17th May 2008 sure will be a day I will remember for many years.
It was our first tracking trial for the season, Woke up to a very chilly 5 degree's (well that's cold for Perth, Western Australia) but not a cloud in the sky and a gently wind blowing, great day for the dogs to be tracking.
Selsdon was entered for his first attempt at Test 6, the highest we can currently go in competition tracking in Australia. The all important pass to become Tracking Champion and not an easy test to pass, but I did think he was ready, I was just not too sure about me. We were only 4 weeks into our season and my dogs always have abreak over the summer, but I did think he has trained really well so why not give it a go, and find out what we needed to work on before the next trial in early June.
Basic explanation of the track is its layed by a unknown person (someone the dog has never tracked), approximately 1,200 metres long, with a minimum of six changes of direction two of which must be an acute angle but not greater than 135 degrees, and must be between 90 and 180 minutes old before the dog can work it. Also is crossed in 2 places by another unknown person who the dog has to ignore and continue on the original track. 3 Scented artles are left on the track and dog must find 2 and the tracklayer at the end to pass.
The judge goes and marks out the tracks some days before the trial, placing flags along the track for the tracklayer to follow, which they collect as they go, so when handler and dog arrive to do their tracks there are no flags showing the direction of the track. All that remains are 2 marker flags and the handler knows the track starts somewhere betwen these 2 flags. I usually walk Selsdon down to within a couple of metres of the starting area on his normal collar and tracking lead (about 15 Ft long lead), and find a shady spot to put his tracking harness on, he sits very patiently and waits. However, I must have been nervous on Saturday because when I came to clip his lead up, the loop was underneath rather than on top. Opps, off it came and on the right way. Judge handed me the sealed bag with a scented article from the tracklayer, I can bearly get it open and Selsdon has his nose in there getting the scent. I then walked him up to the first flag and slowly head towards the other marker, watching him and looking for any indication of where the tracklayer might have started from. Couple of feet in from the left hand marker he headed out a couple of metres then came back, locked that in my memory box, kept walking toward the other flag and while he was busy sniffing gave no real indication that the tracklayer may have started from the right hand side. However, he was really interested in some bushes that were very close, he went and checked them out a couple of times, but I thought no way could they have started in there because they would have to do a turn to come out again, and that's not allowed. So my brain is working overtime wind blowing from left to right, scent probably blown in the buses, so gradually worked him back up the line and when we got to the same spot where he went in a couple of metres he went out again, and I decided to "trust my dog" and go with him, keeping an ear out for the judge incase she called my name indicating we had started in the wrong spot and a big fail, but all is quiet, yipee we were off and running.
As we went along our first leg, he changed over to the right of what I thought was the track and that is not unusual for him as he tends to track on the fringe, still kept going really well, not sure how far it was to our first turn but he gave a indication of change of direction, so a quiet good boy, then he stopped came back, so I cast him around, he must have decided he was right and up the next leg. We were both getting warm and about 60 metres or so up this leg, he went off to the right, off to the left so I just kept to the same spot while I let his lead out to check, thought it could have been one of his cross tracks, but no and kept searching. There was abit of shade so decided I would give him a drink of water (only thing they are allowed on the track with judges permission), just as we were about to start off again, I noticed something on the track, so I sent him forward and pounced on his first article. It's always a bit of a relief to get the first one early on the track. His next corner was his first acute, once again did the change of direction, then came back to check the area and yep, he decided he was right and off again. He worked relly well and even up the hill where he had another change of direction and not easy when the wind was blowing in the oppsite direction, but he worked it out.
We seamed to have travelled a fair distrance and around a couple more corners and I was beginning to panic a bit, where his next article, has to find 2 of the 3 and we only had 1, and running out of track very fast. Over a sand track, up a bit of a hill and he decides to widen his search, I did not think it was another corner, but cast him out just in case. As some of the corners are very acute, though better try and cast around the 360 degrees see what he comes up with, no only interested in a small area. Decided to stop him for another drink and give us both time to think, ok another cast and I said to him, "ok you pick a line, any line and I will follow" well was I glad he took no notice of me, next to this big pine tree was a whole pile of bark and mixed in there was a brown price of sock, blimey article No 2. Well not sure what was wrong with his nose, but he walked over it twice and I am not allowed to be seen leading the dog, so I asked him would he like to borrow my glasses, and just then he must have got another whiff of it and picked it up, to the relief of a very excited handler let me tell you.
Much mor relaxed I started him off agin up over the hill, down the other side a very slight change of direction and I started to think this has to be the last leg. Now he was in cruise mode he went off checking a pile of fallen trees to the right, no track layer in there. However, in front of us a few metres down the track there was his huge dead pine which had come out of the ground, roots and all, and I am thinking, great place for the tracklayer to be hiding and right in our path, and sure enough he picked up his pace and tail going a hundred miles an hour round the tree he went to find our tracklayer. Yipee, a pass on our first attempt on a very hard track.
