Above is Tate & I after getting our TD, pictured with our tracklayer, Julie. It is also a proud moment for the tracklayer as well.Today , one year ago, Tate got his TD! It has been by far the most rewarding & challenging sport I have done with Tate. If you have not trained a dog to track you cannot know the feeling of coming upon that final glove. The bond you have with your dog is so important in tracking, & the hardest thing to do is to TRUST your dog.....ask anyone who has tracked.....letting your dog take control is not easy.
I almost got Tate failed on our TD attempt, I "thought" I saw our track turn right, so I was slowing down & although Tate knew it went straight, he questioned himself because he figured I might know something he didn't! He turned right for me, but when we had gone about 20 meters, I realized it wasn't the track...actually Tate kept trying to tell me!!! He was whining the whole way, probably calling me stupid! Long story short, my wonderful dog did not get frustrated & give up, like some dogs do, but we got back on the real track & I just let him go, the rest of the way he was bang on, right to the glove...whew!!! I cried like a baby! What an experience. I am posting these pictures of our actual track on that day, some taken by friends, & a couple taken by the judge while I was tracking! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Also, I'd like to add that during the first leg of our track, we flushed a flock of geese, probably about 10 of them, Tate & I didn't even notice, we were concentrating so hard, I only know it happened because Donna video taped us & I saw them after!
This is an aerial view of our track, which was in an alfalpha field. The first flag is the start & the second is the 30 meter direction flag, after that, you're on your own. The blue X at the end is the glove...the track was 400 meters long.
This is Tate & I as we walked toward our track that morning, I was soooo nervous!
This is Tate & I are on our first leg of the track, you can see the judge & tracklayer following behind. In front of us, in the distance, is one of Thunder Bay's most popular attractions, "The Sleeping Giant".
This is Tate & I on the 3rd leg of our track...the judge actually stopped to take this picture of us! I LOVE this picture.
This picture, while far away shows Tate has found the glove, & I am telling him what a good boy he is through my tears!
And finally, in the spot where we found our glove. The judge took this picture of Tate, the proud mom!, & our tracklayer.
What a wonderful day that was! Thanks for reading!
2 comments:
Ah, that was such an awesome day! I was so proud of you guys and had tears in my eyes as Tate neared the article. You two make a perfect team!
That looked like a perfect day, a great memory to come - AND MANY MORE!!!!!!!
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