Mist

‘Romjul’ training - Sviland1

The last NRH training of the year….. and at 10a.m. there were only 3 of us - Ronnie, Nina and me. But shortly after, Aud, Kaare, Johannes and KristinM turned up too. And everyone wanted to train tracking (except me, who was really there more to be sociable and as a last-chance before baby arrives)! The division of terrain was mostly successful, except for a small misunderstanding later in the day when I laid an extra trail for Aud/Odin in exactly the same area that Johannes had put out one for KristinM/Athena…. oops Sorry, Kristin

I made use of the others’ waiting time and got in two indication training sessions with Mist. And was very pleased with her performance today Seems last week’s training had stuck in her head - today her barking was real proper barking, and she barked continuously up to 8-10 times with no/minimal encouragement. Tug-games are definitely the reward of choice - and the rope ball on a long rope was the toy of the day. In fact, when Aud tried to get her to play with the bite-leather on a longer rope, Mist just wanted the rope

We started with only a very short run-out distance, but extended it gradually to about 40-50m without any reduction in quality of Mist’s barking. Great In the second session, I had Aud be the ‘body’ on one side, then Kaare the other side, both at about 50m, and it went just as planned.

I need to plan the next steps, including how to introduce the additional part where Mist runs back to me and barks before getting her reward back at the ‘body’. Might ask the SARDA guys whether the handler rewards the dog for barking at them, or whether the reward is simply being allowed to go back to the ‘body’. It’s not really all that different from bringkobbel indication - I think my plan will be to backwards-chain things, but still need to think through things a bit first. Any suggestions/ideas welcome

Posted: Indication / Melding

More tracking at Sviland0

Friday 28th Dec - Sviland
Wanted to try more terrain-change trails so laid out three of varying length (70m to 150m). Had intended for them to be a bit fresher than usual, but ended up near 1hour by the time we got started.

1hour
Very wet underfoot, continous rain, dark/overcast.

1. ~70m. Starting off main gravel track just before stream, in vegetation, then dropping down onto gravel track, cross small stream, finishing before field.
Fine - found trail, was fairly accurate to stream crossing, didn’t seem to make any difference going onto gravelly terrain (but there is still some vegetation there).

2. ~150m Starting in middle of grassy area, headed fairly straight for corner of forest, turned down onto gravel track and along gravel, then across to grass on other side.
Found start fine, turned onto trail and took 90deg turn perfectly. Onto gravel and, as predicted, lost trail, but seemed to find it again pretty quick although zig-zagged in a narrow band along the trail as she followed it to the finish.

3. ~80-100m Starting at corner of field, along edge 15m, then diagonally up over mud/rocks ‘ridge’ and down to gravel/tarmac/rubble, across flat tarmac to piles of rubble.
Managed start, along field, turn up onto ridge… all fine/accurate. Down other side and onto rubble/gravel and seemed to be doing fine. Then, a few metres onto the gravel, head/nose up and had clearly lost trail. Kept working, nose down again, in big circles, but was in danger of accidentally finding the finish. So took her back to edge of mud/rock ‘ridge’ and tried again. Although she didn’t seem to be perfectly on-track, she was heading in the right direction and found the finish. Not sure what to read into this…. did she have the scent of the trail, or was it just luck? Still, I’m pleased that going from easy terrain to more difficult, Mist keeps working and isn’t put off by losing the trail. With experience, her circling should get smaller. Just need more practice. And some easy trails now and then, to make sure she doesn’t lose interest.

Posted: Tracking / Spor

Great timing….. NOT!2

Well, with 3 days to our baby’s due date, Mist has just come into season for the first time. Typical I predicted this about 7-8months ago when I knew I was pregnant…. So, hormones all round, and a busy time for Jon who will not only have to exercise her for the next few weeks, but will also have to keep her on lead and fend off any admirers

Who, me?
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Posted: Miscellaneous / Diverse

Boxing Day tracking - Sviland0

26th December, Boxing Day - Sviland

1hour waiting time
cold, above freezing, overcast. Light wind.

