Mist

Sick as a dog!4

Oh dear! What a weekend it’s been. I was dog-sitting for Mist’s friend Sisco the greyhound from Wednesday evening, and it’s been fairly eventful since then.
First, Mist ran full-speed into a car at NRH training on Wednesday night - and gave herself a nosebleed (didn’t seem to bother her too much though ). Then, it turned out she had a decidedly poorly tummy, which peaked on Friday afternoon when I returned to the car at the end of the afternoon, found Sisco in the front seat looking very concerned and Mist sitting waiting for help in the corner of her crate, having clearly had an explosive episode of diarrhoea . It was everywhere - in her water bowl, food bowl, bedding, toys…. and this was in my work carpark . Fortunately, I had a 5l container of water, wetwipes, plastic bags and towels in the car, and the crate easily splits into two, so I took Mist out, tied her to the car, and got cleaning….. there was no way I was driving home with it in that state!

Sisco hardly ate a thing for two days, then appeared to have some diarrhoea too, so I was concerned he had the same thing, but if he did it was only very mild. It is more likely it was just the stress of being away from Marie. To stop him whining all night, he slept in my bedroom, as did Mist so that I could let her out multiple times in the night. Needless to say, I didn’t exactly sleep well this weekend .

And finally, on Sunday, Mist started coughing….. and it seems she now has kennel cough too . Hoping Sisco hasn’t caught that - he hasn’t been coughing, and it may well just be that Mist’s immune system had taken a hammering and she got it because she was ‘low’.

Despite all this, both dogs were otherwise on top form - playful and lively as ever. Once Sisco settled, he was even willing to go outside to play with Mist without me joining them . And they had lots of fun at the field on Saturday. Once Mist started coughing there was no more wild playing - it sets off her cough, so thank goodness that didn’t start till the end of the weekend.

Now Sisco has gone home (with a sigh of relief on his part I bet!), and Mist is confined to quiet activities until her cough gets better. It doesn’t seem too bad - only starts when she starts charging round with her toys - so i’m hoping it’s only a mild form. At least now her stomach appears to be back to normal.

So, anyone who wonders where we’ve disappeared to, that’s why we won’t be at training for a week or two.

Posted: Miscellaneous / Diverse

This and that!1

Couldn’t resist posting these pictures….. Mist can look so intelligent at times…. At other times though…..

It is easy to ‘read’ how tired Mist is feeling, from the amount of tongue sticking out:

Mist is just beginning to feel a little tired…
* NOT FOUND *

Now she’s really getting sleepy…
* NOT FOUND *

And now….. just can’t stay awake!
* NOT FOUND *

Posted: Miscellaneous / Diverse

Tracking - Sviland0

Weds 22nd August - Sviland
Dry (although had been raining), mild, very light wind.
2 trails, no turns, open forest, 70m+ with no visual cues, waiting time a few minutes.
Finish article: rag-on-rope, bite-leather
Trail-layer: Jørn

Only a small group (5) turned up tonight, presumably because everyone is getting ready for the training weekend at Dyranut. Jørn laid out two trails for me+Mist in the open forest near the road on the left. Despite getting no visual cue other than seeing Jørn leave the car with her toys 5-10minutes earlier, Mist was sure of what she was doing once I put the tracking-line on. She concentrated well, zig-zagging a little but working with her nose down the majority of the time. Both trails went well, nothing special to record. The only difference I observe from gravel-trails is that she weaves more - I assume because there is more scent. I need to increase the waiting time so that there is less scent and she has to concentrate on the ground-scent rather than benefiting from the air-scent of which there is more in the forest than on gravel.

Next step: increase waiting time. Would also like to try tracking on short grass (but isn’t necessarily easy to find somewhere suitable).

Posted: Tracking / Spor

Tur-O Bue-Røysland1

A very wet day! But I’d decided to do the Tur-O at Bue (before the controls are taken in in advance of the hunting season) so just ignored the overcast skies and drove south. We stopped at Bråstein on the way for Mist to have a walk. It took a little longer than intended when she decided to go for an extra walk with a couple and their 9-month old rottweiler who Mist thought was great fun

