Before Kelsy searched for Sampson, I worked Griffin the Wonder Beagle in a practice search for Cheeto. Griffin is the size Kelsy was when she was about 11 weeks old. It was fun to work a search dog where I didn't have to concentrate on not getting pulled off my feet. When Kelsy got on the fresh scent of Sampson, I had to just focus on remaining upright as she pulled me along at a jog. With Griffin, it was just like a walk in the park. I watched Sally, Griffin's owner, work him for a while. When I took over, I had a hard time not saying the things I would say to Kelsy. I kept saying, "Which way?" which makes no sense for a cat detection dog. I could tell Griffin smelled critters in the area. When we got close to Cheeto's hiding place in the bushes, Griffin started to get excited. He then got distracted by Laura, who was guarding Cheeto from a distance. After he checked her out, he homed in on Cheeto. The way his nose moved through the air, I could visualize the cone of scent emanating from Cheeto. Griffin gave his signature sniffing sound upon finding Cheeto's carrier, his tail did the helicopter whirling, and then he started to whine, all just as Sally said he would. Griffin got lots of hot dog treats, but he seemed to enjoy Cheeto's company at least as much as the treats.
The trail that Sampson laid for Kelsy was fresh, less than 15 minutes old, and probably about half a mile long, in a loop. I started Kelsy away from the trail to practice her negative. She went a little farther than usual, I think because a bunny had just raced through that area, but she soon turned and gave me her negative signal. Then I took her to the start of Sampson's trail. I could tell she was already on it before I presented the scent article. When I did give her the scent article, she didn't give it a thorough sniffing like she did the first time. She just gave it a quick sniff, like, "Yep, that's Sampson," and we were off to the races. She dipped into a dead end by a door to the office building. From my read on her, I would say that she was checking out Griffin's scent, and not on the trail of Sampson at that point. When Kelsy got back onto the trail of Sampson, she pulled like a tractor again. At the far turn, Kelsy spent several minutes circling, working things out. I forgot to ask Danny where they had actually walked, so I don't know what that was about. There were about a dozen large molehills in that patch of lawn. I wonder if Sampson had run around in a circle, checking out the molehills. Eventually, she settled into a groove for the last leg of the trail. Sampson and his brother Willie started barking from their hiding place behind the truck, so it wasn't a mystery for Kelsy at that point. When Kelsy ran up to the two dogs, sitting side by side, she seemed to single out Sampson, although it happened so quickly that it was hard to tell. Then Kelsy turned and sat and asked for her treats, meaning she was sure this was the dog she was looking for. I rewarded her with cheese and more fetching. This trail wasn't meant to be challenging--it was just to let Kelsy win and have fun. Of course, our last practice trail, looking for Reina, wasn't supposed to be challenging, either, but it turned into a frustrating experience. It was nice to have Kelsy work easily and quickly, and get her reward.
Temp: 47F
Feels like: 47F
Cloudy
Humidity: 86%
Wind: CALM at calm mph
Updated: 2/5/11 3:05 PM PST
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