Hope’s ASCA TD

We woke up on April 1 to see it snowing!! Yikes, what an April Fool's joke from Mother Nature. We were on our way to the ASCA TD test!! I have always wanted to try tracking in light snow. Be careful what you wish for! We arrived, to be greeted by great, friendly folks who welcomed us and fed us well. We drew Track Number 2 and were encouraged by the passing of dog/handler on Track Number 1.

So off we went to a long first leg up a hill, not used to tracking in snow boots and trying to breathe at the same time. I thought snow tracking would be easy, but it was not as obvious as I expected. And of course I kept saying to myself, "don't guide the dog," knowing that was a potential hazard. Hope melted into each of her turns and stayed on course. At one point she stopped and kept nudging something on the ground. I asked her what she was doing and she looked back at me but then continued to "explore" something on the ground. Finally, I told her to "go to work," at which time she looked back at me, somewhat exasperated, leaned down, picked up her glove and looked at me as if to say, "what do you think I've been doing?" Goes to show, trust your dog and pay attention. And then we celebrated.....

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