Hudson and I played at our first tracking game today. He hasn’t had his booster shots, so we are rather limited in where we play -- I worry about taking him places other dogs have been as we have parvo in this area. It’s an easily transmitted and often deadly virus shed onto the ground via feces where it can live up to a year, even through winter.
Local vets suspect that our local coyote population is the reason we see so much parvo in Whistler … hence my concern. And because of the snowpack, and because park areas are closed for skiing, Whistler’s pooches tend to be seriously concentrated onto fewer trails in winter.
So, I laid several metres of track on our deck and in our back yard. I started with a scent pad, and dropped treats in my footprints as I went, then backtracked along the trail.
Hudson is clearly true to his breed, and motivated by food. After about two metres I could see the little light bulb go off in his head -- his stance and focus changed, and he clearly started scenting along the trail with a deep nose. I guided him gently by hand in an effort to encourage him to keep his nose down. I didn’t lay articles along the way (not yet) … but his reward at the end was his tug rope, and treats, and we immediately engaged in fun game of tug.
I have no idea if I’m doing this right, but Hudson had a ball … he ran back on his own accord to go over the track several more times just to see if he missed any treaties. Can’t wait for my tracking books to arrive … but I think he’s going to be a natural! (Hey, I can be biased :) )
