Fun Day - Dog Show,Working Horses,Forest Walk

Thanksgiving Saturday, a friend and I went down to the Nippissing Kennel Club Conformation show/Obedience Trials. We had a great time there, watched some obedience, some Rally O - first time held at the NKC, and quite a bit of the conformation show. Each of us have different "favorite" breeds, so we often skipped from one side to the other, depending on what was going on in different rings. We saw some very nice dogs yesterday. Amazingly, we both fell in love with a "new" breed and had a nice conversation with one of the owners, and lots of hugs from their female, only 7 months old. This picture does not do it justice, but it is quite similar to the one we saw.
She was a Standard size, and I'd describe the colour as a dark charcoal, but I guess she was really "black". The proper breed name is Xoloitzcuintli. No matter how many times we tried, we weren't able to properly pronounce it! The "feel" of this dog is amazing, soft and smooth, not oily or dry, just nice. This was the first time I've even seen one. She was very sweet.

On our way home, in our township, I had to stop and watch the horses plowing the field. They are so beautiful, and curious about what the heck I was doing...I took a few pictures quickly, as I didn't want to disturb them or their Amish driver.

I was "hoping" they would turn towards me, not away, at the end of the field. Love to see them working...seemed like a real Thanksgiving weekend for some reason, watching this.

And after arriving home, we went out for a couple of lovely long walks through the forest. It was just perfect. A Great Day!!!!

Why can't Autumn last forever...??

My favorite time of year, and it comes and goes so quickly. The leaf change here is already past peak, with many trees already half bare....so sad. This week is beautiful, cold mornings, usually frost, but the days are sunny and warm. Do not want winter yet! Have waaaaay too much tracking to do, and walks in the forest. Picture above is in the forest behind our house.

This was last week, around our house. The maple trees have sparkled and are now partly bare.

Behind the house was beautiful this past week. The virginia creeper vine on the fence is now bare. We have flocks and flocks of little migrating birds filling up their bellies before moving away. And many hawks as well. This morning we heard a few owls while it was still dark.

Out behind the house this week, the forest floor is now carpeted with leaves. It's so pretty to walk out there, crunching as you go. Yes, that's Blast, as usual, in motion....

Coming back from town yesterday, I stopped to take a few pics. overlooking the most southeastern corner of Lake Nosbonsing. The northern section is spectacular right now with colour, but can't be seen from this view. There's a happy boater out there, it must be heaven out there on the lake.

Changes for Blast...

Although Blast got his Tracking Dog Title in September (16 months) I wasn't really happy with how "we've" been tracking for some time. I've allowed him to do a lot of "free tracking" on our property, and he's been amazing at this, however, his "style" has suffered. For my interests, which is CKC tracking, I want the nose down and good indications, less speed. Of course, each dog has 'his own style' as well, but still being young and keen, I knew I could "shape" him without taking away his enthusiasm and motivation.
I decided to go from the TD into Urban Tracking and save the TDX for later. I did some urban with him last year, and he worked really nicely on some hard surfaces, and very short, contaminated (by people and vehicles) grass. I am insisting on a down at the article, and as he already has an excellent and fast 'down', this is not difficult.

Gone is working at any length over 12 feet right now. I am staying very close to him, usually under 6' and watching every little movement. I will not allow him to wander off the track for any reason, by giving him too much line. The communication through the line this way, is much clearer, I think. Of course, he is rewarded with lots of praise, and treats, from my hand, when he indicates articles. At the end of the tracks, which are also shorter in length for now, we tug and toss the last article.

He almost immediately "changed his style" which I am really happy with. The nose stays down, and he is really pulling along and sticking to the track with more determination.

He works his veg and non-veg surfaces almost identical, which I am really pleased with. I just hope autumn lasts for a long time now.......

Trust gave it her all....

We drew 2nd last UTDX on Sunday, the rain had let up by then. Here, she is just starting off from the scent pad. Although her start was described as solid, it was not her usual gung-ho, let's go.

The arrow points to the start flag, barely visible. We seem to moving along well on the long first leg, approaching a road. She is on the track, as it heads between the two trees in front of us.

We have crossed the road and she's made a left turn, moving along here very nicely.

Our first article, plastic. We then continue onward, onto a gravel driveway. This is a works dept. office and work yard.

Her right turn is on the driveway and taking us into the work and storage yard. This is where we began to have trouble...and the end of the photos. Our photographer, Tascha, backed off when she thought Trust may see her. This was a difficult area. There were only 2 ways out, the correct one was on the other side of this building. But wind was funnelling in that opening, swirling and bouncing around in the 'enclosed' area. There were two buildings on the other side, machinery at the end, and beside "our" opening to the field beyond was a high and long pile of gravel. The wind was coming over that and Trust kept working back and forth around here. She was frustrated. When she finally 'got out' there was a pond that wasn't supposed to be there, although it was not as large as the night before, apparently, but her track just circled around there and she didn't get it. Instead, she was trying to work up behind the building in the picture, and I couldn't get her back where she might pick up the right direction. She was missing 2 legs, a corner and an article by trying to go across the road again....which was right if she had been further down and followed the correct track. The wind was bringing the scent across the road to us, and she was trying to cross where there was another corner. So, in her mind, she was right, but not so, as she had cut off too much of the real track. I finally 'let her go' and as she moved up the ditch to the road, we were called off. It was a tough spot; more so than I would have thought just looking at it. We came home later, walked through the forest and she was perfectly happy again, forgiving her mom for letting her down.

New TDX!!!! Tascha & Emma - Perfection!

