TDX Part 2

A tracking test takes alot of people and time to put on the event. The San Joaquin Dog Training Club Tracking Trial offered 5 TDX tracks plus 1 alternate track and 7 TD tracks. All in all it took about 25 club members, judges and two days of work to host the event. A big Thank You to the club!

Whisper drew 4th track of the day, the wait seemed for hours and the day started warming up. Warm weather ages the track faster amd makes for harder tracking conditions. All the dogs before her had failed their tracks for one reason or another.






Hers was the only track that we had to drive forever to the start. The drive out seemed like miles of dirt roads and rolling hills. At one point a stream/small river crossed the road and the bottom of the road wasn't visable. Not having 4 wheel drive in my van I held my breathe and crossed the steam imagining what would happen if my van got stuck in water in the middle of no where. We made it and continued driving and driving to the start. We were so far away from base camp only the judges and tracklayer were at the start flag waiting for us to arrive.




At a TDX start the track direction is unknown, the dog has to figure out which way to start. Whisper started off with confidence she knew the direction. Allowing the line to go out 20 feet I followed her. She easily found and made the first turn. On her second leg she stopped and as I sent her on to continue tracking she picked up her first intermediate artcle. Luckily she did as articles are not always visable. If the dog/handler team pass any article without the handler picking it up the team fails. So far so good. The third leg went up a steep steep hill, panting after her I realized I wasn't in as good a shape as I had been in years past. Up the hill then down the hill, turn into a forest and major milk thistle weeds. She didn't want to go through the thistle and came back to ask if I really wanted her to. Yes she needed to go and off she went.



Intense concentration is needed by both the dog and owner during the track. Watching the dogs tracking behavior is important to stay on track. Is the dog crittering(no), going off on cross tracks(no), past a corner and indicating loss of track(no), what is the wind doing to the track scent(?), roads may not be crossed directly but at an angle or paralleled-if the dog can't find the track did she/he search 360 degrees around the handler to figure out what happened to the track? That and a myriad of other concerns are always in the handlers mind tracking.

Whisper made it easy, she did the entire track with no help. Turns were spot on, articles indicated and picked up, roads crossed and track picked up on the opposite side with no help. Except for following along behind her I did very little and was suprised when the track ended, it seemed too short and easy. In fact when she stopped tracking on the 7th leg I didn't think we were done and tried to send her on tracking. She picked up the glove looked at me and tried to toss it at me.
We were done and the first team to pass that day.

TDX !

The journey to Whisper's TDX is finally over-she earned it at the San Joaquin Dog Training Club trial April 10. The grounds were beautiful-the Comanche Hills Hunting Preserve in Ione Ca.



To earn a TDX title a dog has to follow a 3-5 hour old track for 800-1000 yards. Along the way they have to identify all the articles dropped by the track layer(3 plus the start article), ignore cross tracks which are fresher easier scent to follow and overcome significant obstacles(road crossings, steep hills, downed trees, water crossings etc). Trouble in any one of these areas will cause the dog to fail. Although I have earned several TDXs on my greyhounds it is never an easy title and typically takes my greyhounds about 30 minutes of intense concentration to complete the track.




This was our third attempt at a TDX trial. The previous two trials we made it to the second to the last leg before failing. The tracking pictures were from a previous trial as I had no one to take pictures at this trial.



The day was beautiful although we drew fourth track and by the time it had aged sufficently it was starting to warm up. She started strongly and never looked back, 13 minutes and 858 yards later we found the glove and she earned her TDX.



After all the dogs had run their tracks a pot luck was held the club and awards given out to the dogs that successfully completed their track. TDX trials typically have a pass rate of around 15% athough the trial that day 3/6 dogs earned their TDX.



Ch Aragon Lunar Eclipse VCD2 RE MX MXJ TDX NF JC (and Echo)

Darby Learns to Track

Darby on one of his first tracks. He is still learning what scent means. Typically at this stage of learning three short tracks are laid. The tracks are double laid and with lots of food drops. In the beginning the dog is of course following the food drops. At first they are wandering along the track looking for food drops and wondering what is going on. The handler is keeping them on the track on a short leash. Somewhere along the line the dog recognizes scent and their behavior changes. As the transistion is made they are following the footsteps and often time skipping some of the food drops. It helps dogs to learn tracking by starting in tall vegetation. The tracking conditions/learning conditions are quite poor this year. This year the rains have been late and sparse so the vegetation is quite low.

