2/2/25
- Maureen Woolley, Duck & River
- Feb 2
- 1 min read
Yesterday’s 55F was nice and sadly back to 44F. Different field today…lacrosse & baseball fields.
Video:
Still trying to do long start leg. Starts are going well, I am not sure if I should put any food drops before the first flag? Only a few food drops on the track, 1 or 2 each leg.
Challenges: minor passing near dirt, near a lacrosse goal cage and finishing on dirt.
Outcome:
Passing near the dirt drew her attention but she moved on, and dirt at the end didn’t phase her. Moved slightly away from the the goal cage, but only a foot.
I acts felt much more confident letting line run for her on the turns today. Felt like I didn’t stress or confuse her. On turn 2, she was a few feet before the flag but I felt that would be ok?
We had fun on this outing!
Afterwards I did a short track across grave rocks with a timber beam edge border. She crossed into and over it like a rock star. She picked up only one piece of food out of 6. Get me to the article attitude on this dog (wants to play fetch)!
Agree with MAM. NO FOOD before the start….and, about 25% of the time (one track out of 4) move the food somewhere down the first leg (>10 yards from start, probably within 35 yards of start), or use the scent pads as described by MAM. Totally agree with the google earth ideas—plan first—all of it (length, scuff walk, turns, etc). Fill in line ups, challenges that required additional scuff &/or food, &/or article,. BUT, have a plan. A clear plan and a clear goal. I’m not sure what “still trying to do long start legs” means? Some start legs are long (>150 yds); some are short (60 yds), and the rest are in between. It’s pretty easy to wor…
No food before the flag - so her approach to the flag it at an angle and there is no food to draw her to the start flag. The article does that. We talked about scent pads so IF you think she needs some reinforcement, put in a scent pad five strides out and ten strides out. When you are planning your tracks, it is always helpful to use Google Earth and draw them out. Then when you arrive you can scribble in all the things you see as you lay the track - like the bald dirt areas, the lacrosse cage, the timber beams - AND you can augment those tough areas to support her when she runs…
I think if you are unsure about the first food drop, still use it but maybe move it further down the track. Remember they always tell us to train not test.
I am not sure about her first turn as it looked like she indicated it but was either she was unsure and needed to check or you wanted her to be dead on the turn and caused her to recheck. I noticed there was an article further down that leg and the track was an hour old so perhaps the article left a large scent pool that caused her to swing wide on the turn. Of course we never know what they smell but she seems to indicate her…