Week 44 - Practice 1

9/15/2025

Today we visited one of my favorite (but surprisingly rarely visited) tracking spots, Fort Eustis. (Yay Military Spouse ID! haha)

Session: Per our last blog input, we are switching from Double Laid to Single Laid Tracks as well as a shuffle pattern. (No Blog) I took her out on a different day and ran 3x through single laid tracks. She did well with no hesitation. So, today I introduced the Shuffle 10, walk 5 pattern.

For Both tracks I did Shuffle 10, Walk 5 (1time from start with 1 food drop), then the pattern 2times before I would give 1 food drop.

So, Start Flag --> Shuffle 10, walk 5, 1 Food Drop --> Shuffle 10, Walk 5--> Shuffle 10, Walk 5 --> 1 Food Drop --> repeat the 2x shuffle + walk between food drops.

• Track 1

  • Weather: 74F, 81% Humidity, Spotty Rain/ Cloudy, Wind NE 13mph.

  • Located at open fields used for daily drills.

  • I am working mostly 10 feet down the line from Wren. More given at turns when she circles.

    • Track One - Single laid. 3 Turns: 90° Left, 90° Right, Open Right

      • Short cut field.

      • Laid: 1:35pm / Ran: 2:00 pm

      • Aged: 24 Minutes

      • 200 yds

      • Start Article: glove (rubber/cloth), End Article: Wallet

• Track 2

  • Weather: 74F, 81% Humidity, Spotty Rain/ Cloudy, Wind NE 13mph.

  • Located at open fields used for daily drills.

  • I am working mostly 10 feet down the line from Wren. More given at turns when she circles.

    • Track One - Single laid. 4 Turns: 90° Right, 90° Left, 90° Left, 90° Right

      • Short cut field.

      • Laid: 2:17pm / Ran: 2:50 pm

      • Aged: 33 Minutes

      • 200 yds

      • Start Article: Wallet, End Article: glove (rubber/cloth)

• 3rd Clip

  • I'm not sure what happened to the audio, but there was a lot of loud construction/truck sounds, so I threw down a little line of several articles near the van for her to find easy peasy quick rewards.

GOAL FOR THE TRACK:

• To continue adding length back into our tracks after the hot summer.

• To continue with little changes in track textures/grounds

• We have been practicing in public spaces with cross tracks occurring naturally before and after my track is laid.

  
  

How did it feel?

• Oh My! Sooooooo they both felt good overall. Track 1 was very chaotic in my laying, Track 2 was all the audible distractions.

  • Track 1: So, while laying the tracks on Eustis, there are often little random rocks and logs. I didn't think anything of laying a track running along some little boulder/rocks. While running the track, I suddenly realized that might be a grave/memorial marker. I didn't want Wren walking into it so I did hold her back a bit there.

    • I also felt Wren and I were weaving like crazy on Track 1. This usually means one of two things: A. Wren has to poop, or B. Wren is following something else like a rabbit while also trying to follow my track.

      Today? turns out she had to poop.

      As soon as we finished our Track 1, Wren went #2. good girl. haha

    • Track 1, I did not see her pick up the article but realized she was giving me attitude because she found it and I didn't reward her the first time. Woopsy. We will continue to work on that article indication to make it more dramatic/solid/obvious.

  • Track 2: For those who know us, we have been working through certain loud sounds since a terrible incident in December 2024, where some people set off fireworks beside my dogs and I at a hotel parking lot. (Very loud, very illegal ones) SO this track I felt a bit worry because suddenly there were cars back firing, massive military tractors, and the Eustis TRAIN all happening!

    Wren was such a trooper and said "Hold my Pupcup, I got this!!"

List three things the dog did well:

1. Wren worked very well in an environment with loud equipment!

2. Being clear in her 'loss of scent' moments vs her finding the track.

3. Other than some simpler tracks with single lay (no blog), this was her working a single lay track + the new shuffle pattern! Yay Wren. That nose was working and those little hind quarters were engaged!

   
   

List things you’d like to improve:

1. Supporting her tracking straight on the line with heavy wind cross blowing. I can see where she is drifting and popping in and out of the straight track to follow wind, and I think (in the moment) I forgot the handler basics of pausing when she steps off the track to let her pop back on, or invoke the magic of stepping to the side behind her instead of weaving.

   
   

Goal for next track:

• Providing better training to support wind.

• Clean up my handling.

• Continue working on that article indication being stronger and stronger.