Is it the weather?

Two weeks ago, M and I went tracking with Shadow and Hank.  I asked M to lay a blind track – no markers except at the beginning, so the handler has to completely rely upon her dog.  Shadow was outstanding.  A couple of times I thought she was off, but she refused to get off her track and she was right.  Just shows I need to follow the axiom “Listen to your dog”.  Shadow and I tracked again a couple of days later with a blind track laid by Alan.  Again she was outstanding.  I was thinking that she is ready to get certified – a judge will lay a track, and if Shadow does okay, the judge will issue 6 (or about that number) statements of certification to be submitted when I enter her in a tracking test.  Most dogs don’t pass the first test or even several, which is why you get 6 or so certificates.

So Friday we tracked again with M and Hank.  Friday was mid 80’s, windy, and muggy.  Shadow did okay the first couple of legs of the track, and then she was awful.  She kept her head up and didn’t seem to know where to go.  Hank was also pretty bad.  So is it the weather?  Each change in the season takes adjustment for a dog.  They get used to one way the scent is held in the grass and with the change in season it is different.  Also, there are lots of different smells to distract them.  I think hot and muggy is the worst.  Shadow had a big drink of water before she started, but was really thirsty when we finished.  Dog’s noses get really dried out when they are tracking. I should have had water with me to offer to her when I saw her losing the trail.   I’m going later today, but today is wet, so the scent should be easier to track.  But, that’s easy for me to say because my nose isn’t to the ground.

So here is a picture of the puppies at one week – still trying to imagine which puppy will be Magnum.