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April 4th… lunch time tracking with Charlie

The ground was damp, so I figured, what the heck, lets get a track in before my 1:30pm meeting.  Grabbed the pups, into the car, and off to a field/lawn I found next to Northern Parkway.  Busy road, but there is a pull off, so it was safe enough.  Field is on an incline and I cut the track across and slightly uphill.  Because of the location, I felt pretty sure it was not contaminated with lots of smells and cross tracks.

 The track was an unside down L.  Food in the footsteps leading up to the scent box and food in the scent box with two or three footsteps outside the scent box baited.  Then no food for 7 or so steps, then two with food, then 7 steps and food in two steps, then the article with one piece of food on top.  That was the pattern for the entire track except for changing the number of steps between food and articles.  I had no food before the turn and baited the turn and after for two steps.

Woe is me…. somewhere between the 6th and 7th article, Charlie started eating grass.  I corrected him.  He stopped eating and stood.  I waited, he put his head down and ate more grass!  I corrected him and he stopped and stood.  This went on for three or four grass-eating attempts, then he restarted and finished the track. 

This is a clear indication of not enough drive to track!  Accck… what to do?

This was the third track of this type, without food in each footstep and for the most part, straight.  The first two went ok, or so I thought.  Tonight Charlie will go without dinner.  Tomorrow morning, Charlie will eat his breakfast on the track and I think I will go back to food in most footsteps and only 2 or three articles.