Despite being dry at Bråstein it was very very wet at Bue and I was soaked within 5 minutes. I was grateful for my waterproof jacket but wondered about my choice of orienteering trousers that, although great in warm summer weather, don’t exactly keep the legs warm! Managed to remember my compass for the first time this year, and used it! And also managed to forget a pen/pencil again, so had to memorise the 15 3-letter control codes The terrain higher up is lovely - lots of marsh, rock, water, heather. But getting up there, and down to the road again, is typical ankle-breaking Rogaland terrain. I don’t know how Aud & Kåre managed to not break something (theirs or the dogs’) orienteering there with the dogs on-lead last weekend. The forested hillside was wet, slippy, vegetated boulder-field/scree with lots of fallen trees and branches in the knee-deep grass On the way down I wouldn’t have minded having decent walking boots on instead of fell-running shoes with no ankle support. I think next time I should tell someone where I’m going too, or at least take my mobile

PS - Aud & Kåre, I didn’t see/hear anyone hunting, but I did wear a bright orange jacket just in case

Posted: Orienteering / Orientering

Various air-scenting + sheep - Tjørn0

18th August - Tjørn
Light wind, dry and quite warm.
Lots of sheep just down the road from the hytte.

Decided to use the opportunity to have Mist run out to play with a ‘body’ in the presence of lots of sheep. Found a gap in the flock of sheep alongside the road, and Tone sat out in the heather about 20m from the road. The two groups of sheep were about 10m either side of us. Went well at first - Mist ran straight out and wasn’t at all bothered about the sheep being there. Very happy to play with Tone and we tested her a bit by (with long lead on as a precaution) throwing the toy a few metres away in the heather - no problem, she got it and came back. But then the sheep decided they should all be together and one group sprinted ‘en masse’ down the road. At this point I had to hold the lead to prevent her running after them. She’s definitely interested but she doesn’t lunge or whine. She accepts she’s not allowed. Hopefully, with time, and assuming she never gets the chance to chase for real, she will learn that sheep really aren’t interesting and ‘bodies’ are!

We went back to the road, and did the same thing again and despite having shown interest in the sheep when they ran, she was focused on Tone again and went out fine and played.

Later, Tone hid in the big gap under a huge stone behind the hytte. We approached from the hill side and it was clear when Mist got the scent as her tail started wagging . She struggled with the terrain and took a long time to find a way down through the rocks/heather/holes! She found an entrance to Tone’s underground hiding place but couldn’t get in there, so continued to work to find another way in. She was frustrated and started whining, and eventually found a way down to the ‘main entrance’. However, she wasn’t brave enough to jump the 40cm down at the entrance - it was dark inside and a bit wet/slippy. Hugo and I went inside too, to try to persuade her to come in, but she still waited whining at the entrance. In the end Tone went to her and lifted her in. Then she was happy to go in and out! Good environment training

I’ve found you, but how do I get in?
* NOT FOUND *

The way in, but a bit scary!
* NOT FOUND *

At the end of the day, after being a ‘body’ for Tone/Isi for two area searches, I decided to test Mist’s interest in human scent in the presence of sheep. I’d hoped to have Tone hide such that she was further away than a group of sheep, and Mist would have to run past the sheep to get to her. I didn’t want the sheep behind Tone, or else I reckoned Mist may well just not stop when she found Tone, but continue to chase the sheep since they would likely start moving away. But the wind wasn’t ideal and was coming almost directly parallel with the road, so we set it up so that Mist and I started right by the big flock of sheep on one side of the road and Tone hid close to the road on the other side, so we zig-zagged back and forth away from the sheep and back towards them, with Mist on the long lead, until she got scent of Tone and then I unclipped her and let her run free to find her. The first go went great - she showed very little interest in all the sheep (although they weren’t moving) but was very focused on finding Tone once she got the scent.
The second go we set up similarly, a little further down the road. The wind direction was such that I needed to go further up the bank on the uphill side of the road (away from the sheep) for Mist to find the scent. She seemed concentrated on the job, so I let her go free as we left the road opposite the sheep…. she had her nose up and I thought she must already have scent of Tone, but then she ran a big curve back to the road and directly towards all the sheep! She must have been <10metres from them at their side of the road when I shouted 'No!', heart in mouth....... She stopped, looked at me, I called 'This way!' and turned, and she came racing back :grin: :grin: Phew!! I'm not sure she was actually deliberately running to the sheep - the terrain between us and Tone included a small stream re-entrant and the air movement would have been quite disturbed by the topography, so she may well have had the scent then lost it, and run down the easiest terrain to try to find it again :???: Anyway, it wasn't long before she stopped, nose up and clearly knew that Tone was there…. and ran as fast as the terrain would allow to get her reward. It seemed trying to jump all over and lick Tone’s face was as rewarding as the treats and play Still, I was very pleased with the day - need to try to do as much as possible of this before the sheep go inside for the winter.

