TRACKING :-)

We've had great weather for tracking lately. That is, it hasn't been horribly hot & humid so I managed to get off the sofa and move ;-) Terri and I have had a treat tracking on a lovely big clover field. Such a great change from our puny 1/2 acre yard! The exercise and tracking practice has been good for both of us.

I found a use for toilet paper rolls! I put a piece of cooked liver in a number of rolls and hid them along the tracks. It served two purposes — rewarded Terri and confirmed to me that we were right on track. I picked them up after Terri ate the liver and that taught me how I would have to handle Terri when picking up dropped items on a track. I should really be making her stop and sit to indicate found articles.

One of the handy things about this field is that there are little bushy plants and flowers here and there to serve as landmarks so I know if we're in the right place or to signal to me that there's a turn up ahead when running the track. The fence, trees and power poles are sighting tools to keep me on a straight track when laying the course.

NICE FIELDS!

I finished the mowing and some of the raking yesterday so I allowed myself to take Terri on a fun "exploring" run today. It was only 6 km and 7 minutes driving to my friend's farm. (We arrived at 7:30 P.M.) What marvelous tracking fields she has! Oh my goodness! It's just the most perfect place I can imagine for tracking. We didn't track today but explored parts of the field so I could see potential paths to make. There are some natural spots such as a patch of yellow flowers for making turns.

I must go with Terri tomorrow — some people may think it's weird to get so excited from just seeing a field but other trackers would understand immediately. Terri didn't put her nose to the ground until we got to the edge of the field — I suspect there's a path near the fence where Laura and her dogs walk. (See bottom photo.)

The entrance to a field of tracking dreams!

Terri may be scenting dogs and people here by the fence.

P.S. — You wouldn't think from the green of these fields that we're suffering from a drought, would you? I guess the little sprinkling of moisture we had recently was enough to turn the clover leaves green.

OLYMPIC CLOSING

Everybody has different opinions about the closing ceremonies, particularly the music which was explained to Canadian TV viewers as a pick of the 30 best songs of Britain. Off to a wonderful start with the first part of Bohemian Rhapsody leading into the full length Imagine! After that it was all downhill :-( The mix of Bowie songs was very poorly done and not anywhere near long enough. The only other highlights were 'Wish You Were Here', 'I Am a Walrus', and 'We Will Rock You' actually performed by Queen on Stage. The rest: not musical, no memorable tunes (except for Pinball Wizard which I'm very tired of hearing). No wonder I rarely get excited or even interested in Olympic ceremonies. England has many great musicians; few were given tribute tonight. Pity.

SOME RAIN

I don't consider that we've had enough rain unless the bottom of the wheelbarrow is covered. This has finally happened! Cooler temps indoors too: 72°F/22°C while it is 20°C outside today. Terri enjoys the cooler temps and wants to run longer; I believe her endurance is directly proportional to the cold. She runs only 15 minutes at 25°C but happily plays for 2 hours at 0°C.

A requested book was at the library so I went there to drop off and pick up books. A short drive after that took me to the farm on N. Russell Rd. where I bought some big field grown tomatoes.

Terri and I played outside for a while in our yard. What a disaster the back yard is! The hot dry sun has killed most of the grass but weeds are having a great season. Last year I planted two cedars near the back fence so they would soak up water in that wet corner. There has been very little precipitation since the planting.

DOG GAMES

I've been a terrible dog Mom lately. I can't stand the heat & humidity so Terri & I have afternoon or full morning siestas. I don't want her running in the heat and she doesn't want to run for long when it's hot so we often wait until 7 or 8 PM to play catch/fetch. Nothing terrible about that BUT I've also been too lazy to practice tracking or rally-o.

Yesterday morning I finally made a short track with several turns for her. It had rained the previous day but tracking day was quite windy with breezes from the north. The sun wasn't too hot and humidity was down. I left rewards of thawed (cooked) liver pieces at a few spots.

Terri took a good sniff at the ground starting area and her nose pulled her along the track like a train engine. She turned left, left again, right and then was hanging a couple of feet south of the tracks. Before the next turn she lifted her head and didn't put it down near the grass. I don't know what she was thinking. Perhaps the wind was blowing the scent around too much? I had to encourage her along until she seemed to get the scent again and she was onto the next liver treat quickly. After that, she followed the trail fairly well, though not right on the tracks. She found her way to the next treat but couldn't see/smell the treat itself and was trying to go straight at the next right turn. I had to set her going around circles so she could find the tracks and she finally took the turn after several wrong starts. That was the last turn so she was soon at the stopping point — her toy, hidden by a shrub.

I should concentrate on the positive parts — her first 3 turns were super! I tend to get hung up about her bad parts though, and wonder if we will ever get good enough to bother taking the tracking test. We did once and failed terribly that year due to very dry bare conditions after practicing during a wet summer on green moist fields. Still, the important point is to go outside and play a fun game with your dog, even if she never runs a complete track correctly from start to finish.