Hey there, it’s Bailie for a change, and I’m going to be barking about beginner tracking today! Emma said it would be good for me to bark about my tracking now and then on her FitDog Friday posts, so here I go. The photo above was taken of me in my beginner tracking classroom. Yep, that’s right, we have class outdoors, rain or shine, and then go out tracking in these great big fields. It is so much fun! I take my classes from Active Dog Sports Training. They have tons of fun classes for a variety of dog sports.
Here I am with all my tracking gear waiting for Mom.
I know you are all Emma’s friends and probably wonder why Emma is not tracking with me. Mom wanted us both to take tracking but she was told to only train one dog at a time. Once I started my class, it was clear to Mom and me that one dog is plenty. Tracking requires a lot of time and space and that would all be double with two dogs. I am more the tracking type, so Mom decided to start out with me and Emma was alright with the decision. Every week I have around six to eight hours of homework to do, and I need large open fields where Mom can lay tracks for me that are several hundred yards long and wide. Only one dog can run the track, which is why if Emma was also in class Mom would need double the homework time and twice as much field space.
The first week of class was pretty easy and could be done almost anywhere. We work off of tracking maps. Every track Mom lays and I run is first drawn on a map. Everything is planned out in yards which are measured by the distance of Mom’s footsteps. It is important when laying a track to walk in a straight line and to exit the track area correctly. We started with just 30 yard tracks on mowed grass with lots of treats along the way. Week two, the straight tracks got longer and we added in the complication of tall grass.
Week three we started adding a turn to our track and in week four, we started doing multiple turns in multiple directions, not to mention, tracks are now over two hundred yards in total length! At this point I have eliminated treats except when I get to the end and find the article. Mom found that I track fine without treats and treats actually disrupt my tracking process acting a bit like speed bumps along the way.
I really love tracking, and have been doing it on my own since the day Mom got me. I track my sisters’ exact path if they go for a walk without me. Mom has always been amazed about that. I really enjoy romping through the thick tall grass the most, though. Yesterday was almost too much. Mom laid my long track in a place with such thick and tall grass, I had to hop like a kangaroo almost the entire way to get through. She was laughing at me because all she saw was a set of ears pop up now and then, but she felt bad it was so difficult. No matter, I made it to the end and found the article.
The most amazing part of all in tracking is Mom actually goes out into these fields and lays tracks and then goes again with me while I track. Mom loves nature and hiking, but you never know what might be in these fields, yet she goes. She does it because she knows how much fun it is for me. Most of the time I prefer the taller thicker grass even though it is sometimes hard to get through.
One of the fields I go tracking in.
I have learned a lot already and we are only half way through class. When I finish class in November I will keep practicing and then I should be ready to test for my TD (Tracking Dog) title. Once I have that I will move on to other titles. I have plans to do well at this sport, but we shall see. I will continue with my nose work as well, but I think tracking will be my sport number one. It is also a sport that tires me out mentally and physically which feels good to a pup.
This short video shows me in action. Sorry, but with tracking, most photos and videos are of my cute little behind. I wanted to use the Sony Action Cam to get the track from my level, but it didn’t record, so I will have to do that next time. Mom had to try and hold her camera to take the video and walk and pay attention to the terrain, so it is all a bit shaky and will never win any awards but it is still fun to see how I navigate that thick stuff and how I get my speed up in thinner grass.
October 1st through 7th isNational Walk Your Dog Week so Cascadian Nomads & My GBGV Life are celebrating with a dog walking challenge, giveaway, photo contest and blog hop. We invite dog bloggers to join our week long blog hop with posts about dog walking. Posts with tips, tools, inspiration and/or tales and photos of your favorite dog walks are welcome each and every day, all week long. Followers and readers are encouraged to get out and walk, rain or shine, and will be invited to share their photos for a photo contest. More details are coming soon but get ready for a whole week of dog walking fun!
If you all find my tracking adventures interesting I think Emma will let me have a post about it every month or two, so let me know if you want to hear more about it down the road.
Tracking is definitely a fun way to fit so Emma wants this post in her FitDog Friday Blog Hop along with SlimDoggy, and To Dog With Love!Β Please join us on Fridays to share your fitness stories with others, find new ways to have fun, and new fitness ideas too! Tell your friends to stop by as well β fit dogs are healthier, happier dogs!
My dog absolutely loves tracking. That’s great that Bailie can track Emma like that, she must leave really good scent pads. That would be a great way for me to step up Laika’s tracking abilities. Good luck on your TD title, looks like you’re doing great.
On mornings when Bailie and I run, Bailie stays home in the house while I walk Katie and Emma. The moment I go out the door with Bailie she knows immediately which side of the fence the other two went in that morning and she only wants to go to that side. Their noses are so incredible.
This looks like it’s right up your alley Emma!