Posted: Socialising & Environment Training / Miljøtrening, Airscenting / Overvær

Tracking - Risavika1

Weds 16th August - Risavika
Dry (but had rained on and off during the day),mild but not warm, quite breezy
2 trails, gravel/hardcore, 50-70m with no visual cues, waiting time 2-3minutes. Straight, with wind directly behind.
Finish article: bite-leather, rubber chicken (!)
Trail-layer: me

No time to go to NRH training tonight as I was off out for a team dinner with work. Let Mist out in the field by Shell for 15-20minutes to toilet/sniff and play, and get the worst of the energy out of her system. Then drove round the corner to the construction area and laid out two consecutive trails on the open gravel/hardcore area.
1. Although she was super-keen when she came out of the car, Mist wasn’t really sure what we were up to. It was a new location, and she got no visual cues. There was also quite a lot of loud noise from the construction nearer the sea, and the occasional passing heavy vehicle, which startled her now and again. However, I pointed to the ground a couple of times, and eventually she started circling with her nose down. Her tracking wasn’t particularly good on the first trail, although she definitely ‘had it’ some of the time. She found the finish though and seemed pleased with herself

2. Seemed the first trail was enough to convince Mist of what we were there for . As we approached trail #2 at 90degrees, she turned onto it almost straight away, and then worked very carefully all the way to the end, only going off-track once or twice, and never more than a couple of metres before working her way back to the trail. I’d tried to make my paces short, since the larger hardcore/aggregate is a difficult tracking surface at the best of times, and it was nice to see her being so careful. In places there were pieces of ‘fabric’ (some kind of building related black stuff ) poking out between the rocks, and I’d trodden on it on purpose. She was extra interested in them - maybe it was reassurance that she was on the right track. I was very pleased with her - she concentrated well, on the second trail at least, and rarely strayed off-track.

Next step: more ‘easy’ trails without visual cues, so she really begins to associate the tracking line and harness, and the start routine, with searching for and following a trail.

Posted: Tracking / Spor

Rundering - Vigreskogen6

Sat 11th August - Vigreskogen
Warm, overcast but dry. Light wind.

2 sessions of ‘rundering’, with visual and sound cues

1. Bodies 50m out on both sides of the mid-line. Kai-Erik first, moved around and clapped so Mist was sure where he was. Straight out, 50m. Great! Then John on the other side - not sure Mist saw the movement but she definitely heard him and was very very keen to go out. But John was the other side of some very difficult (for Mist) terrain, and she struggled a bit trying to find her way out. She didn’t hesitate though, in her search for him - she kept running around until she finally found him, but it wasn’t quite what I was intending to train today (straight out 50m!). Still, it was no disaster - she solved it herself and showed that she’s very keen and interested in finding people Of the other 3 run outs, 2 went completely according to plan, and one she had to work quite hard to locate the body….. again, she’s not learning anything ‘wrong’ but I had intended to only train running straight out for now. Hugo hid in the smaller, denser trees just out of the open forest area, so she had to run past the natural forest boundary, which was good thinking on his part as it’s easy to unconsciously train the dog that the bodies are always hidden at the boundary. He moved around and gave her her visual cue while standing in the open forest, but then moved further out to hide. She had no problem in finding him .

2. When I took mist out for the afternoon session, she had clearly been fast asleep. Her eyes looked tired, and her tongue was sticking well out (a sure sign…if it’s just the tip she’s getting tired. By the time more than 1cm is sticking out she’s really tired ). Despite being super keen when she got her visual/sound cue from the body out in the forest, she wasn’t as excited by the reward (playing with toys) so I only had her do 3 run-outs and called it a day. She found all 3 bodies on a straight run-out so that was great. And she went running in full of beans to the midline once we were finished and jumped up desperate for fuss from all her ‘bodies’ there, so no shortage of interest in them

Next: Need to make sure she is a) absolutely certain of where the body is (either with sound or visual cues or both) and b) is physically able to run straight out

Posted: Rundering

Congratulations Krissi & Snuppa!1

Yippee! At last! Krissi and Snuppa have passed the obedience test, which they needed before travelling to the Northern Norway training course in less than two weeks time, to take their B-course!
Well done both. Knew you could do it - now the whole of Rogaland knows you’ve done it, after all that celebratory shouting last night

