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Rabid Raccoon

I live in Baltimore City.  Stores are convenient, the library is at the end of my street, as is the Post Office, the local store, a Starbucks, three banks, a neat bookstore for kids…  city stuff and all within walking distance from my front door.  Who would think I would have to worry about rabid animals???  Last week a raccoon was spotted one block from my house, in the middle of the day and the classic signs of illness abounded–disoriented, aggressive behavior, stumbling…. a call to 911 brought Animal Control and the raccoon was captured.  It was rabid.  This was the third rabid animal in or around my neighborhood in 14 years.  Not a huge number, but they are only the ones I know about!  I wasn’t so much afraid for my dogs since they are both current on their shots, but I was very concerned for the humans, especially the kids in the neighborhood.  Suffice to say, a lot of parent/kid discussions ensued to be sure the kids knew how to handle themselves should they come on a sick or dead animal in the woods and fields around our neighborhood.  SCARY stuff.

Saturday, Apr 11, 2009 and Easter Sunday – Apr 12, 2009

Saturday, Apr 11, 2009

It rained all day, often pouring!  I met Tori at 8:30am at Park School field (behind Villa Julie)…. oh, so nice!  Green and plush.  Almost too good.

I laid a track (in the rain), with four legs and an article on each leg.  Not much wind, but wet, wet, wet.  In retrospect, I should have taken Charlie out of the car and gotten him used to the rain, the wet grass and the cool temps.  I didn’t and although he tracked and downed on each article, he looked like a wet, hunched up, drowned rat…. not a happy camper.  His nose was not as deep as I would have liked for the first leg, but he did settle down and put his nose to work.  On the second leg, he “saw” the article about three steps before getting there and just went to it and downed.  When the food was present, he slowed, when it was not, his pace was faster and his nose higher.  The good news was he never quit and he didn’t react poorly to the reminders to ”go easy”… 

Tori did a food-laden track for Frodo and he nailed it!  I brought Zelda out and she cleaned any hotdogs up that Frodo missed and then Tori brought Dusty out to play and run with Charlie and Zelda.  No hotdogs were left after Zelda went down Frodo’s track, but Dusty checked each footstep diligently!  Very impressive.  Tori then laid a short track for Dusty and she happily checked the scent box and the three or four steps out.  Good girl.  The dogs romped in the rain, we tried to dry them off as best we could and the hour plus drive to the training field was a wet dog smelling extraveganza.

 Easter Sunday, Apr 12, 2009

 Easter dawned with the sun shining, the rain stopped and the dogs ready for a romp and with the exception of it being 6:20am!, I would have been more than glad to comply.  As it was, I put them off by offering belly rubs and head petting and we actually hit the field by my house at 7am… perfect time for bunny hunting!  Thank goodness, Charlie continues to smell the bunnies, chase the bunnies, but not catch the bunnies, so the score remains Bunnies-a zillion and Charlie-zip.

 After the morning walk and my morning coffee, we load up and drive to Villa Julie for a tracking session.  I’m still working on my ability to watch and read Charlie Brown, my track laying skills, Charlie’s corners, Charlie’s commitment to a deep nose and to reinforcing Charlie’s commitment to the track.

When laying the track, I try to take into account the wind direction, the placement of food on the track, my corners and placement of articles.  I still struggle with knowing where the track is exactly, especially if the wind is blowing and Charlie is off a step or two and I can’t read him well and the conditions keep me from seeing my footsteps.  I’m working on it.  I’m getting better.  I’m not there yet.  I know that no training is better than bad training, but truthfully, if I don’t get out there and track alone, we won’t get anywhere at all.  I’d love to make tracking happen with a tracking “coach”, but everything seems to get in the way of having an experienced tracking coach available more than here and there.  It is trial season now and the two individuals I would normally track with are busy training their own dogs, busy traveling to and from trials… busy.  It could be a bad decision (not my first, not my last), but I’ve decided that tracking and training are important and I’ll do them alone when an experienced hand is not available and suffer the consequences.

The difference a day and place can make

April 8th

I decided to take Charlie Brown tracking for my lunch break from work…. we went to St. Joseph’s Manor and the conditions were great.  Grass hadn’t been cut recently and was ankle deep.  I laid a track and waited a short time (maybe 15 minutes).  Track began to the right of the box, not straight ahead and Charlie had no problem figuring out the direction.  I had laid my first leg into the wind and I’m sure that helped him.  There was food in the box and the first few steps.  The indentations from my footsteps were clearly visible.

Charlie hit all the corners, he kept his nose down.  Good article indication, steady speed (although I did give him a few “go easy” commands).  I stayed about 6 feet behind the boy.

This was an easy track and Charlie did a good job.

