Day 7~ Tracking, Training, Tethering....and more tracking!

Well, today was eventful. We slept-in until 7:45am (this is 3:45am in Alaska...so please look at it from that stand point;)...this meant get up, get dressed, take Zion out side, get Trapper & Zion feed, get bags together & in the car...and then rob took first break to get breakfast while I got myself ready and Trapper's clothing out....then I ate while Rob finished getting Trapper ready. Then in the car & to the facility...follow Caravan of vehicles to tracking destination. We were the first track as Trapper really wasn't doing to well staying put & we were last the day before.

This time Rob took Trapper & hid and Jeremy (trainer) started the "track" & then handed Zion's lead off to me. That was something. The wind was swirling above this field & Zion would find Trapper's scent & then loose it...a couple times, then he caught it & bolted. It was hard holding the lead for me to not allow Zion to keep going when there was quick jolts in one direction. I hope to go on a few more tracks to see other dogs track their kids as well tomorrow morning. This depends on Trapper of course.

So after an educational track (for me the mom)... Jeremy asked that we go back to 4 Paws facility to see the vet about Zions stomach stuff. So we went back and the vet there fixed us up while Rob & Trapper played on the outdoor play center. Then Zion & I joined them because we had near 2 hours until our second class started. So Zion was able to play & Trapper too. There was this red play mustang car there that was fun for about a half hour until dad pulled a muscle trying to push it around. The battery wasn't working.

Then we went in for instruction & training under Jennifer. We worked on "heel", "back" (backing our service dog up when needed), we worked on "stand" which should help us towel Zion off after he gets in Trapper's bath. We were able to ask questions about tracking at the mall before heading that way.

So... at the mall we worked on tethering until it was our turn to track. We hooked Trapper up & he loves it, then we walked around a little bit. Then I decided to go to my first store...well coffee shop.:o) So With Trapper tethered & Zion at a "heel" we walked in to Starbucks and stood in line. Trapper reached for a smoothie juice (Odwalla) from the cooler & held it & the tether strap. Then I ordered my drink & paid for his...it was easy & painless. Then we caught up with Jennifer for our first "mall track" in Sears. We need to practice more, but Zion was excellent. He found Trapper in less then a minute. After practicing a couple times. Rob took Trapper to play @ the indoor play ground. The play ground in the mall wasn't real big, but it had only one exit and was closed in by half walls all around it. So Rob was comfortable with Trapper not being able to get by him and he started talking to one of the other dad's in the class. Well they were talking about how fast the kids are when Rob scanned the play area and couldn't see where Trapper was. He started to panic and was searching all over the little play area...when a man came up to everyone & said, "is anyone missing a little boy dressed in Camo"....Rob followed the man to the back side of the play area on the other side of the wall & Trapper was there. An entire family sat & watched this four year old scale this wall & run & they didn't stand up, say anything or let anyone know. If I hadn't been on the other side of the mall working with Zion, possibly we could have tracked the little escape artist. So, today Rob lost Trapper....what a day!

We left the mall & headed back to our room with a very tired kid & dog. We decided Zion needed a break to sleep a little, so we put her in her Kennel & took Trapper swimming next door at the Holiday Inn. Our hotel & the Holiday in have an agreement of some sort on Pool sharing.
Trapper hasn't been in a pool for a couple years. We want him in aqua therapy, but so far do not have that set up. He was awesome in the pool. He loved it. The only meltdown was when it was time to go. He loved it & didn't want to leave.

After the pool we came back and Rob went out to get dinner so we could eat in our room. We ate & then Trapper fell asleep on the sofa shortly after.

This was how our 7th day went. We love doing the tracking with Zion and hope to get more picture of the actual track tomorrow.

God Bless!
~Jami (Trapper's mom)