This track was to prove to myself that Heidi was okay doing what she does. In other words, that she is ready to progress to tracking shoes and blood. The reason for this was because I was not certain in my mind that she was using her nose enough, and as mentioned previously, she may have thought she was out for a really good walk.
I chose to lay the line in some slightly longer vegetation, tall enough not to be called an open path, but short enough that when I laid the track that I did not completely flatten an 'obvious' route. I had a small amount of blood in a pot ready to be used so this is what governed the length of the track.
As you can see, things went well. Heidi did a bit of 'ringing' to start with, then when she'd figured things out of she went. Maybe because of the taller vegetation, therefore having to take things a bit slower, I could see she was definitely getting her head down and using her nose. I am sure now that using tracking shoes, a far greater scent foot print is put down. By this I mean everything that the cleaves contact or crush emits a wave of scent that the dog is able to pick up.
When she reached the end we were both really happy, and after the video stopped she was rewarded with a lump of liver, followed by a great game tugging and pulling the skin around. Due to her behaviour at home of barking when she gets frustrated, I'm sure that later on in training I'll be able to get her to report.
Age of track: 1hr
Length of Track: 60m.
Type of track: Shoe and blood.
Amount of blood: 100ml (Cleave juice diluted).
Wind direction: From behind.
Wind strength: 5-7 mph
Temp: 17ºC
Weather: Dry, bright, cooling off after a hot day.
Time: 18.00
Age of Dog: 13 weeks
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