April 9, 2009

I decided to take Charlie tracking again today for lunch.  It was slightly warmer, slightly dryer and the grass at Villa Julie was good, but not quite as good as the day before, with a few more patchy areas. 

I laid my first leg with the breeze to my back and the track was all left turns with an article on each leg.  There was food in the scent box, but no food in the first few footsteps.  Charlie missed the first two turns, overshot each one, then circled back and found the leg about four or five footsteps from the corner, having gone straight at each corner.  The first three legs he was pretty good and was in each footstep.  The final leg, with the wind cutting from right to left, he was off a footstep to the left.  When he got to the final article his platz was crooked (and that came from being off the track a footstep).  All article indications were good and fast.

Weekend Training

Charlie Brown and Henrietta, the Playboy bunny….

Those pesky April showers managed to arrive with a vengence on Friday and return today, Monday, but Saturday and Sunday were dry and warm!  Other than a very windy day Saturday, the weekend was beautiful.  A great day for Commonwealth to have a Helper’s seminar. 

I didn’t track Saturday–too windy for a novice dog and handler to track alone.  Instead I went to the Helper’s seminar to listen and learn.  GREAT teachers and attentive audience.  Butch, Ron, Greg all provided hands on learning opportunities and they invited the peanut gallery to come out and listen and learn.  Club members provided a variety of dogs for the Helpers to practice their new skills and techniques and the dogs were given a wide variety of helpers to test.

Charlie worked twice, both times on the escape bite and reattack, something he needs to learn and perfect.  His technique in the reattack keeps him from moving easily with the helper and I’ve been told he is much like a Rottie–he hunkers down and if the helper does not have him in the “pocket”, Charlie will control the exercise. 

Sunday, was more of the same, only a nicer day…  I went tracking in the morning at Villa Julie College.

Charlie did a good job.  I walked him to the scent box (into the wind).  Box had five or six pieces of food.  Charlie struggled to find the correct way to leave the box as I have not worked him on coming into the box from one direction and leaving to the right or left.  He worked at it and found the correct direction and off we went.  We had company as “Ice” was there laying a track for his dog and he tagged along.  Good for Charlie to have company.  Charlie worked the higher grass and was not as settled on the first leg, but he settled in very nicely once we left the higher grass for the low cut grass (he had to work harder in the lower stuff and I think that made him concentrate).  He was not hectic, but he did pull a bit more when there was not food for a stretch.  I gently reminded him to “go easy”.  He indicated all three articles and except for the second article which was on a leg going directly into the wind, he was pretty consistent with the foot print to foot print tracking.  On the leg into the wind with the article, it was obvious he caught the scent of the article and the four or so steps before the article were mostly skipped.  I had food in all the corners but the last one and he did them all, including the last one, well.  Even with the wind blowing, he stayed in the track except for one or two times.  All in all, a very successful track with good learning opportunities for us both.  I definately paid more attention to Charlie and his body language and I’m learning to be aware of the track.  Of course, lots of the good behavior on both my handling part and on Charlie’s part, becomes less evident when the conditions are poor.  I attribute that to my handling as much or more than I do to Charlie.  He can’t learn if I can’t teach….

On the protection field, we worked on control and on Charlie’s technique with the reattack exercise. 

A very successful day that we ended with a walk in the fields by my house before it got dark. 

April Showers

April 3rd and it is raining cats and dogs.  Started last night and it is still going strong today (midday).   Perhaps the dogs mid-day walk will be shortened a tad, although once out and about, they usually enjoy the romp and mud.  On the other hand, I don’t…  after this mornings walk, I told Charlie Brown he was one wet towel away from a BATH!  One can only hope all this rain will lead to May flowers!

Charlie and I participated in an obedience routine that was critiqued by Butch Henderson last weekend–a mock trial type set-up with training gear, food, balls allowed.  I tried to keep my routine trial-like, although when Charlie went around the jump, I made him go back and jump it both ways.  I also used a toy for the go-out.  It was a good exercise for both me and Charlie.  I continue to learn trial routine, including in the Sch II routine you DO NOT call your dog to a front from the stand…. oops.  Butch reaffirmed my problem areas (wide about turns, crooked fronts, going past the dumbbell before picking it up and the need to work on my moving stand).  Charlie is pretty correct in his heeling position, but I need to add the excitement and zing back for us both. 

We didn’t get a critique on protection, but I already know we are working on control in drive and improving Charlie’s technique in the reattack after the escape bite.  

I can’t say much about our tracking.  We don’t get enough practice.  Charlie is much better than when we got our Sch I last November (but that is not saying alot since we were not exactly great) and I’m more aware of what Charlie is telling me.  We are a work in progress! 

I’m hoping to have Charlie collected this Spring as he just turned four…his last Holter and Echo were excellent.  This is a good time.  I just need to make it happen.