Certified Sydney and Zippy Zoey

Exciting news -- well, to me :) Tonight Sydney passed her certification track and can now enter a tracking test! I know this sounds odd but in order to enter a tracking test to attempt to earn the Tracking Dog title (TD) a dog has to pass a certification track under a tracking judge -- and the certification track requirements are basically the same as a real test, except there is just one judge.

I think there are two or maybe three tracking judges in the whole giant state of Montana, and one just happens to work at the library at the University of Montana! How convenient is that?! I can almost throw a rock from my building to hers :) She certified Zoey last year and we have become friends, and so I just marched over to the library a couple of weeks ago with my planner and we set a time for this evening to test Sydney.

I have a streak going with Tracking Dog titles -- six in a row now (Syd will be #7 -- knock on wood). This means I am definitely a relaxed trainer since for whatever reason, tracking comes pretty easy to us. And so while other people age their tracks in exact increments, I do not even bother -- and today Syd ran her first ever 30+ minute old track. And while others join tracking classes and clubs so that their dogs get used to tracking other people, mine just track me -- although I did get Heidi to lay a track for Sydney yesterday in exchange for a dozen chocolate chip scones :) She would have done it anyway but I feel better if I can return the favor, and those scones are really yummy.

Anyway, I digress -- I was noting that I am a very relaxed and unscientific tracking trainer but it works and so why would I change it? Sydney did a fantastic job -- she is a very enthusiastic and honest tracker. If she overshoots a corner, she whines -- very helpful in knowing to back up :) So I am really happy this evening -- and Sydney is excited to think that soon she will join the rest of the family by getting to put T.D. after her name -- now we have to get in a test and pass... Here is cute Syd from this morning


And I have waited and waited, and tomorrow Zoey is 18 months and so I have decided she can do low jumps -- she LOVES agility...



I certainly hope that you are having a certifiably excellent day!