March tracking

3/27/23 Huguenot Park

63 F, partly sunny, dry short grass

S5 W20 F 10

River was home alone for 6 hours today so I felt she needed an interesting activity. Since she's still rehabbing from her muscle strain, intense fetch is not on the agenda. But, tracking fits in nicely as she does a nice calm pace.

I laid a right 90 degree turn track. Followed by a second track with two 90 turns, left & a right. With this SWF pattern she has an easy time tracking so I threw in a challenge. I shuffled across a concrete slab about 12-15 ft wide. This was the first time she has crossed this type of surface.

Outcome: River had a nice start. She obviously had the scent prior to reaching the start. She downed at the start, I gave her some food. She rose and tracked, staying straight in the track line with her head near the ground. So, two people walking their dogs approached from the opposite direction and turned so they walked parallel to our track path. River took her turn growled at the one dog but then put her head down to track....sometimes she surprises me. I did not think she would ignore the dogs so easily. She sped up nearing the article and downed to indicate the article just as the second dog was passing us on our left.

On the second track, she downed for start, found the left turn withiut coursing around. When she hit the concrete she turned right along it's edge and then around to follow it to the left. After that she stepped on it where I had shuffled and walked across back on to the grass. She got the nearby food drop. Also, she ignored the remote control car nearby. River got the right turn and just went to the article without losing the scent. She sped up about 15 ft from the article, then downed at it earning more hot dogs.

She worked really well considering lately she has only had very, very short tracks in my back or front yard.

Not sure if I should use a full length line on her tracks. I may try it and hold at 15-20 ft, so that she gets used to working farther from me. Currently, I use a 10 ft one. Also, thinking of maybe throwing the article that she finds to try to amp up the fetch machine's enthusiasm level.