December 2016 www.tcocf.net President s message Hard to believe that another year has about come and gone! Our October combined TDU/VST had some nice performances but alas no passes. VST is very challenging and a lot of fun to train. I find it fascinating that our dogs can track our scent Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. John W. Gardner in grass and over different terrain but to see pavement work is really impressive. A lot of hard work and time goes into training any tracking but especially VST. As you all know we are having a VST seminar and workshop in January 2017 on the 14 th and 15 th with Ray and Allison Desmarais. All working spots have been sold and we have audit spots available. If you did not get a working spot an audit spot will still teach you a lot about VST. We are having it at the LaQuinta on Frontage in the meeting room then going out and running dogs on tracks. I want to thank Robin Scott, Veronica DeBoisbriand and Jonni Baker for helping me to lay the tracks for the working spots that weekend. We will miss some of the presentation but will see the dogs and their performances which will still give us opportunity to learn. The November 6 th TD test had 5 entries. Again, very nice performances by all the dogs but only one pass. Kay Guetzloff from Missouri is wintering down here in our beautiful climate and passed with her Border Collie. The conversation came up about entering titled dogs. YOU may enter a titled dog to help fill a test and it is a great opportunity to help support the club and get in a track as a training session. Just keep in mind if the test fills the slots go to untitled dogs first. You can always get in touch with the test secretary to ask how entries are coming along. As we know tracking runs in cycles and some years there are more dogs then other years. I also brought up the fact that the Australian Shepherd Club of America (ASCA) holds a tracking test every Feb or March in Anthony Florida up near Ocala. Any breed dog may enter and you would only need to apply and receive an ASCA registration number and I believe it costs around $10. A great way to get in a track and you would receive an ASCA title as well. The Tracking Club of Central Florida was created in 1987 to promote the training of pure bred dogs, dissemination of knowledge regarding tracking; to encourage the training of judges; to encourage groups with similar purposes; to hold and support tracking tests, exhibitions and matches under the rules and regulations of the American Kennel Club; to conduct educational events, to promote cooperation and good sportsmanship among its members in the training and exhibition of dogs. The Club shall be representative of exhibitors and members, and conduct meetings in the Central Florida area. When I became President in 2010 my goal was to follow this objective and also train and mentor folks to be test secretaries so our worker pool would enlarge. I am happy to say we have quite a few folks who have not only volunteered to learn but have done it more than once doing a good job. In January we will be having our TDX test in Lakeland at Colt Creek Park. Dianne Tharp and MaraLynn Kontrafouris will be the test secretaries and are in need of tracklayers, flag carriers and a driver. If you are willing to help please contact Dianne at tharpdia@gmail.com Hope your holidays are merry, and the New Year prosperous, healthy and filled with doggie adventures.
2017 Test Schedule Test Entry Limit Date Club Judges Secretary Chief Track Close Date VST/TDU 4 & 4 1/7/17 or 1/8/17 OTCPBC WPB Fran Smith TDX 5 1/22/17 CCP Fran Smith Sue Boyd Sec. Mara-Lynn/Dianne 1/12/17 TD/TDU 4 & 4 2/5/17 OCOD Robin Scott Sue Boyd Sec. Joyce Swegle TDX 5 2/19/17 PSL Sec. Fran Smith 2/9/17 TDX 2/26/17 DOCLC Lee County Sue Boyd Ed Presnall TD/TDX 4 & 4 3/12/17 ASCA Anthony Sec. Melanie Magamoll TD 9 3/19/17 Diane Tharp Jane Craig Sec. Debbie Finch Chief T. Fran Smith Close: 3/9/17 ANNUAL MEETING TD/TDU 4 & 4 3/26/17 OCOD VST/TDU 4 & 4 4/9/17 Tony Ginter Sec. Bette Lioselle/ 3/30/17 TD 4/23/17 DOCLC Lee County TD/TDX 5/7/17 TLC Officers President Robin Scott Vice President Secretary Paul Reep Treasurer Board Members Rachel Richard Debbie Finch Mara Lynn Kontrafouris Betty Lambert Betty Loiselle
