It was just going to be a normal end of the day
walk. Instead of coming straight home from work, I took Xerxes to a
park that is down by the river. It's a wooded area, and even though
it's pretty popular, you almost never see anyone while you're walking.
Xerxes and I have a particular trail that we use, the trail covers
about 2 miles by the time we get back to the car. It's alot of up and
down hill, with the uphill portion being towards the end of the walk.
So last night we get back to the car and I see the cars of a couple
of my friends. Their dogs (Joseph-pit boxer mix, Dylan and
Zeppelin-Dobies) are dogs that Xerxes absolutely loves. So As we get
close to the cars I tell Xerxes: "Go find Jo-jo." (Remember Xerx is
ALWAYS leashed and on our walks we use a 25ft flexi.)
Xerxes puts his nose down and starts to run down the trail. I am
following him, much like a kite, but somewhat in control. His nose is
on the ground and he's not stopping-he can smell his friends and he's
on the trail. Every now and then I'll see an obvious footprint or a
place where someone has slipped, but other than that: no clues for me
to follow. I'm trusting my dog's nose.
We get about a mile and a half down the trail and we find my
friends and all 3 dogs. It was a super fun moment. Xerxes learned that
he can track long distance. And we had a good time.
Also to me it tells me that our inside game of "Find it" in which I
hide a treat from him, creating a scent trail in the process, has been
fruitful. I'm sure he'd be a good tracker in many respects, especially
since-while in pursuit of his friends, I would not have been able to
call him off the trail.