1.12 Parking Lot | Final Session of Phase I

Date: Sep 08, 2024
Track Layer: Lorie
Location: Chris Saunders Memorial Elementary, Quispamsis
Weather: Sunny, ~19C
Wind: Gentle Breeze (SSW 22 km/hour).
Track Lengths: 60 yds. and 100 yds.

Today marked the final track of Phase I, and what a way to wrap it up! We headed to Chris Saunders Memorial Elementary School, where the paved driveway with curbs seemed like a perfect spot to lay our final tracks. Since it was Sunday, the area was nice and quiet, giving us plenty of space to work.

I laid two tracks along the curb. The first was 60 yards long, and the second was a longer 100-yard track.

First Track (60 yards)

After laying the first track, we had a brief delay while a bike gang—aka a family with a whole bunch of kids on bicycles—made their way through. Once they cleared out, we got started. Rumor had a bit of confusion right at the beginning, but she quickly found her rhythm and settled in nicely. The curved roadway was something I was curious about—how would she handle the curve? Would she be able to stay on track? But she nailed it! No hesitation, she followed the curve beautifully, staying focused on the job.

Second Track (100 yards)

For the second track, I switched to the opposite side of the driveway. This one was brilliant. From the moment we started, Rumor was heads-down and locked in. She only lifted her head to grab treats but then went straight back to business.

At one point, while she was tracking with full commitment, she toppled right over onto the curb! I’ve watched the video over and over and still can’t figure out why, but it didn’t phase her one bit. She hopped right back up and kept tracking like nothing happened! What a professional.

There was one tricky part—a drainage grate along the track where she lost my scent. Since I had walked around the grate when I laid the track, I was expecting some difficulty here. Sure enough, she circled around a bit, sniffing and trying to relocate the scent. After a moment, she figured it out, picked up my trail on the other side of the grate, and off she went again!

Evaluation: This was a great session to end Phase I. Rumor showed great enthusiasm from start to finish, especially on that second track, where her commitment to the task was clear. The curve added a new element of challenge, and her problem-solving around the drainage grate was impressive. And, of course, her quick recovery from the mysterious tip-over incident was both funny and admirable. I couldn’t have asked for a better wrap-up to this phase of training. My handling wasn’t bad. After watching back the video, I noticed the line going slack a lot so I will try to pay more attention to that in future sessions.

Below is a video of the second track from today’s session. It has been trimmed to 1 min in length.