Bounce, Page and Bailey's Excellent Adventure
Gabrielle sent me this wonderful write-up of her trip to San Diego to learn some tracking basics. Check out part one and part two.
The Puppy
Anne Hoger and I were out tracking yesterday with her lab Lucy. It was a bit warm and we were at a public park.
I had laid a track for Anne and Lucy and we had just gotten started. We were on the second leg of the first track when a man riding his bike stopped in another part of the park to visit with the park rangers, who were doing some work on the ball fields. The man had a basket on his bike with a little 5 month old Border Terrier dog riding in it.
While the man was visiting with the rangers, the little Border Terrier ran over to see what we were doing. Lucy is strictly business when she is tracking. She ignores everything else when she tracks because she loves it so much. Of course, the man was calling his dog to come to him...but the dog was not responding.
Anne and I kept tracking and the puppy, still completely ignoring his owner, continuing following us. The puppy ran under Lucy, around Lucy, and also tugged on Lucy's line while she was tracking. It was amazing!!! Lucy was sooooo into her track that she acted like the puppy was not even there.
Lucy's track went through playgrounds, basketball courts, and in and out of gates while this puppy totally scampered all around her. Anne and I were laughing because Lucy just kept working. Each time Lucy would find her glove, the puppy would run up under her and eat the cookies that were falling out of Anne's hand.
It was GREAT!!!!!!
It shows you how Lucy is so addicted to tracking (just like Anne and I are) that she would not allow a little 5 month old puppy to interfere with her job of tracking.
Finally the man came over and picked up the puppy and took him back to the bike. Of course the puppy had never once responded to his name or the word "come".