Back!

I know, I know, it's been ages since I posted. At least you've only missed a few practices since I was out of town for two practices. I'll update with today's work and go back later this week to fill in our missing practice details.

With the days getting shorter, the vast majority of this week's practice was in the dark. Z ran her stuff first, but it was still pitch black by the time we got into the woods.

Details on the conditions: about 7 or 7:15pm, probably 40 degrees F, brisk wind, mix of cleared paths and woods ranging from thin to heavy undergrowth.

Search 1: C ran about 50ft away and hid just off the trail, light off. Z was released, found C, and DID A PERFECT REFIND!!!!!! No recall from me, just hit C, turned and came straight to me at a dead run, bounced off, and went straight back to C!!!!! Very cool! C mentioned that Z was awesome and did exactly what she needed to. :)

Search 2: C ran about 60ft away and hid off the trail again. Z was released, found C, paused a moment, but then came straight back AGAIN for a nice refind, returned to C and was obviously proud of herself - she got major praise from C since she was the victim and we're still working on victim loyalty (I stay quiet until C's done rewarding, then catch Z and give her a pat or two).

Search 3: Because Z was doing so well, C made this more difficult: she ran down the trail about 40ft, then cut into heavy brush and crouched down about 30 ft in. I released Z and she didn't think twice about navigating the brush and brambles. C said she did have some trouble with some animal scent, but refocused and found her before coming back to me for the refind. On the way back she got a bit distracted by the animal scent, but still did a refind with only a little redirection from C - usually she needs a leave it cue and a recall when distracted by animal scent, so that's improvement there as well.

C said Z was obviously improving nicely and that, depending on trainings in the near future, she likely will get to start working longer "searches" soon! We won't rush her if she needs more time, but so far so good. I think I practically glowed when C said that she was really proud of both Z and I! I was floating on air all the way back to base. :) C did seem to gush about Z's work when we got back to base (she was talking to our training director who had designed our search patterns tonight) as well. That made me feel even more wonderful!

This week also marked a milestone for me: I was given responsibility for being the "puppy person" for a new dog on the team! We did a shorter, easier version of what Z did with the new dog (I'll call D) and she did nicely for her first time out. I enjoyed being on the other side of things since I could see differences between Z and D more easily that watching from the sidelines, and it gave me new insight into both how my dog is doing comparatively and how other dogs perform in similar situations - pretty nifty stuff for the dog trainer side of me!

Overall a great practice, despite the brisk weather.