Tracking and more fun

The M&M siblings hooked up with our friends today to do some tracking and enjoy some hard play with one another.  It was a good morning for tracking, foggy, pretty damp and a little cool until you had a 70lb freight train on the other end of the line, then it got a little warm.  We could have started a little earlier but chose to wait until mid morning to start.

First up was Dodge and a mini TDX track just to get him back in the groove after not tracking since the spring.  It was a decent effort on his part, he found the articles and finished fairly strong and more than a little wet!  We then moved on to the beginner dogs, all of which did very well for their first time out ever or in a while (two of them had been introduced to tracking before today).  We then did one more T dog and then it was time for the puppies.  It was sunny by then and a bit warmer which made it a bit more challenging for the pups.  Swing took a crack at it first and had some success.  She's not quite as intense as her brother so we'll work on article indication and drive for the glove between now and the next session.

  Here she is watching Jan as she puts the glove out

She waits while the track layer puts the glove out but finds them walking past her (to double lay the track) a bit distracting.  We ended up using a slipper with a squeaky in it to keep her attention looking forward, and the track layer stayed out just beyond the slipper to entice her to drive out to the article.

Hank was next and that boy has drive when it comes to finding his glove!  He is always carrying something in his mouth and a glove is a very cool thing in his opinion.  His first track required some encouragement but by track two and three he was going like gangbusters!

He finds the glove!

Both pups were sporting a harness this week, I went and got one since I didn't want them to get in the habit of pulling in to their collars.  Both of them took to the harness without a hitch.  We'll continue increasing the distance and double laying the tracks for these two for a couple more weeks since they are so young (11weeks on Sunday).

After all that work it was time to play and since both of them will eventually end up in the agility ring we introduced them to the tunnel.  With Dodge's help they were running through the tunnel in no time as evidenced by the following shots...

Dodge, Hank and Swing's tail

 Swing (Hank in back)

 Hank

Swing outside, Hank coming out of tunnel

As you can see, they did not have any issues with a damp tunnel that was extended out about 15 feet.

Thanks go out to our friend Carolyn and her husband Bill for allowing us to use their gorgeous farm.  We would not have had this opportunity today if it has not been for their generosity and hospitality!