nothing.  But then he finally raised his head with a low woof and looked behind me.  He had also found his second article, metal, and had scratched at it...bonus! There was a dog following us, a long ways back on our track.  Obviously, Blast realized it was far enough back not to be a serious problem but this was BLAST! and I just about had a fit.  I yelled at the dog to get home and told Blast to keep working...which he was anyway. 

 No, it was not a coyote!!!!  Totally amazed me that Blast had not paused in his tracking, even though occasionally woofing...and he wasn't overly concerned about the dog.  Will I ever learn that he is smarter than me?!!  When I first saw the dog, it would have been about where I was in the picture above, while we were nearing the hard surface up near the building shown above.  Blast is always so alert to everything around us, it often causes some issues when we are tracking.

 So, we've moved out onto the paved driveway behind the legion, and he made a nice corner, still the occasional woof, but still nose down.  About here, I turned and snapped a pic. of the dog.  (Maybe I should have thought to show it to the lady across the road!)  The broken yellow line shows where Blast went over to sniff at something, checked it out, and came back to the track.

 There's the dog, probably smelling where we were....very possible it was a dog chasing the deer the night before anyway.  People often think Blast is a wolf or wolf-cross, as they are not familiar (up here) with the sable colour.

 He cut this corner and is now on the last leg.  So he actually had three turns on non-veg. surfaces this track.  Track was just an hour old, trying to get it in to be successful before too humid and hot again.  I was immensely pleased with him, especially the dog issue.  This is something I always worry about in urban locations, and so many dogs in our area are "loose". (Think about it....I have a "wolf" on a collar/harness/leash and the dogs run free!)

 Heading very nicely towards the final article which is a glove, just before the grass.

 Tongue out, about to touch the article (glove) and sardine container is a few feet back from that.  Another bonus, zeroed in on the article, not the sardines!

With one foot still on the glove, he reaches for the sardines, which I had pushed over to him.  He was one happy boy when I took the lid off.  Such a nice job he did today.