Yay! The first article. Always a confidence-booster for the handler. Emma just 'wants it back'!!! The start was strong, with Emma moving right off the scent pad on the track. We could see Tascha, the black line, but no dog....the growth in the first half of the track was very tall and very thick and very wet...

I took so many pictures, and hardly any showed even a hair of Emma! The black arrow points to her in this one, if you really look, you see a bit of her. Here they are actually in a shorter part of the field, on their 4th leg just chugging along...slow and steady.

After another corner, they headed into a different field, but first!!! there were giant puddles to almost swim across. When I walked through it - and yes, Emma went right across this spot and was totally soaking - the water was well above my ankles.

This field had been in grain, and a favorite of sandhill cranes and geese the last couple of weeks. Some straw rows were still left to plow through when you're a little dog. Emma has made another turn, are heading towards a road crossing, and have just crossed the first cross track...Emma never looked at it. She was dead-on her track and gaining even more confidence as she went.

One of my favorite pictures! This was actually out a ways in the field after the road crossing. The tall grasses are at the ditch by the road, the perspective is just a bit off here. Ditches on each side, tall and tangly growth, she checked out to the right of the road on the far side and then zipped back to the track opening into the far ditch and she was off. Once she hit this field and short ground cover, she was easy to see for the gallery. She was (obviously) ecstatic with her second article find, and then took off again along the track.

Emma has just turned her last corner and Tascha is waiting to make sure Emma is moving along it and confident it is the right direction. And it was!

She is about 3' from her last article in this picture. To the right is a 'groundhog home' which she did not go near. She suddenly dived over to it just after I took this photo. What a wonderful little worker she is

Happy little Emma with her glove! She was soaked and shivering after this track. She worked steadily along from the start and was somewhere over a 1/2 hour on the track. We forget sometimes with urban now, that TDX is still the longest track. It was cold this day as well and Emma worked her heart out. She LOVES obstacles in training, though, so it was perfect for her.

Orrin plotted a great track, and Treva, tracklayer did a great job walking it. Needless to say, Tascha was over the moon and I was as excited as she was. Emma got lots of towel-downs and was wrapped in a blanket to dry and warm up. She's a tough little dog.

Treva Reed, tracklayer, Tascha Gagnon holding Emma, Orrin Eldred II, judge. Thanks to all!

So Close....Rosemary & Reese

You can see by this picture what the conditions were like early Saturday morning for the TD trial (EPS in Powassan). Thursday were torrential rains and the foul weather continued through the weekend. U.S. judge Orrin Eldred II was up for his first Canadian judging assignment and it was unfortunate for him as well to not have nicer conditions. He brought a number of his model planes with him, hoping for good flying conditions, but that just didn't happen. Also our leaves were beginning to turn this past week and pictures would have been lovely....

However....it's typical tracking weather!

Rosemary and Reese did a wonderful track right to the last corner with only 30m left to the article. Reese moved along with speed on the track and was very enthused. The glitch was on top of a hill, with wind taking the scent over and down, the wrong way from the correct direction. Reese really worked on this, but twice moved off in the opposite direction. The judge kept hoping she would come back and pick it up, but finally had to call them off. Such a heartbreaker. He was mightily impressed with "our" pretty little beagle, Reese, and would have taken her home with him. I'm very proud of how both Reese and Rosemary worked this track.

Next time!!!!

Trust in her Element on Monday....

Trust has just indicated her first article, a sock, near the end of a very long first leg on grass, overcut while aging. She has her eye on a golfer...ooooh, maybe he will want to fuss over me!

We turned just short of the golf course, and headed towards a parking area. Here she transitions from grass to gravel to pavement and a quick turn coming up. This was a difficult spot as well, as it is a very well travelled area with vehicles and golf carts. She spied 'people' and the smell of lunch was also wafting towards us. She actually 'tried' to continue on past her turn, and I let her go a ways, but then stopped to hopefully re-focus her on the track. Of course, if a test, I probably would have followed along, oh-oh. She did circle back and move down the proper track direction.

This leg was actually laid about 2' left of where I put the red line. The breeze was coming in from the right, but she hugged the curb most of the way. Above, she has just indicated a wood article, which I was surprised hadn't been picked up by this time. It was aged 3 hr. 20 min.

Further down, her turn was close to the crack you see near the bottom of the picture. Also a very, very heavy traffic area, the cars whipping over here in and out of the golf course. She made a wide circle around the corner and then jogged back to the track.

Again, she's hugging the curb along this leg until she nearly reaches the main entrance and suddenly turned right towards the entrance pillars. There is an article on the other side.

A car was parked on the right when I laid the track, and again, being the front entrance it is heavy walked and driven over. Her plastic article is at the edge of a little bush around the bend, I was hoping it wouldn't be noticed and picked up

She is probably letting me know how much she hates plastic articles, it is yellow and right beside her (blue arrow).

We continue across the drive through, and up a small hill to a right turn.

Which takes us across another driveway that heads toward the hotel restaurant, onto another patch of grass and another right turn over the double main entrance driveways.

She is barely to the left of the track here, and then veers out and over the little island before continuing across to the grass and a left turn. She actually circled around a little on the grass, walking 3' right past the metal article, before turning and coming back around to it.

I thought she was going to continue on and totally miss this article. As I would in a test, and as a team, I actually verbally encouraged her to 'look' which she did. You can see the leg and turn up to her final article in the above picture.

I had planned to turn and leave the leather glove in the gravel/sand lot, but then saw some garbage? ahead. I decided to leave it closer, on the edge of grass/gravel instead, as I wasn't sure what that "thing' was. Trust had turned and was working left of the track, until she suddenly veered over to the article. Overall, a pretty good track, just a couple of little glitches.