02/11/2024 - Soggy and Aged Starts

Goal: 2-fold - aged starts from 30 to 120 min + tracking in rain 

Weather: 54*, steady rain tapering to light rain, unfortunately it stopped raining just before we ran the tracks

Cover: VERY soggy/wet soccer field grass with some standing puddles 

Track map: Pre-planned on iPad so I could ensure good walk-outs since I double-fouled the track I laid for Anne last week 😔

Took my Rite in the Rain notebook out to draw real maps with lineups when I plotted

Notes:

• Plotting in the rain is a great way to ensure nobody uses the fields while they age :)
• There was a pair of Canadian geese at the parking lot/top of hill overlooking Track 4. They honked at Evie when she got out of the car and of course Ms BirdDog was interested but then you could see her brain adjust and she pulled me past them so we could go tracking - love her drive!!

Track 1 - Run at 30 min, Scuff 5 at start and after turn, walk 5 then scuff 5; No food

• Some initial investigating after a confident start, then after she checks L and R of track, she hauled down to the turn
• Stopped and sniffed at turn and then very nicely took the turn dead on the leg
• End Article: Paused for a few seconds over the glove then decided it pays to lay on soggy ground

Track 2 (3:00-5:35) - Run at 55 min, Scuff 5 at start, Scuff 5 out of turn, Single food drop on 2nd leg

• I initially lined her up the wrong direction, so she told me it went 90* left and then I realized she was right and let her take it. My bad...Laid several tracks today and got turned around. Her start was good but I held her back
• Leg 1 went between 2 giant puddles and you can see her deviate a bit as the scent drifted but then she picked it right back up
• She noted the clip and then sniffed around the turn for a few secs then took the turn nicely
• After the scuff, she lifted headed and dashed around a little bit then when she crossed the track, a beautiful head snap and hard tracking down the leg
• A nicely placed food drop was a few steps after she re-engaged so that was nice reinforcement
• End Article: She initially noted it, went over to explore another scent, then came back (she seemed to be searching the scent bomb - the glove was SOAKING so I imagine the rain had an impact on the scent bomb). After a shake off, she re-engaged and lunged for the glove with a down!

Track 3 (7:39-10:12) - Run at 90 min, S5W50F25

• Downed on her own at the start article :)
• On Leg 1, she started fringing about 3 feet left (standing water on field) but the 1st food drop was right after she corrected (the food reinforcement karma was on point today)
• This field had a lot more standing water than the other field which had Tracks 1&2 - Between the increased age and scent dissipation, I could tell she was working so so hard! Really loved her drive and commitment today
• Downed at the Clip!
• She re-engaged nicely after clip feed and took the turn really well.
• End Article: She noted it, paused and looked away for a second, then chinned it. I started to say Good Girl but she popped her head up and stared me down. Then she caved and downed on the muddy field, lol.

Track 4 (11:16-16:36) - Run at 2 hr 10 min, S5W20F10

• Great start! Checked one direction for a few steps, came back, then confidently took the leg
• I gave her some praise any forward movement she took after working L/R and trying to find leg, especially as we moved through puddles
• She downed for the turn clip again! After she restarted, she sniffed at the turn and then went beyond it
• There was a rolled up piece of paper just past the turn and she kept indicating it so I fed (I thought this was the better action since we want excitement for articles ahead of trial, even if it wasn't mine) and after she indicated it again, I picked it up and told her to return to tracking. Her initial investigation of the article was different than my articles - more exploratory of the scent and unsure if she should down initially. An interesting observation
• I was hyperaware that our Canadian friends were watching on the hill and was curious if the galley would get noisy. They did...right as she was working the turn...Then a man started walking his lab past the field...She was interested but ultimately valued the work over these environmental distractions 
• After I picked up the trash and the geese quieted down, she came back towards me, found the turn, and took it. The second leg had a lot more exploring and uncertainty but she was *working*.
• End Article: She initially passed it by a few feet and to the left but had a pretty quick head lift and air sniff before she turned back and downed at the article

Wrap:

• Overall, SUPER happy with a lot of what I saw today: High drive and commitment, using her brain to work the hard conditions (age, rain, environmental distractions), and excellent article indications.
• The standing water was something we haven't had a lot of practice with but I think she worked it well given everything
• Girl was TOAST for the rest of the day after this outing. 

Plans for the week: Plan to keep it light as she did fabulous after having a week off while I was in London - she seems to be fresher/more excited with less practice.

• An article track mid-week
• Class Saturday morning (Judi's choice for what we run)
• A short exercise at Tanglewood Park when we get down to Winston for the trial on Saturday. I'm planning on maybe putting in 2 short starts, run at 30 min and then an article track to give her practice at a novel location with new regional field scents ahead of the trial on Sunday.
• Next Sunday - WSDTC TD Trial 😀