2017/2018 Test Schedule Test Entry Limit Date Club Judges Secretary Chief Track Close Date VST/TDU 4 & 4 10/15/17 Michele Gillette Sec. 10/5/17 TD 10 11/5/17 Dianne Tharp Sec. 10/26/17 TDX 5 11/19/17 OTCPBC PSL TD/TDU 10 12/3/17 ODTC PSL Robin Scott Sec. Paul Reep Chief T. TDX 12/10/17 TLC VST/TDU 4 & 4 1/7/18 OTCPBC WPB TDX 5 1/21/18 CCP Fran Smith Sue Boyd Sec. Mara-Lynn/Diane Close:1/11/18 TD/TDU 4 & 4 2/4/18 OCOD TDX 5 2/18/18 PSL Jack Sappenfield Sec. 2/8/18 TDX 2/25/18 DOCLC Lee County TD/TDX 4 & 4 3/11/18 ASCA Anthony Sec. Melanie Magamoll TD 9 3/18/18 Susan Wells Robin Scott Sec. Chief T. Close:3/8/18 ANNUAL MEETING TD/TDU 4 & 4 3/25/18 OCOD Vee Vista VST/TDU 4 & 4 4/8/18 Tony Ginter Sec. Bette Lioselle/ 3/30/18
General Membership Meeting Minutes for November 6, 2016 Respectfully submitted by:, Secretary Meeting was called to order by President at 9:55 am. Members present included: Betty Lambert, Debbie Finch, Janet Berry, Fran Smith, Bette Loiselle, Kathy Able, Carroll Dyer, Joyce Swegle, Lee Ann Fain-Schultz, Susan Jackson, Jean Bates, Robin Scott, Paul Reep and Luci &. President s Report: Luci mentioned that even if your dog already has a title, you may still enter a test and have an opportunity to run. This provides your dog extra practice under test conditions while you are preparing for the next level. However, to determine the Entries untitled dogs pulled first then dogs with a title are drawn. Joyce mentioned that it really helps if people know in advance whether tests fill or not prior to closing. Luci also mentioned that volunteers are still needed for the AKC Classic and the Orlando Dog Training Club for their TD/TDU test on December 4, 2016 at. If you are able to volunteer for the Classic, please Luci at luciseeley@gmail.com and if you can help with ODTC s tracking test, please contact Paul Reep at pkreep@att.net or call him at (407) 538-8680. Dianne Tharp also mentioned that she needs help with the January TDX at Colt Creek Park. Please contact Dianne at tharpdia@gmail.com if you are able to volunteer. Nominating Committee Report: Robin Scott, Committee Chairperson, reported that all current officers and Board Directors have agreed to stay on for another year. If anyone wishes to run for office to please contact her at fourdogsr@embarqmail.com and let her know what position they wish to run for. Secretary Report: reported that all working spots are full for both the Janice Gunn Obedience Seminar and the VST Seminar with Ray Desmarais. However, audit spots are still available. If folks are still interested in a working spot for either seminar Ron will place you on a waiting list in case someone has to cancel. Please download the flyer from our website at www.tcocf.net and send it in as soon as possible. Fund Raiser: Luci reported that after Jane Craig reported the costs of the Tervis Tumblers and licence plate frames, they both were too pricey for us to pursue. Not that many folks were interested in the license plate holders. T-shirts were mentioned as a possible fundraiser as they seem to be pretty popular, maybe a re-order of the ones we did several years ago. Robin mentioned that they were special order only due to the cost of the embroidery. Luci mentioned that she would look in to a t-shirt done in silk screen again and get the costs on that. Decals or magnets were also discussed as a possibility and Luci said she knows a lady that does decals and Luci will look into the price. Ron mentioned that it has been a few years since the club held an AKC Tracking Seminar for local judges and tracking enthusiasts alike. He will look into setting that up for 2017 or 2018. Test Schedule: Luci mentioned that it was very difficult to hire out of state judges this past year as they are hired so far in advance. So she wanted to suggest judges sooner in order to provide enough notice for out of state judges. The following slate of judges was suggested for the next tracking season: October VST/TDU 2017 Michele Gillette & November TD 2017 January TDX 2018 February TDX 2018 March TD 2018 April VST/TDU 2018 Dianne Tharp & Luci or Fran Smith & Sue Boyd & Jack Sappenfield Robin Scott & Susan Wells TBD Motion to Adjourn: A motion to adjourn was made by Fran Smith seconded by.
