However, having started the imprinting program yesterday I wasn't going to hide inside and later regret it. I even had one of the nasties of Icelandic processed food industry bought for me yesterday to use for treats, a hot dog on steroids. I can't eat it myself but Bella loved it so much that she tracked super well for me.
The track I laid today had a lot of sidewind and I tried to make it so that it was rather more in my back than in the face. In the program she says to pin the dog to the track so it can't lose it but with the sidewind Bella was going a little to the left and then worked her way back up where the treats were so I gave her a little longer leash to work with. I was incredibly happy with her because right from the get go she knew what we were doing and she was raring to go and worked the track really enthusiastically. She was going a little fast at times but kept her tracking profile almost the entire time and when she realized she was going a little too fast she occasionally attempted to backtrack to where she skipped a treat and continued from there like nothing had happened.
It was a 180 degree turn in her mindset since yesterday. Hurray!
After completing the track and finding the article we headed back to the car and to a small lake called Helluvað which is actually only about 30 minutes walk from my home. There she got to run loose while I tried not to freeze to death.
Bella grinning.
I threw a piece of the treat into the grass and that resulted in me getting a picture of her tracking profile. She looks pretty good, if I say so myself! I have a good feeling about our future in this kind of work. At least we are both enjoying it which is the main thing.
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