Weekend of October 29-30: First Class with Fanny and First Practice with Fanny

 Fanny's First Track   

The instructions were to:

1. pre-count food for 15 steps.  Food every two steps. When you run out of food you know you've gone 15 steps. Check line-up after every two steps.
2. put down a flag to the left of my left food and scuff 15 steps, but when you have about three pieces of food left, put down your second flag. Finish the track and lay down an article with food inside.
3. walk five large steps. Pre-count food for 20 steps.
4. Put down your third flag and scuff 20 steps.  Put down flag and article the same way you did after the first track.  
5. Walk five large steps.  Pre-count food for 25 steps.
6. Put down your fifth flag and scuff 25 steps. Put down last flag and article the same way you did after the first two tracks.
7. Walk straight another five steps and walk around the track.  Do not back track.  

October 29: Fanny's Tracking in Class

In her first class and first-time tracking with other people following, she was nervous and pulled me straight down the track.  She stopped and laid down at each article, but was very nervous.  She ate the food in the article, but she didn't eat the food off the track.  Judi wants to see her with her nose down, working, and eating the food off the track. 

Homework: continue doing 15, 20 and 25 scuff steps

October 30

I prepared for tracking today by cutting up larger pieces of hot dog, mixing them with a bit of garlic powder and pre-counting and dividing them up into ziplock bags.

We went to a small field around the Corner from Cold Harbor Battlefield in Mechanicsville called the 11th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment Monument.  It's not large enough for a long track, but great for short tracks like we're currently doing.  

It was about 1 pm, 65 degrees with no wind and sunny.  The grass was cut very short.  

Here is our line-up.  See the electric pole and the tall tree behind it?

Here's the same line-up after I laid the track.

Here's our track.

Fanny started off pulling me towards the track.  She knows what we are up to.  She wouldn't take water before the track.  

She started off pulling me straight down the track and after about 6-7 steps realized there was something that smelled really good behind her so she started trying to backtrack to pick up the food.  I got her moving forward and she stopped to pick up all the hot dogs and started using her nose.  At the articles, she stopped but didn't indicate the articles until I got there and got down on my knees.  After that she laid down for the hot dogs inside the articles.

I forgot to offer water at the last article, but I offered her some when we got back to the car and she wouldn't drink any.

Seems like we are making progress.  She remembers this game.