I must be mad, or really keen to keep up with Heidi's training. Due to the current weather we have been having, which is blazing hot and very dry, I have not laid any tracks for over a week, mainly due to the lessons learnt trying to work a scent in these weather conditions in our last escapade. Therefore I made the decision to lay a track around 11.30PM, when things would be a lot cooler and there'd also be more moisture on the ground, following up with Heidi at 5.30AM.
As Heidi's last track was 4hrs old, my original plan was to leave it for about the same time, laying the track at 1.30am but possibly a bit shorter distance, just to keep her confidence up. However as I was extremely tired, Mrs Yabanjin suggested that as conditions were more in Heidi's favour, leaving it a longer time probably wouldn't hurt, and this would give me more sleep! Now Mrs Y is seldom wrong (if ever), so this was the plan.
I was hoping to lay the track by moonlight, but there was a bit of cloud, and the moon wasn't to early in getting up high enough, so great use of a head light was made. Just as well because due to some poor preparation of the blood being used my bottle clogged up a few times. Anyway I managed to get the job done and crawled into my pit around 1.30am.
Having got well prepared the night before I was up early enough to let the dogs have a run around the garden, before Heidi was singled out to go on her mission. Now normally she is always a little reluctant to have her normal lead put on, but on this occasion she seemed very exited and we had no problem. I think this is because she saw me putting my kit bag on, and there is now no doubt that she associates this with going tracking.
On this occasion the track I had laid was only a couple of fields away from the house so we walked out of the garden on to the farm path, and continued to the start of the line, in complete daylight, and getting wet footwear from the grass and vegetation that we were walking through-this to me was a good sign.
There was a very light breeze coming straight towards us, which I have always tried to avoid, with the intention of encouraging her to keep her head down to the ground looking for scent, rather than air scenting, but as always in life we can't have everything our own way.
I put her tracking collar on a good few meters form the start so I could let her try to pick up the first sign on her own. This she did with no problem, and we were off. The vegetation on this part of the track was a little sparse but strong enough to do the job, and the only thing that really startled Heidi, was a couple of pigeons launching themselves out the hedgerow for the first time of this day, but she just paused a couple of seconds, and then got back to work.
On this line there was only one turn, and that was right handed. Heidi came up to it okay and with a little investigation seemed to pick up the turn, then after a few meters appeared confused, went back to the turn area, and started looking around all over the place. Eventually, and with a little encouragement she got back on to it and all was well. I think the reason for this could have been the change in wind direction as we turned, which was also on a brow of a hill, so the air currents were probably acting in a strange way at this spot.
The turn also brought a change of length with the vegetation. The grass and weeds were a lot taller here, which I thought would have made things a lot easier here, but the exact opposite was true, and Heidi took a lot more time on this last section. Interestingly as she was pushing through the grasses, I could see the seed heads exploding, releasing dust and pollen all over her head and nose, which really must have made it tough for her to concentrate and pick out the scent line.
Eventually she tracked right up to the finish, whereupon she seemed very pleased with herself, especially after receiving her usual reward and having a game with the skin. This just left us about a ten minute walk back home, where we both enjoyed a well earned breakfast.
Conclusions:
When approaching a known or possible turn, try and keep well back, giving the dog as much leash as possible. This I think will help greatly by keeping the ground and surrounding area as undisturbed as possible if they momentarily lose the scent and have to back track. Also brows of hills. I had not thought of them being an issue before, but the effect of air at these points must be considered.
Age of track: 6hrs
Length of Track: 300m.
Type of track: Shoe and diluted blood.
Amount of blood: 250ml (1/5 diluted with cleave juice).
Wind direction: From straight ahead
Wind strength: 1-3 mph
Temp: 20ºC
Weather: Dry soil, morning dew on vegetation.
Time: 05.30amAge of Dog: 4 months
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