1. Trail started on sandy tracks, up through trees over small ridge, dropping down to tarmac/gravel area nearest parking, turning right towards hut, and into vegetation again, left to finish.
Went fine on sand/gravel - calm and concentrated. Found first article (tied piece of fabric) on sand just before trees and clearly indicated, but didn’t pick it up without lots of encouragement. Followed trail fine into trees and over ridge. Dropped down off ridge slightly off-track (making it difficult for me + stomach to descend as quickly as needed ), but seemed to pick up trail again fine going onto tarmac. Bit messy taking turn, but seemed to be in contact with trail, and found second article (glove) which she stopped and picked up. Rewarded briefly with bite-leather, then continued. She circled to find the trail again - quite big circles, but it works… and set off again. Went off a metre or two at the edge of the tarmac/gravel area, but picked up again and found the finish.

2. started on grassy area, 20m from big rock, down onto tarmac/gravel (further from parking), towards hut, along side of tarmac, ending by boulder at edge of tarmac/gravel area

Started fine, followed carefully through grass, took 90deg turn towards rock fine. Missed first article (piece of hosepipe, just before big rock, on grassy area); Struggled when she got to the change to gravel/tarmac by the big rock. Seemed to be on track and I (and Jon) followed her onto the gravel (should have waited and observed from the grass). When she realised she had lost the trail, she circled wide to try to find it again. Reassuring that she keeps working, even if she struggles. But after a couple of big circles without any luck, I took her back to just before the big rock to try again. Jon waited by the rock. Unfortunately, Mist knew he had a toy, so when she couldn’t find the trail, she stood in front of him and barked!! Poor Mist, wrong exercise! After trying again to find the trail, I took a new ‘trail search’ on the gravel nearer the hut, where I hadn’t walked (apart from laying the trail). She picked up something and headed in roughly the right direction, but I don’t think she was properly on track. However, she stopped up and worked hard to find second article (plastic luggage tag) about 10m after hut, and picked it up with encouragement. Completed the rest fine, and was very enthusiastic playing with the rope ball at the finish

Posted: Tracking / Spor

Christmas Day!1

First of all, Merry Christmas!

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(yes, the photo should have been taken before we started eating it…..)
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While Jon’s out roller-skiing, thought I’d upload a few pics of our Christmas Day walk…… we didn’t see a soul (strange that ), and managed to avoid the rain which had been forecast for the afternoon. Mist had a great time racing around the forest, tearing up black smelly earth in the marshes and getting stuck trying to fit branches between closely-spaced treetrunks

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Posted: Miscellaneous / Diverse

Fame at last!0

Sat 22nd Dec

A reporter from Jærbladet had arranged to join us for training today, at Vigreskogen. For the last training before Christmas, some people had taken cakes/chocolate, and we were 10-12 people total. So, a good turnout, and I think we convinced the journalist that we were a sociable bunch if nothing else!

Trained in the open, ‘puppy forest’ for a couple of short indication sessions. Given that it’s likely to be a few weeks before we train again at NRH (possibly next Saturday if baby is waiting for 2008 ), I wanted to get Mist to do some decent barking before her indication training is put on hold for a while. Didn’t bother with any run-out to start with, just wanted her wound up enough to really want to play, at the same time as increasing her confidence. It’s important that the ‘winding up’ is not confrontational - i.e. that she doesn’t feel at all threatened by the ‘body’, as she just isn’t the kind of dog that will stand her ground, and would back off and hide if she felt at all concerned. By letting her win as much as possible, using tug-games, she gets more and more confident, and it was great to see her barking pretty much continuously (a bark with every single bounce ) to get Frode/Hugo to continue playing. Hugo also suggested tying a longer rope onto the bite leather so that she can win more (i.e. the ‘body’ lets her have a little more rope each time, so she feels she’s winning the tug game). She’s certainly super enthusiastic about playing tug, so will dig out some rope for both her biteleathers.

