What would you do if….
- judisedwards
- Feb 18
- 1 min read
Kelly and Fogell posted an awesome video I suggest you all watch. Hint: there a bunny.
Reality check— we track in areas with wildlife. Monday there was a beautiful coyote in our field. We have several pair of foxes. A bear. And of course the usual suspects: bunnies, raccoons, possums, squirrels, deer, etc.
How are you going to handle wildlife running across your track? What’s your plan?
Wren and I in the past have worked a lot on critters outside of tracking. Usually, if I recall her and reward, she will wait it out by me. Then, I can resend her to work and she's usually pretty good about switching back to tasks. If she is more distracted, I walk up the line to her, gently give her a little pat/friendly greeting and reward her for giving me her attention. So far, this has been the extend of our bird, deer, and squirrel interactions. Usually a brief pause, a little regrouping, then back to work. (If the pause is longer and she needs to 'shake it off' I will water and rescent too.
Hello! I haven’t watched the video yet, but I have had deer and bunnies run or hop across our track quite a few times. I don’t know what the correct answer is here, but with Vivi I immediately start backing up several steps while I wait out her distracted behavior. I do this so I know (or hopefully know) where the track goes for the next several steps. Eventually she gets her focus back and turns to me and I will tell her to track if I need to. Sometimes she remembers what we were doing without even saying anything. Since I know where the track goes for at least the next several steps, when she gets back on the…
What kind of dog is Fogel so I don’t have to open up every journal?