Our first full length TDX track- 11/22/06

All alone today. I have not self laid a track for Bea in ages because she does not usually follow mine as well.

But it was a COLD start to the day, 20 degrees and then warmed up to 50 and was sunny so I thought "why not"? Checked to see if the field owner wanted to watch but again Maggie was not home. She is a very active and social older woman!

I laid Bea a 940 yard track. It started in the long unmown field where the tall grass has fallen over (boy is that hard to walk on) and it is is wet in spots. Walked parallel to the road for about 85' then took a right towards the road. To get to the paved road you have to bust through some thick thick thick short bushes and up a small bank. Crossed the road straight across, down a small wet bank/ditch and into a field that is partially mown and partially unmown/fallen over. Left a favortie article then a short ways after turned left again parallel to the road and through some head high grass that alternated large patch of TALL grass, then mown or fallen grass, then TALL grass. Skirted a tall grass filled mini pond (almost walked through that!) and then took a left to the road. This was an open turn. down a water filled ditch and up to the paved road and diagonally across then across a jumble of large rocks and back into the unmown/laid over grass to a cell phone. Continued straight and then into a cut corn field across some truck ruts and took a left. Continued all the width of the corn field, across a narrow bit of grass and through some bushes into some medium tall grass. Up a small bank and down into a farm road that is heavily rutted and up the opposite bank which was a bit steep to mown field. Continued straight (this was the longest and straightest leg total) up a small hill (parallel to another cut corn field) and part way down the other side, then an open turn left down the hill, across a flat and through some more bushes and into a wet swampy/bushy area. Then out of the water and up a small bank to some unmown grass riddled with deer trails and out onto the mown field again. Straight out past a large rock pile point and left into a valley between two hills to the glove! PHEW!!

While this was aging, I laid Annie a 112 yard track with a single left turn. Let this track age 20 minutes or so and took her out.

Little Miss ADD found some nice animal smell near the start of the track and after checking the start article became enamoured with the smell. I'd drag her off and she'd go right back. This disaster lasted oh maybe 10 yards of the track then she suddenly forgot about it and actually started tracking! The wind had blown cross the track and there was a wet area to the left so she got sucked that way a few times and then commited fine. She made the turn like a pro, dubbed around a bit after the turn and then went straight to the mitten at the end of the track. YEAH! Her first 1 person laid track with a corner (all previous tracks have either been straight or been the start of her mom's track as mentioned in previous log entries).

Bea's track aged 55 min and I decided to get her out because this was her longest track yet and I did not want to increase BOTH age and time. (A TDX is 3-5 hours old and 800-1000 yards long) Got Bea out and geared up in orange sweatshirt, harness, my gloves etc. being slow and calm to try to get rid of that spazzy flag killing dog from last tracking. Walk to the flag and sit while I switch the line from collar to harness all the while Bea is vibrating! I walk her to the flag with my hand in her collar and show her the start article and off we go. First leg dead on, wind in her face. No errors. Corner was VERY good, only overshot it a smidge and came right back. Leg to the road again perfect and she slammed right through those bushes like a bulldozer!  I shortened the line and stopped her at the road checking for cars (none) and she checked up and down the roadside for the track maybe 15' each way and then went straight across. She has forgotten how to scent on tar I see so we need to do a bit of work on that again. Checkes the opposite site in maybe a 10' area and dives onto the track right to the article that she proudly shows me.

Nails the turn and dives into the tall stuff and about 4' in loses the scent. Circles left and right of the track for maybe 5 min then gets it again. The same thing happens at the next tall stuff too. This did not happen last week so something is different. She never totally loses the track and when we get to the opener stretch of laid over grass she all but yanks me off my feet when I question her commitment! Goes a bit wide of the next turn but regains it and does well through the ditch to the road. Less searching this time on either side and she goes right over the rock pile and into the field to the cell phone, that she is VERY happy to find!

Out across the lumpy field to the corn field where she becomes slower and more careful. Makes the corner with very little error but much double checking. Then slowly works across the field, gaining, seeking and finding the track repeatedly but without much loss of time and not much circling at all. More like it had drifted alot but I could see my boot prints and she was almost always directly on top of them.

At the end of the field she went up and down the grass/bush line a couple times then dove through, lost and regained the track a couple times but zero lost time and popped out onto the farm road and across easily. On the up bank she lost scent for about one minute if that and then took off across the shorter grass at a slow but steady pace. At the hill crest she circled and then followed just off one side of the track to the next bush line where she again went up and down just once and dove through.

NO hesitation in the watery mess and up the other side. Checked all 3 deer trails and then followed the track right out being maybe 2' off to the right (scent sucking towards the bush line) made the corner like on rails, but then double checked herself and went straight to the glove!!

She was VERY tired but happy.  She seemed very pleased but for sure very tired. I too am happy SUCCESS at a full length and difficult track and I did not help her at all.!!