Posted: Congratulations / Gratulerer

Tracking - Sviland0

Weds 8th August - Sviland
Dry, warm, a little wind
2 trails, gravel, with no visual cues, waiting time 2-3minutes
Trail-layer: Liv

1. Liv laid the trail around the gravel/sand loop, but we misunderstood each other, and I thought she was going to head right around the loop as Krissi had done a week or two ago, while she actually looped back on the sand and hid in the trees/bushes on the ‘inside’ where the track loops round. To be honest, I’m not sure whether Mist really tried to go in that direction or not. She set off keenly, nose to ground but became unsure on the sandy part. She weaved side to side and I waited for her to decide. She did check out the ‘right’ direction, but she also checked out left and straight on. In the end she decided to go straight on - maybe I influenced her, maybe not. I hope not! But having gone round the corner, she struck off into the bushes/trees where Krissi had hidden last time. Whether this was because she remembered last time, or because she got air-scent of Liv, I don’t know. She then got the line stuck around some branches and started to whine and panic a bit, so I went in to help her out. I didn’t have a clue where Liv was, but believing she’d gone round the loop, I took a shortcut through the middle track to the sand and tried again. What I actually did was walk all over Liv’s trail In the end, on the second time at the ‘top’ of the loop, Mist definitely got scent of Liv, but it was clearly air-scent. So, she solved the problem, but not with the desired technique. Ah well - I should make sure my instructions are clearer, at least while Mist is in the early stages, while I want to know exactly where the trail is. Still, number 2. trail still to go….

2. Liv laid a trail along two sides of the first open tarmac/gravel area, finishing just into the woods near the little hut. She left Mist’s bite-leather and continued back to us. It doesn’t seem to bother Mist that the person she starts off thinking she’s going to look for, comes back She still tracks quite happily. This one went great She was relatively calm, nose down and at a gentle pace. She wandered off track after 10 or 15m but didn’t go more than a couple of metres before coming back and finding the right trail again. She took the 90degree bend with hardly a step over the corner and only ‘missed’ a little at the end after she was spooked by a metal drum lying at the side of the tarmac. She found the bite-leather and brought it to me to play. After some vigorous play, I took the toy away and put it in my pocket. Mist clearly still had some excess energy and went into ‘mad puppy mode’ sprinting round in circles, tail tucked under, ears back, skidding round bends and generally burning up her spare ‘fuel’ Puppies are fun

Next time - don’t have a trail in the exact same place as previously. More tarmac/gravel tracking as it’s good for keeping a calm pace and careful technique.

Posted: Tracking / Spor

Air-scenting - Vigreskogen1

A bit late posting this, but want to keep track of what we’ve done…

Vigreskogen, Saturday 4th August
Warm, dry, changeable wind direction

Had 4 short training exercises each in the ‘puppy group’ (me, FrodeS, Hugo and Kai-Erik) in the open forest. Umi’s not a puppy (physically, at least ), but Kai-Erik wanted to have a number of short indication training sessions, so it suited him to be in the baby group!

I had ‘bodies’ with umbrellas, under jervenduks etc. etc. as environment training. Mist can be quite spooked by ‘odd’ things, but the motivation she gets from the air-scent overcomes any inhibitions she would otherwise have. Even Hugo standing with the jervenduk flapping in the wind didn’t cause a problem, and at home, if it’s hanging on a door to dry it’s a scary object She was a bit hesitant the first time someone hid behind the golf umbrella, but 2nd time onwards it was fine.

I let Mist search ‘loose’ for the first couple of exercises, walking cross-wind to pick up the air-scent. She was very clear when she got the scent of someone, but the speed that she zooms off to find them means that, in changeable wind, she can quickly go out of the scent zone. Having lost the scent, tt was really fun to see her sprint back in the direction of where she had last had the scent, and quite literally skid into a 90degree turn when she came back into the scent zone!! It’s nice to see she’s confident to search quite some distance away from me, but that she does also check now and again that I’m on my way

The second two exercises I tried Mist on the long lead, working across the wind. When she showed clear signs of having picked up the scent I waited to see how confident she was, and she ran out to the end of the lead then sat down. Good indicating, Mist! So, with a quiet ‘Good girl!’ I unclipped the lead and let her run out to find the body. We did this with 3 bodies each time, and her sitting was consistent. I was very happy with today’s training

Posted: Airscenting / Overvær