I was tired after lunch, so sneaked off home to sit on the sofa for a while - am actually starting to get quite good at it Used the time to make some ‘monkey fist’ rope balls for Bina, and Mist provided the quality control
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Posted: Indication / Melding

A quick visit to Sirdal for some snow0

Popped up to Sirdal for a very brief visit so that Jon could get at least one glimpse of snow before he does Vassaloppet (90km x-country ski race) in March! Stayed one night in a BP hytte at Sinnes - Jon trained by moonlight on the Thursday evening, while I say reading in front of the fire in the hytte. On Friday morning, Mist and I went for a walk/play in the snow and jon trained again. Then, it was back to Sandnes (and significantly closer to the hospital….. just in case )

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Posted: Miscellaneous / Diverse

Difficult tracking at Sviland0

Tues 18th Dec
Cold and crisp, very light wind
Trail-layer - me (x2)
Waiting time - ~75min; 90min+
Length - 150m; 250m
End - rubber chicken!; a fleecy hat
Terrain - fairly open forest (pine needles on ground); open, grass/heather, bark+gravel, into open deciduous with lots of low vegetation
Articles - glove, plastic leukotape reel; sock, leather phone case

Met Nina at Sviland to train tracking. I arrived early to lay out the trails, to save time once Nina arrived. However, there were two cars with Retriever Club stickers on, in the usual parking area (:shock: on a weekday? How dare they!?) so rather than risk ruining any training they were doing, or that they may cross the trails I would lay out, I went back down to the road and laid 4 trails (2 each for Mist and Bina) on the other side of the road.

Mist’s first trail went very well. I let her search for the start from a few metres away, and after following the trail back for a few metres, realised she should be going in the other direction. She was calm and concentrated and was clearly pleased when she came across the first article (glove). In fact, so much so, that she was happier to play with it (’killing‘ it) than come and play with the biteleather I’d taken out as a reward . (Yes, I’m training a retrieve exercise in parallel, so look forward to the day I can ask her to fetch me something ).

Re-starting her on the trail is in general quite easy - she’s always keen to continue. She found the next article, a plastic leukotape reel, and crunched it when I encouraged her to ‘get it’. I played a little with her as a reward then we continued to the finish. She actually went past the finish without stopping for the rubber chicken, so I held the line tight so she’d turn and get it. I don’t like to show her in this way, but I didn’t want her to continue either, as I’d crossed the gravel road and started a trail for Bina not far away.

The second trail was much more difficult, more so than I’d intended . When we’d taken Bina out for her first trail, there had been a car near the start of Mist’s trail #2, and I suspect the driver had walked from there into the Arboret, since Mist definitely found it difficult when we started. I knew where I’d walked, fairly accurately, since I’d deliberately crossed the small gravel path as a ‘challenge’. As it was, I think it was too much of a challenge, since it seems likely there was another trail along the gravel path too, and possible a dog had been running around too. Still, no harm done. I re-started (right back to the beginning) once, after Mist had wandered without being properly on track, for 20-30m (and I didn’t want her to accidentally stumble across the first article, which was supposed to reward her for crossing the gravel path in the right place!). Re-starting wasn’t successful - she still wandered around, still working, but clearly not on my trail . So I took her to a point where I knew I’d passed, and tried to start her there. But that didn’t work either.

So I called her in to me, took her over the gravel path and tried a ‘trail-search’ alongside the gravel path on the other side. She turned onto my trail and was rewarded within a few metres with the first article, a sock which she delighted in shaking madly. Then we were off, and she tracked fine the rest of the way, including picking up the second article (leather phone case). She wasn’t overly interested in the finish, which was my fleecy hat (I’d managed to take only 3 toys with me when I went to lay out 4 trails originally), but I was very pleased with the fact she’d worked so well when the start had been so difficult and she’d been taken off and put back on the track numerous times.

