Page 21 - BRAVO3_ISSUE1_MAY_JUN_2018

Iam askedalthetimehowoldofatrailcanadogrun,myanswerisalwaysthesame,“Ihavenoidea.”One ofthebiggestflawswehaveastracking/trailinghandlersandtrainersisthewaywemeasureourtracks/trails. W h e n tra in in g w h a t’s u s u a l ly th e firs t th in g s a s k e d ? “H o w lo n g w a s th e tra c k ? H o w o ld w a s th e tra il? ” R a re ly isthefolowingasked;whatwasthehumidity? Whattimeofdaywasthetrack/trailputdown? What percentageofthetrackwasindirectsunlightvs.shade?Whatwasthetemperature?Icankeepgoingonbut Ithinkthatyoualgettheidea.WhenIhaveaskedtheseteams,thatbragabouthowoldoftrailstheycanrun,
orunasimple24-hourolddoubleblindtrial,noneofthem wildoit.Thishasalwaysconfusedme.Ifthey canrun72-houroldtrails,whichsomeofthem havetodotocertifywiththeirSearchandRescueteams,why won’ttheydoa24-houroldone? Simple,theycant!
Thereissomuchmoretothetrack/trailthanjustageanddistanceandveryfewhandlersunderstandthis, letalonetrainforthis.IcantelyouthatmycomfortzoneinmyabilitywithK9Docisbetween6-8hours.What Iwouldcalmy,“withoutadoubtzone,”isfrom 4hoursandunder. Iam soconfidentinourabilityinthis timeframeitisalmostadetriment.Now,isitpossibleforustobeaccuratepastthosetimes?Yes.WhydoI saythat’sourwindow? Because,thisisthetimeswehavetrainedtoo.Whenyouhaveasmanydogsand handlerstotrainasIdo,sometimesmypersonaltraininggetspushedtotherear.Westiltrainbutatthelisted
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Idonottrytopushoutfurtherwiththeageofthetrail.Iam closetothemajorityofmycaloutssothis worksforDocandI.Itwouldbegreatifal lIhadtorunwereK9Doc,butIdon’t.Now,whyam Isoconfident? Itisbecauseofthewaythatwetrain.WetraininadoubleblindmethodtowhereIalmostneverknowwhere thetrailayerhasgone.Onlyaknownstartingpoint,whichisascentarticleoravehicle,iswherewestartand IletDocdohisthing.UsualywehammerthetrailayerandthisisonereasonwhyIhavesuchconfidence.I traintheexactwayIwilhavetoperform onacalout.Thisisalsothewaywetrainourpupsthatweimport.
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yarealmostalwaysrunwithdoubleblindtrailsaswelasourhandlerswhocomeherefortraining,mostly, doubleblindtrails.(Iwiltalkmoreaboutthisinanotherarticle)
Ihavebeenaskedtorespondandwork24-houroldtrails.Ihaveonlywenttoone,amissingchildlocaly a n d th e s e a rc h a re a w a s s o w o rk e d o v e r it w a s n o t p o s s ib le . N o t o n ly w a s it 2 4 -h o u rs o ld , it w a s in th e summerhereinMissouriandthelastpointseenwasindirectsunlight.Iwashonest,directandupfrontwith thefamily.Itoldthem thatIdidn’tbelievetherewasanypossibilityforustodoanygoodbecauseIdidnot believetherewasanyodorleftforustowork.TheyaskedthatIcomeanywayandwetried,withnoluck,if wewouldhavehitanythingandmadethefinditwouldhavebeennothingbutluck.Thesetracksandtrails
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whatIcal,“Hopeandaprayertracks.”Usualythefamilyissodesperatetheywilistentoanything andanyonethatsaystheycanhelp. Thus,enterswhereIbelieveourbiggestproblem isoccuringin tracking/trailingteamstodayalaroundtheworld.
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