Toe is a TD dog now!

Here is Toe's tracking test!

The straight line is the path the track layer left, the dotted line is Toe's path. Track was aged about an hour.... we went a total of 450 yards... to me, it is a huge open field and other than the 2 flags, I have NO earthly idea where the track goes. The judges follow behind me about 100 feet or so with a map and the track layer.

If I go off course they blow a whistle. I'm allowed to finish my track with the track layer to assist me in staying on the track while the judges leave to judge the next dog.

In a TD test, there are 2 flags. One marks the start of the test and it has a scarf on it with the track layer's scent. Toe sniffs it, I pick it up, wave it over my head and put it in my pocket.

The 2nd flag indicates which way the track goes.

Toe was really strong... pulling and confident and then we came to this ditch...

I didn't think TD's had "obstacles" like ditches or hedges or whatever in them... Toe went across the ditch and I thought, really? (and this is where the hoo-man interferes... after all, I can't smell or see any scent right? This is where I coulda blown it by "thinking"... in tracking you are supposed to just follow your dog)

I stood my ground. He went back and forth at the top of the ditch and then was pulling me across... clearly saying, "It's this way, Mom, c'mon already!"

Alrighty then... gotta follow my dog and still I was waiting to hear the judges' whistle to tell me I was off course.... no whistle! I kept going....

After a while Toe's little stump-butt started wagging and he turns to look at me.... there is the glove!

I praised him huge, picked up the glove and waved it over my head. We passed and Toe is a TD dog.

One of the judges was this man from New England... NY I think?... he has Golden Retrievers and I guess when Toe was on the track he was heard to say, "Wow - lookit that little dog go!" That is funny to me... guess there aren't really many smallish dogs out there.... ? The dogs in this test were Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, a Belgian Sheepdog, and an Elkhound...

You can see Toe circled a little on a couple corners and the lines that go sort of back and forth was the ditch when I was holding ground and he was, I think, double checking before he committed again to the track.

Out of 8 dogs, 6 passed that day. It was a good trackin' day!