Tracking

This past weekend was one day of agility followed the next day by a TDX test and the last day back to agility again. Agility will be posted in a later blog.
The night before the TDX test my van was broken into and all my dog equipment was stolen, obedience training bag, cool coats, hiking boots, tracking harness,line and fanny pack etc. Everything needed for the test that day as well as all my obedience training gear. I was shocked then furious that someone would take things that have no value except to a dog person. My tracking harness I had had since the late 1980s and had 5 TDXs and 8 TDs on it. My dumbbell had earned 5 CDXs on my dogs. I found out all the hotels in the area were hit that night.

The tracking people were great, everyone came to the rescue and I can't thank the tracking community enough. Whisper wore a German Shepherd's tracking harness, a sheltie's tracking line, a Corgi's fanny pack and boots. People even offered gloves and socks although I had those items. Needless to say I wasn't in a great mood to start the track and I think it carried down the line to Whisper. She didn't want to track that day either. We went to the start line and barely got off the line. She picked up interest as the track went on although kept coming back to me. We found 3 out of the 4 articles, crossed the road twice and paralleled the road once before we ran into trouble we couldn't overcome. She was tracking along side the road in a direction I was worried was wrong and put tension on the line to ask if she was sure. She came off, came back to me and never found the track again. I found out later we were on the track but Whisper must have read my insecurity and tension and stopped. We had completed all but the last 1 1/2 legs of the track-hard to come so close but to fail.


As upset as I was when I discovered everything was stolen I didn't get any photos of the test so the hotel photos will have to add insight into the dogs evening.




I hope whoever stole my stuff appreciates what they got but I am sure they just trashed it once they found out there was nothing resalable.


Where is Echo?



There she is!!

Echo's New TD

This past weekend Echo was in her first tracking test. Since the draw for the TD portion of the test was so early 7:45 AM we arrived the night before and spent the night in a hotel. Bryn and Marie came down for a quick lesson on clicker training sits,downs and recalls. Bryn and Echo also played a bit afterwards.



It is always a good idea to arrive early at the tracking headquarters. The draw started at 7:45 AM and any dog/handler team not present forfeits their spot to an alternate team.






Getting into a tracking test is unlike any other AKC events, it is not first come quaranteed entered. Once entries have closed, a draw is done about 10 days before the trial. However many tracks are available-in Echo's case there were 4 tracks-the first 4 names pulled out a hat are entered. In Echo's test there were 18 dogs entered, only 4 tracks were offered so 14 dogs didn't get in and were on the alternate list. It pays to be early to the draw and not lose your spot by being late. Once that everyone has checked in, the draw happens to determine which track each team will run. The first dog/handler team in catalogue order then pulls a slip of paper with the track they will run. In Echo's case she was third dog picked for the test and we drew 3rd track. What a coincidence.




Then the waiting begins for the tracks to age. California is going through another dry spell and the tracking conditions this year were less than ideal,no moisture and little green vegetation. Once the track has aged sufficiently the dog and handler are taken out to the beginning of the track and allowed to start when ready. Nothing is more humbling than to be at the start flags and know it is just you and your dog-well mostly your dog to navigate the 450-500 yards out in the field, multiple turns and find the glove. Echo started off gangbusters-she loves to track-and completed the track in my fastest time to date 470 yds in 6 1/2 minutes. There really was very little for me to do except hold on and follow her. She got distracted once by some old horse straw but with a little verbal cue went back to tracking. Turns were no problems and I was told she rarely came off the track. Six and one half minutes later she lead me straight to the glove and she eaned her TD! There is a special feeling when you pick up the glove at the end of the track and you and the dog are a proven team.





Ch Aragon Black Ice RN TD

Tracking Certification

This past weekend was a busy dog show weekend. Between obedience with Whisper for her third leg CDX leg, a three day agility trial and certifying Echo for a tracking trial, I was exhausted by the end of the weekend.

To enter a tracking trial a dog needs to be certified,that is run a TD track under a recognized tracking judge. There are few trials for the number of dogs ready so a certification track proves that the dog is actually ready to enter a trial. I met tracking judge and greyhound breeder Gail Burnham of Suntiger greyhounds at the end of the first day of agility. She laid a 1/2 hour old track with 4 turns to test Echo. It was lovely tracking conditions, rain the night before, cool weather, no wind and moderate grass cover. Because of technical errors the video starts about half way through Echo's track. She had already made two turns before the video starts. Sorry for the video quality. It was hard to walk and video at the same time.

