Wednesday, February 25, 2015

A Great Day out in the Forest

Today we headed out to Sjöbo for tracking trials and we couldn't ask for better weather this time of year, a bit damp and around 6C- heck, the sun even peaked out for a bit!

Both Freddie and Liina were signed up to do tracking trials today. Freddie went first and although there was a lot of wildlife in the forest today and he was a bit distracted, he squeaked by with a 1st place due to his ability to check the track and restart if Simon was sure he was off. He hasn't been tracking much since the end of 2013 and it was clear that he needed a little "practice" in his obedience on the tracking lead. He was just a bit too excited to be out in the forest today. Sadly, the poor boy had no "prize" at the end of his track as an animal had stolen the hoof.

The requirement for the woods for tracking in Sweden are that there are different types of terrain (and ideally not flat) and full of wildlife. Judging by the boar damage, deer and boar tracks, and fresh poop I saw today, there is no doubt that the woods were alive. Liina's track proved just that...

Liina was such a natural talent on her anlagstest, that I decided to risk it and try an open class track with her today. She definitely didn't disappoint me! She did excellent work and completed her track in 18 minutes! The biggest challenge for us was on our 2nd corner (the återgång- a back track) when we got to the turn around point, Liina turned to head back to the blood track and, whoops!, up popped a deer! All I could think was, oh shit, do I try to take her back to the start, do I pick her up and calm her down, do I try to continue, what? Luckily, the judge saw the situation and after Liina started to whine and longingly watch the running deer, we were called back to the start of the corner. Liina was a bit quick and more excitable than usual at that point, but she was working like a pro. I couldn't have asked more of her. Super dog and super time- 1st prize!


Needless to say that I am overjoyed with my talented group. I also have to pay great thanks to the ancestors of both these dogs. Though in different ways, both dogs  have Suddebok/Kobeddus in their lineage- dogs known not only for their beauty, but for their working abilities. Fingers crossed for more great results to come!!

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