40 years later In October 1967 I earned a TD on my first dog, a longhaired dachshund. During the early 70s I put TDs on two more dachshunds; my last tracking test was in October 1976, 40 years ago. At that time, the UDT title was the highest performance title awarded by the AKC, which all 3 of my dogs had earned. In 1977, the Obedience Trial Championship became a title, and many of us that used to do tracking, began chasing the OTCH. I was no exception. Over the next 40 years, AKC offered more and more performance titles. I became an agility and herding addict and never found the time to track any of my other dogs. In May this year my agility dog tore her iliopsosas muscle and faced several months of rehab. Every time she went back to agility she came up lame, so the rehab vet told me Scarlett had to stay out of the agility ring till March 2017. All Scarlett was allowed to do was walk and trot. Scarlett and I were both bored, so I began to think about what we could do to relieve our boredom that didn t involve running and jumping and suddenly I had the answer. We could try tracking! So in late July, early August, after an absence of 40 years, I went back to tracking. Scarlett showed she had a good nose although her tracking style was very different from my dachshunds. I was hoping we could do enough tracking in FL that I could get certified while we spent the winter months down here. The weekend before we were to head south, I met for the first time with the tracking group outside St. Louis. One of the trackers laid a track for us, and commented that Scarlett was ready for certification! Really? It turned out that the tracklayer was a tracking judge, as was her husband. She couldn t lay a certification track for me that day, but called her husband and he came over and laid a certification track for us. Scarlett passed. What a surprise. I contacted Luci to ask her about tracking conditions in Orlando, thinking we might be able to enter the TD test in December, and Luci told me that entries for the Tracking Club of Central Florida were closing on Thursday and that I should enter. So, off to UPS I went and overnighted Scarlett s entry. I couldn t believe how beautiful the tracking grounds were. And what a friendly bunch of trackers. So, almost exactly 40 years from my last TD test I walked up to the starting flag with my BC, and we earned our TD. I was shocked because I had no idea we were ready. Back in 1976 there was no TDX, otherwise I d probably have trained for it. My dog still has 4 months of rehab, so we ll spend our time preparing for a TDX test, either here or back in MO. I had forgotten how much I used to enjoy tracking. Through a stroke of bad luck on the agility course I was able to rediscover a sport I had forgotten for 40 years.
Lightning Strikes Twice! Kay Guetzloff and her Border Collie Scarlet entered the ODTC tracking test just for practice and pass for the 2nd time. Kathryn Abel has her first pass as a track layer!
My First Track Laying Experience or How Sophie Got Her Groove Back I have been tracking on a semi regular basis with my dog, Sophie, for about 3 years now. A year ago, I got so frustrated with her grass-eating habit that we pretty much stopped tracking altogether. I continued to help at tracking tests, carrying flags and laying cross-tracks, and really enjoyed watching other people track with their dogs, even though I had lost the desire to track with my own. Then I offered to lay my very first track for the November TD test. I was extremely nervous, because I m not the kind of person who routinely draws out my own tracks, and I was very worried about having to lead the dog to the glove if it failed. Luci assured me that she would be with me every step of the way, and would help me if I needed it, even though she assured me I wouldn t. Saturday was track-plotting day. I followed the judges closely, and as I drew my track and found my landmarks, I began to get excited. It was actually really fun and challenging to see how many landmarks I could come up with to define my track. I went back afterwards with Luci and rewalked the track, adjusting some landmarks, and adding new ones, and I started to feel like I could actually do this!! After all the tracks were plotted, we had a fantastic lunch, and then I went home and redrew my track about 10 times until it was perfect, and I tell you, it was a thing of beauty!! Who knew a track map could be so cool? I went to bed, sans shower, very excited about the next day. I woke up the next morning, tucked both articles in my waistband, and drove to the fields. It was an absolutely beautiful morning, and the fields were covered with dew. Only after I started walking my track did I realize that I needed to seriously think about investing in a pair of waterproof hiking shoes. I was then told by several people that the water flooding out of my shoes was leaving lots of skin cells on the ground, and that made me hopeful. I thought positive, happy thoughts as I walked and hoped my wet feet and unscrubbed body would lead to a successful track. As I dropped the glove, I felt really good about my track and anxiously awaited the start. turned out that the handler and her dog didn t need much help from me at all. I showed them the 3rd turn and they took it from there and found the glove very quickly. My sadness quickly turned to exhilaration