Almost There

Tracking season is short in California-it runs from November to early April. Afterwards it is too hot and dry to do anything but lawn work. Echo has really come along way in a short time. We have been out tracking probably every other weekend since December. She is almost ready to certify. Her weakest area-and true for all my dogs-is article indication. Most trackers ask their dog to lay down or sit over the glove. Since a greyhound rarely will offer this behavior out in a field I have always just asked them to stop and stand over it. This is not a particularly strong indication and easy to miss. I decided with Whisper and Echo I would ask them to paw it or pick it up. I use the "touch" command to shape the behavior. Below is Echo learning the basics of article indication. You can tell by her behavior the glove is not a big treat-yet. Touch Treat is done over and over again-it is a good exercise to practice in the house.

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After learning the glove will provide a reward we move out into the field to track. This a 32 minute old track with some but not much food on the track. Although the track layer has marked the turns and is giving me advice of what the track does, Echo is not getting any help from me to indicate which way to go. She is telling me the direction the track goes. Her turns are excellent and her desire to track is very good. Now we just have a run a blind track or two and get better article indication and she will be ready to certify for a tracking test.

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Tracking Harness

All dressed up with no test to enter.

Although there are nicer tracking harnesses out now my tracking harness has used on every one of my greyhounds since I started tracking 25 years ago. It has used for certifing and testing all my dogs since my original greyhound Shattab(Ch Ekohils Cinnamon Life CD CC TDX VCX). All in all it has been used for 7 TDs and 5 TDXs titles. It has a lot of sentimental value as well as being quite a durable piece of equipment.

Tracking Tests

Tracking season has started along with the frustration of entering tests. Whisper is ready for TDX tests but so far hasn't drawn into a test-she is an alternate.

Tracking is the only sport that randomly draws for enteries. That means even if you are the first entry sent and received you have no greater chance than the last dog's entry to get into the test. There are so few tests for so many dogs. Once the deadline closes all the enteries are put in a hat and the first dog drawn gets into the test and so on until the limit is reached. Since TDX tests are so much work and need so much land to plot the tracks generally only 2-3 tracks are offered. Occationally if a club is holding only a TDX test-not combined TD/TDX there may be 5 tracks offered. The most recent trial I entered offered 5 tracks with a 16 dog entry. If one is lucky enough to get in the test you still have to pass and the pass rate is only around 15%. One year I applied to every TDX test and never drew a track. Hopefully Whisper will be luckier.

Tracking

I live in an excellent dog friendly town-Livermore. Within minutes are parks to teach tracking or other parks to practice obedience.





After Christmas my tracking buddy and good friend Sherry and I met at a local park to lay track. Whisper is training for her TDX this year with Lyric waiting in the wings and Echo is just starting. Since TDX is so time consuming to teach generally I focus on one dog only at this level. Whisper's track was TDX length 800+ yds with plenty of obstacles and road/path crossing although was only 1 1/2-2 hrs old. Normally when training, we only practice either age or length but rarely both at the same time.



While waiting for Whisper's track to age we worked on Echo. She did super and is now doing short 15 minute old tracks with turns.



After Whisper's track aged we ran her and she did awesome. No mistakes and tremendous enthusiam. I feel she is ready to enter a TDX trial. The video below is of a TDX type track but warning it is a long video. Most if not all my dogs complete their TDX in about 30 minutes. This is an 8 minute video but shows tracking at its best. My brother is videoing and didn't realize his comments were being recorded. He is a good sport but not a dog person.

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Videos of Echo

Echo is learning to track. Here is a video of her second time out.



Echo is also working on some basic obedience work using a clicker. You can see her in action in this video clip.



Finally, here is a video of Echo playing with Whisper.

Echo Checks In Again

Yesterday we went tracking for the second time. Just little baby tracks but I think she is getting the idea. The orange flags mark the beginning and end of the track. At the end is glove stuffed with treats. You start by teaching the dog to put their nose on the ground and follow the food scent. Food is every few steps at this point. Pretty soon the dogs are moving out and starting to miss the food drops. At that point you increase the distance between drops and the dog is learning to track rather than just look for food. Somehow the dogs teach themselves that the funny smell(people scent) on the ground leads to a big jackpot at the end and hurry to get to it. I am going to try to post a video of her baby track-and then a video of Whisper tracking on a 3 hour old track with only a food cache on each leg to every other leg. I learned the hard way to never take all the food off the track-the only time my dogs track without food is on a certifying or an actual AKC test track. There has to be something in it for the dogs to continue with enthusasium-be it a toy or food. Hopefully Echo will be my 8th TD greyhound.