Posted: Tracking / Spor

New training location - Tjessheim0

So many of us met up at Sviland for training today, that a tracking group was sent off to a new area to train. I chose to go with them, since I only intended to do a little indication training and therefore could ‘use’ the handlers while they waited for the trails to lie long enough. It also meant that I wouldn’t leave anyone in the lurch if I wanted/needed to leave early (to sit on the sofa!).

Ronnie has managed to get us access to a fairly extensive area of open ground for tracking training - it’s grazing pasture in summer, but now the animals are indoors. It’s actually above the Sviland forest we often train in, but to get there you drive via Figgjo. A great area for tracking training though, and great to have that kind of terrain available to close to home.

Mist and I had two sessions - both in a small area of open forest behind the huge cowshed we’d parked by. With hindsight, I should probably have let her have a run around first, to explore the new area. I didn’t think of it beforehand though….. and as a result she was quite distracted by the slightest noise (e.g. dog barking in the distance). Kai-Erik and Johannes were ‘bodies’ first and I let Mist run out from a ‘midline’ to them in order to indicate. Despite running enthusiastically out, she needed quite some encouragement to bark, and even went past the ‘body’ a couple of times and just sniffed around . By shortening the distance and getting the ‘body’ to fire her up a bit on the midline first, we got her barking, but it wasn’t really good deep barks like she had developed in previous training sessions. The second session was a little better - this time Kristin and Kai-Erik were ‘bodies’. Kristin had the biteleathers, and these do seem to be better at getting Mist excited and barking properly. She loves playing with a ball, but isn’t so good at bringing it back, even if there are two, and although her ‘drop’ command is excellent, it puts her into ’sheepdog’ mode, crouching and staring at the ball and moving in slow motion. In contrast, she chases, tugs and shakes/’kills’ the biteleathers (or any toy on a rope) and gets really excited by them.

Since the problem seemed to be with actually starting to bark, both Kai-Erik and Kristin alternated between play/reward and getting Mist to bark. We finished on a good note, with some real proper barking at Kai-Erik (he encouraged her in between barks, but I think this is completely acceptable at the moment - the important thing is that she does actually bark properly). Learning points for me are to make sure I remember to take a step or two back when we train somewhere new or with new ‘bodies’…. Mist isn’t the toughest of dogs by any means, and right now I need to ensure she feels completely secure while she’s learning to indicate in this way.

After the others had done their tracking, Kai-Erik and I took Umi and Mist out for some down-stay practice. Mist is pretty good considering her age, but someone playing with another dog, in view, is often too much! So it was a good opportunity to train specifically for this, when Kai-Erik rewarded Umi with a kong and I kept Mist in a down some 10-15m away. Always good to train down-stay when the dogs have already worked and are a little more tired/relaxed!

Posted: Indication / Melding, Obedience / Lydighet

Lots of tracking…2

Well, what else is maternity leave for?

Yesterday, I laid out a trail for Mist in the woods/field on the hill behind the house, and today we met Nina & Bina to train at Sviland. Both days the weather’s been great - real winter’s days, cold and crisp. And of course, it’s lovely to get the chance to be outside in daylight for once

Mon 10th Dec
Quite wet underfoot but cold and crisp, very little wind,
Trail-layer - me
Waiting time - almost 90min
Length - 200m
End - biteleather
Terrain - deciduous woodland (quite rocky) - sheep field
Articles - a glove

I wanted to see whether Mist would react to an object/article while tracking so that I can plan it into her training in the near future (especially since I want to extend the length - articles get rewarded, so it can help maintain interest on longer trails). I used a glove that had just been washed, and had it up my sleeve for an hour or so beforehand so it would have a reasonable amount of scent.

The trail started just over the fence into the woods, and wound its way along the hillside in the trees, down to and across the broken wall, and into the sheep field. I hung up a few tapes to remember where I’d gone (no chance otherwise ) and one where the glove lay.