Tracking is more Bailie’s thing, and from the look of her fur when she came home last night, it is better for grooming that she goes and not me!
Way to go Bailie. Well they say the nose knows. Good luck with the title and paws crossed. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly.
I have a ways to go before I can try for my title, but I’m working hard on it.
This tracking activity sounds like a lot of fun! You sound like you’re working really hard, Bailie- keep up the good work! π
It really wears me out, especially the longer tracks in the tall thick grass, but is sure is fun!
Great job Bailie. You look like a pro already. I will try to participate in the walking challenge at least one day. I will be away from the blog part of the time.. π
Sometimes I do perfectly, and then I get off a bit, but practice makes perfect and it is fun learning. Hope to see you in the walking challenge.
Bailie,I am so impressed. You did a great job, but I have to say your mother deserves all the awards. She is working the hardest and I think you and Emma are training her! You both are so lucky to have such a loving Mom.
Honestly, I think Mom is often just as worn out as we are from our activities. We are all working so hard and concentrating, but we love it.
That looks like so much fun Bailie. You are lucky your mom gets you involved in so many different things – tracking looks like a natural for you! Look forward to the Walk you dog blog hop!
I do have a blast tracking, especially in the taller grass. Hope to see you with walk your dog next week!
Bailie, you and your nosey nose are pawsome! Thank you, Emma, for letting Bailie share your blog. XOXO Sparkle the PBGV
Emma has to share a lot, and she is pretty good about it most of the time. Sometimes we do have our differences, but we chase and wrestle out the issues.
Well done Bailey – you are going to be as great at it as your sister – and it is after all in your DNA isn’t it π
We are French Scent Hounds, so if we can’t succeed at tracking and nose work, there is something wrong!
Our trainer suggested Tynan try tracking and he loved it. I had hoped Wilhelm would follow in his footsteps but for some reason that is a part of his shund that is missing!
Emma may give it a try, but for now, I’m the obvious tracker in the family and I love it.
That is pretty darn cool Bailie and you are sure amazing!
I could find you kitties if you got out in a field π
It looks like great fun!!
It is so fun following a scent and then getting to be in a place humans don’t usually go it real fun.
I feel like I’m watching the NatGeo channel – so cool to see you in action. Between Bailie and Emma, there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide!
We have our town nailed down…nothing gets by us anymore!
Good job, Bailie! I bet it’s fun to have an exiting job to do? You have a good sister too, letting you use the computer and her blog. =)
We have to share with so many of us furs. I love tracking, it really fits me well.
that was great to watch you Bailie. I think we should go tracking too as long as we have good weather…. I love it and my mom loves it the most, because I’m super tired for the rest of the day.
I was so dead last night, but so was Mom, LOL! We track in any weather but nice weather is much better.
I would do it in any weather too, butt my mom can’t hold the leash, the cam and an umbrella lol (the umbrella is for me)
Great post. I think it is very interesting and want to hear more about it. I’m trying to figure out when one would use nose work and one tracking? I would love to do whatever one does to have a search and rescue/recovery dog. I don’t know how I will survive no internet! The lady we rent the farm house from says I can use hers but I feel bad and I am suppose to be on vac, lol. I have all kinds of paracord and computer work that doesn’t involve internet to do. Take care and catch ya on ten days
Nose work and tracking all are a bit similar to search and rescue, but search and rescue is a whole different animal. You have to train with SAR for that. If you have a dog like me that is nose down all the time, tracking may be the better option. Emma is more patient and enjoys wandering along sniffing all over in the air, walls, ground, etc, so she excels more at nose work but she will most likely give tracking a whirl to see how it goes. Both sports work well together and help a dog with each one because the overall concept is similar. SAR is a huge commitment, which is why Mom decided to stick to using our noses for sports instead. I think Mom would die without internet for 10 days, but we hope you survive! The first few days are the worst and then the addiction fades slightly π
That looks like so much fun, Bailie! Also, I just realized I have been spelling your name wrong. I’m sorry! Apparently, I need to wear my glasses more often π
That’s okay. Mom wanted the fancy spelling but most folks get it wrong. Tracking is great fun!
What’s the difference between nosework and tracking? Will you track people?
I am tracking the scent of the track layer which I pick up from an article at the beginning and end of the track. I can track any person and in class others always lay our tracks. Tracking is more nose down and following any scent we are given. It entails a lot of walking and following the scent over hundreds of yards. Nose work is just finding the three odors in a specific area. The compliment each other as we need to take into account, wind, weather, temperature, etc, but tracking is real nose to the ground work whereas nose work you nose needs to be up, down, sideways, all over to find where the odor is hidden. In tracking nothing is hidden, I follow a trail/track.
