October 31
Millie--Back to basics. Partly Cloudy, 55 degrees, calm. Very short grass, recently heavily contaminated.
November 1
Ilsa--Multi-turn track with articles on each leg, 350 yards, 1:30 old. Overcast, 58 degrees, calm. Dense bushhogged field, damp.
Strong determined start, good first turn; some hesitation when heavy cover turned to very short grass, but got the track back. Found and indicated all six articles.
November 3
Millie -- same pattern as Monday, this time on a different field. Very short grass again. Good starts on each track; made all turns, although some after going 4 feet through corner. Loss of scent indication still a bit vague. Found second leg in each case nonetheless.
November 4
Ilsa--Stairstep to work on loss-of-scent realization--scuffed last 5 yards before corner, then big steps after corner. Clear, 56 degrees, light breeze. 450 yards, six turns, 1:35 old. Articles on each leg except first.
Found direction of start quickly and moved out with determination. Very clear sign of loss of scent at corner, and at subsequent corners; found and indicated all articles. Very little straying from track, even through long stretches of pine straw, which has distracted her in the past. Still showing some brief confusion when passing from long grass into very short grass. Got it each time, but with a bit less certainty.
November 5
Millie. Same pattern as previous times, but on yet another field, this time an agricultural field with medium to long grass; wet. Fog, 61 degrees, light air.
Good starts again; much more confident work on tracks, and made each turn very cleanly. Again found and indicated articles at end of each track well. Probably found this sort of cover easier to negotiate; also free of contamination. A very encouraging day.
Ilsa. Goal: work changes of cover and turns in woods. Hazy, 66 degrees, gentle breeze. 410 yards, seven turns, 6 articles; 1:50 old. Start in woods, first turn in woods towards gravel road, turn along road for 50+ yards, turn back into woods; two more 90 degree turns in woods, then open turn when emerging from woods. Final 90 degree turn in middle of field to final leg.
Ilsa was on today. Started strongly, made all turns in woods, along road, and in the open very cleanly with almost no running through the corners. She is becoming more obvious in her reaction at corners. Found all articles in woods and in the open. A very encouraging day.
Goals for coming week:
Millie: Continue to build accuracy and confidence using partially scuffed turns. Move from all open turns to some 90 degree turns.
Ilsa. Work on the TDX exercise rotation. "Articles" often get combined with one of the other exercises in the rotation, since almost any track can have articles. I also want to work on starts and turns on very short grass, which has given her some difficulties in the last couple of tracks.
Sounds like some good training, and some good recognition of planning errors (and we all make them!). If you need to track Millie somewhere contaminated, go back to a much shorter scuff walk pattern, even scuff all of it, with food every 2-3 steps. We want her to learn she CAN find the track in contamination!
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