Tracking 2 -
Here's what judge Christine had to say...
First up were Laurel Stone and GSD Brita von der Alte Baum, who showed excellent fashion sense as it was deer shotgun weekend - although we weren't near any hunting areas, but it doesn't hurt to be careful! Brita is a therapy dog that also has her BH, RH, WH, AD, RA, HIC, CGC, and T1....at 2 years old! Brita's main goal is actually PSA, but this youngster can do it all. She started strong, but on the fourth leg had some hard surface difficulties and wasn't able to recover. It was a valiant effort, especially given her age. The SDA T2 track is 1200 paces long and must have obstacles and changes of cover. Note the frozen pond in the background - shows how cold it was!
I entered Brita in the Service Dogs of America Tracking Trial today in Rockford IL in the Level 2. When the entry was submitted I didn't think we had a snowball's chance in ..... of passing but the more we tracked in the last 2 weeks, the more she got it. I learn best by doing and it was a great experience. The track is 1200 paces consisting of 4 legs and 3 corners, 3 articles, layed by someone else and aged an hour. It was quite a walk to the beginning of the track and the cover was VERY uneven but not really high like when she got her T1. I was concerned about her following another person's scent but that was NO problem. She sniffed the scent article and away she went. First leg great... 2nd leg... goose poop... water... hhhmmm... a little diversion but back on track and to the first article ok. Now we're more than halfway but ahead is a paved bike trail with a wooden bridge... well... that was too much and we really hadn't worked on a paved road. So we had to stop but one of the cool things I think about SDA tracking is that you can do the remainder of the track as training and, of course, she did that just fine!
I was very glad I entered. I have a much better understanding of it as a result and know more what to train for. I was proud as punch that she did as well as she did because she just turned 2 this last week! And because it was opening day of hunting season, she, of course, had to wear her colorful coat which made it really easy to see her which I'm sure would have gotten her the prize for the best dressed entry had there been one. :):):)
I put a few pictures in a slide show on her website - Brita's SDA Tracking 2
Laurel & Brita (Therapy Dog, CGC, HIC, HT, RE, BH, AD, RH, WH, T1)
Here's what judge Christine had to say...
First up were Laurel Stone and GSD Brita von der Alte Baum, who showed excellent fashion sense as it was deer shotgun weekend - although we weren't near any hunting areas, but it doesn't hurt to be careful! Brita is a therapy dog that also has her BH, RH, WH, AD, RA, HIC, CGC, and T1....at 2 years old! Brita's main goal is actually PSA, but this youngster can do it all. She started strong, but on the fourth leg had some hard surface difficulties and wasn't able to recover. It was a valiant effort, especially given her age. The SDA T2 track is 1200 paces long and must have obstacles and changes of cover. Note the frozen pond in the background - shows how cold it was!
More trial details are on the SDA website at http://www.servicedogsofamerica.com/GeneralInfo/RockfordTracking.php
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Tracking 1
On October 31, 2008, we traveled to Rockford IL to participate in the a TRACKING Trial held by the Service Dogs of America. (click and read all about it) We left at 4am with Minna and arrived (after a bit of a detour because of construction) at 7am.
SDA allows the articles to be items like gloves, wallets, etc. so it more simlates the "real world". So, a few days before the trial, after finding out that we could use a glove and it could be any color and any size, I paid a visit to Fleet Farm to get the largest, brightest, cheapest, orange hunting gloves I could find!!
The tracking field was 3-4 foot grass/weeds and our track (which is the entry level track) was 300 plus steps, 3 legs, 2 corners, 2 articles (one halfway through the 2nd leg and one at the end), and layed by the handler. We were to present the articles to the judge at the end and if our dog walked over then we were to pick them up and keep going. It was to age for 20 minutes.
When it was Brita's turn and I told her to search, she knew exactly what to do. I guess all those days when she had to "search" for her dinner were in her mind and food must be out there somewhere. She pulled really hard down the first leg which ended up being more of a serpentine (I really will have to learn to walk in a straight line), blew by the corner but realized it and circled around, took the second leg without a problem (I scooped up the glove on the way by which was ok), did the second corner with no problem and then stopped to turn and look at me, I thought, too soon but when I got there she was standing with her paw on the glove as it to say...ok... where's my food! Needless to say, when she got back to the van, she
had a special treat of sardines and kibble!
Total minutes it took her - THREE! And, of course, we passed!
The judge in the photo with us is Christine Gajda.
Here's what Christine had to say about us:
Next passing track was Laurel Stone and her fiery GSD gal Brita von der Alte Baum. At just 23 months old, Brita has her BH, RH (European Rescue Dog title), Rally Excellent, HIC, CGC, and HT. Brita flew through her track and was a pleasure to watch.
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