We all loved this post Bailie! My little sister Lilly thinks you are really cool. Our mom wants to be sure that you thank your Mom for all the work she has to do get ready for your homework! Have a great day Bailie! Hope you write again. your doodle friend Dash (and Lilly!!)
Mom wishes she had a track layer so we could just show up and run tracks, but they say the more you get into it, the more fun it is to lay tracks. She might be starting to see that now a bit. It is a fun sport, but you have to have guts to walk into those fields, Mom tries never to think about what might be out there.
Love your post Bailie. Sorry Emma she was good. I still love you and you are still my favorite GBGV. That looks so fun!!!
My sister can track, I’m the nose work queen. Bailie came home covered in burrs and had to get combed out. I laughed because that doesn’t happen in nose work, another reason to be happy I’m not tracking π
You reminded Mommy of one of her friends’ dogs way back in the dark ages. The dog would kangaroo hop through fields and everyone laughed, but Mommy thought that little dog was smart to do that so she wouldn’t get lost!
She was a shiatsu (spelling?) and thought she was a sheep herder. Now that mommy thought was funny. Her friends didn’t, cause they would get phone calls from their neighbors: “Your dog is herding our sheep again!” almost every day!
LOL! Mom felt a bit bad for me as I wore myself completely out, but the weeds were so thick I had to hop to flatten them rather than keep my nose to the ground on the scent. Nevertheless, it amused Mom.
Great pictures! Looks like Bailie’s having a great time. – Petnet(io)
I just love cruising through the fields and stuff looking for my article.
That is so cool you get to have all that gear for tracking. What a challenge
Lily & Edward
Oh yes, Bailie has a ton of stuff, but then we share a bag of stuff for nose work too.
Way to go Bailie! Looks like a fun challenge.
It’s lots of fun, but those weeds can be tough to get through.
You sure are lucky to get to romp in a field! But watch out for ticks!! I do not like those little critters and they like my mom TOO much. She used to go into the field all the time, but now she avoids them.
Glad Emma is willing to share her spotlight with you on occasion. I really like your diagrams and both of your nose work stuff. You are lucky girls!
your friend, Chablis
We don’t like ticks either, but this time of year there aren’t many left around, and the creepy critters aren’t around much either, so it’s a good time to be in the fields. Hopefully I can get my TD early next year and then work on urban tracking during the bug/critter months. We shall see. After we finish we always do check ourselves for ticks too and I usually need lots of burrs and stuff taken off my fur.
That looks like a lot of fun, and great exercise, Bailie! There looks like there is a lot to it as well. We definitely enjoyed hearing about it and would like to hear more. I have a feeling you are going to be very good at this and not have too much trouble getting that first title!
It is fairly simple really, just takes a long time to set things up. Mom compares it to downhill skiing – you spend half an hour getting to the lift, riding the lift, getting to the spot to start down hill, and then it takes five minutes and you are already at the bottom, but the fun is worth the work.
Bailie you are so awesome! I’m glad that you are having a great time with your mom. Be careful in those fields! The Walk Your Dog week sounds fun. βΊ
I love being in those fields, Mom not so much but she has to do it for me π
Great job Bailie! I loved the video too. I’m not sure how you find your way through that tall grass. Can’t wait to see how you progress!
I just use my built in sniffin’ apparatus! It works every time!
That looks like fun! How did you decide Bailie would be better suited to it?
She has been tracking since she first came to out house to live. She has her nose to the ground all the time. I track on and off, but nothing like Bailie does, so we figured tracking would be her thing and it seems to be.
I absolutely love the tracking posts, and would love to see more!!!
Great idea for a blog hop too!!! I’ll be there!
α¦ husky hugz α¦ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
I sure love tracking, for me it is much more fun than nose work. Emma is looking forward to Walk Your Dog Week and is happy you will be there!
My first thought is, where does your mom find the time to do this? It looks very hard and a lot of work, my mom is way too lazy. I bet you’ll be really good at it and I can’t wait to hear more. Love Dolly
Well, time is getting pretty short around here, but all our activities keep Mom out of trouble! Tracking is not easy, nose work is much easier for Mom and less physical exercise but plenty of mental.
PeeS: We will be taking part in dog walking week, of course! Love Dolly
Pawsome! We are really excited about it!
Tracking looks like so much fun! Great job, Bailie!
Bailie absolutely loves it and is real good at it too.
I really enjoyed this post about tracking with Bailie! Very interesting, thanks!
Thank you. She has only been at it for a month, so I would think it will get better and more informative in a few more weeks. Thank you for stopping by.
Great job Bailie!! We hope to do this type of work one day with Rooney! His nose is so conveniently close to the ground.
I just love it, but I track almost all day every day whatever I do. It is super fun and it wears me out too.
So cool ^____^ I hope I get to learn this too one day!
It is a big time commitment and lots of work, but Mom and Bailie enjoy it.