Mist was very calm and relaxed when we set off for the woods - it was late morning, so a time when she’s normally (on a weekday) snoozing in her bed while I work. She didn’t pull lots on the lead, and was very attentive. Once over the stile I switched her lead for the tracking line and gave her the command to track, walking towards the trail at 90degrees. She turned straight onto it, and without breaking into a trot calmly followed it with nose right down and very concentrated - ideal for me to follow, given I’m 37+weeks pregnant!!

At a point where I’d turned 90degrees to the right, I was really pleased to see her circle within a metre of losing the trail - she’s learning She had to work a little to find the trail not long before where the glove lay, so I was pleased she was right on track when she got to it…. and oh yes, there was no doubt that she was happy to find it. She reacted just as she does when she finds her toy at the finish, perhaps even more excited!! I will clearly need to work on her actually bringing what she finds to me, as she was in her element ‘killing’ the blue glove She brought it to me when I showed her I had a toy….. a good start, so I’m very pleased with that.

With the glove and the toy back in my pockets, I put her back on the trail, and she set off calmly again. Down to the wall, where she went straight to where I’d crossed but didn’t like the look of the fence wire she was going to have to push under…. she tried a bit further along, but kept returning to the same place, so was sure that’s where the trail was. I lifted the wire for her, and she jumped over and carried on. She took the right-angle turn without going more than a couple of steps past, but then stopped and looked around, clearly distracted by the unplanned ‘challenge’ for this training session! A whole pre-school group were playing in the field, making lots of noise, no more than 15-20metres from the ‘finish’!!

I was a bit disappointed, as it had been going so well. But, to my surprise, Mist just put her nose back down and tracked consistently all the way to the finish! I played with the biteleather and drew her further from the kids and made sure it was a really good reward. When we then had to walk past the group, she was desperate to get to them which just showed how concentrated she had been on tracking - in that she’d not allowed them to distract them.

So, all in all, an excellent training session. Well done Mist

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Tues 11th Dec
Frosty/icy underfoot, next to no wind, cold and clear
Trail-layer - Nina (x2)
Waiting time - 75min; 60min
Length - ?200m; ?120m
End - biteleather; tennis ball
Terrain - tussocky grass/brashings, small trees - marshy, tussocky open grass - open forest
Articles - pink baby bootie (Nina’s, not mine ), rubber towball cover; baseball cap

Since I’d made a note to train ‘terrain-change’ recently, I thought I should make an effort to go with the plan, and asked Nina to first lay out a trail going from forest into the open, tussocky grass and back into the forest so that I could observe Mist’s behaviour specifically related to this. She also placed two articles on the trail.

Mist set off well - relatively calm and concentrated, and soon (~20m) came across the first article. Well, the baby’s going to have to look out if it’s a girl, as Mist was over the moon about the pink bootie . She pranced around like a bucking bronco with her find, and it took some bribery with a toy to get her to come near me with it!!

After a quick play, we set off again, but soon went off-track and, although I heard Nina comment that we were ‘off’, I then misunderstood and thought Mist was back on-track when she determinedly set off in a different direction. Soon, though, it became clear we were way off and I walked back towards where Nina had stopped, and Mist found the track again. The going was a bit tough for my current physical state, so it was a relief to get back into the open forest where I could at least see where my feet were going (unlike in the tussocky, marshy area). We found the second article - a rubber towball cover…. which seemed equally exciting to Mist. No lack of interest in articles from Mist, then (although bringing them to me is going to take some work).

Then, on to the finish, where Mist enthusiast ically shook her biteleather to the death, and only allowed me to join in when I brought out a second one to contribute to the game

The second trail was in the open forest on the other (south) side of the main Sviland track, near the main road. I started the ‘trail-search’ a few metres before, and she worked with her nose down as soon as I let her start, and turned onto the trail accurately. She found the baseball cap no problem, and again was very happy to pick it up but I was glad she was on a longline to prevent her disappearing with it! She had no problem following the rest of the trail, including turns, to the finish.

A good day’s training

Posted: Tracking / Spor