as I watched a VERY happy dog playing with his glove. I thought having to lead the dog to the glove would be the hardest part, but in reality it was extremely rewarding to be able to help a dog successfully complete a track. And the look of joy on the faces of both dog and handler made my day. We only had one pass that day, but laying my first track made me realize what drew me to tracking in the first place: it is a chance for handler and dog to be outside, together as a team, doing something that dogs naturally excel at. And even if the whistle is blown, the dog still gets to find the glove, so at the end of the day, every dog s a winner! The day after I laid my first track, I loaded Sophie in the car and took her to a park near our house. As I put in a track for her, I could hear her whining with anticipation in the car. I took her out and told her to go find it. As she put her nose to the ground and made a beeline for the glove, I thought about how happy she looked and how if I hadn t offered to lay a track for that TD test, we probably wouldn t be out tracking. So thank you, Luci, for allowing me to lay a track and making me believe I could do it. You re a fantastic teacher, and hopefully some time next year, Sophie and I can give someone else a chance to lay their first track. I highly recommend it!! Alas, it was not to be, and after a great start, and two perfect turns, the whistle was blown. Now the stressful part of my job began, but once again, Luci was there to help me, and it
2016 National Tracking Invitational By This year Luci & I were invited to judge the 2016 National Tracking Invitational (NTI) along with Connie Austin & Ule James, held on September 17 & 18, 2016. This event is held every 2 years and for the past few years, it was held at the Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest in Clermont, KY. Twelve tracks are offered, 6 run on Saturday with one set of judges & 6 on Sunday with the other set of judges. Invitations are sent out to all dogs around the country that have earned a Champion Tracking title this of course creates a huge alternate list. We had entries from as far away as California. The really nice thing is we had a large contingent of workers from Florida, pictured here are Dianne Tharp, Fran Smith, Margi Lehnertz, Jane Craig, Luci & me. Fran, Margi & Jane have truly supported this fine event because they have made it to every NTI either as judges or tracklayers. The Mid-Kentucky Kennel Club & the Greater Louisville Kennel Club worked together to host this great event and they did a fabulous job. They paired the judges up as North, Connie & Ule vs South, Luci & me. We each had to plot 6 tracks, which were a glorified TDX track, they had to be at least 600 yards long with veg and non-veg surfaces, and mild obstacles such as roads or change of cover. You must realize that most of the dogs (and handlers) entered are elder statesmen and retired so we did not want to plot tracks that were too taxing. I must say there were some very impressive dogs on both days. One team actually passed on Saturday and several others only needed one or two hints along the way. The grounds are absolutely breathtaking and offer many challenging situations. If you copy the links provided below, you will be able to view all the photos that Ule James took of this event. At the end of each track all the exhibitors had big smiles on their faces and complimented both sets of judges on the tracks they ran. I have never been involved in an event that created such camaraderie as this does. It really takes a Village to put on an event of this magnitude and these clubs did a superb job! The bonus of judging or working here is after the festivities you can go on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and visit the Jim Beam, Makers Mark and other distilleries. Please take a moment and click on the links below courtesy of Ule James to get a feel of this wonderful event. If you love tracking, try to set aside some time to travel to beautiful Clermont, Kentucky and attend the next NTI, you will be glad you did. Links for the NTI: Saturday https://goo.gl/photos/buqoaze1qsq9qm149 Sunday: https://goo.gl/photos/ybpev2ibeurhdnjn9
Tracklaying and other facts: People cannot act as a tracklayer for dogs if, within the past 30 days they have boarded, laid a track for or regularly trained the dogs whose tracks they are to lay. The tracklayer must not be a person with whom the dog has resided or a member of the household or a member of the immediate family of the dog s handler. The judges will determine the order in which tracks are run and the number of each track. Judges may modify the draw to meet the requirements of the tracklayer. In other words at the draw you as the exhibitor are drawing for a running order not necessarily a track. Confusing sometimes but this is why as judges we do not wish for you to volunteer if your friend or buddy is entered and is someone you regularly train with. You will hear the whistle for these two things: Guiding and restraining. What is the difference? Guiding is defined as behavior by the handler that influences or determines the dog s direction. Restraint is permitted to slow a dog down that is moving too fast or in the event of an unusual distraction. HOWEVER, repeated restraint that influences the dog s direction is not permitted and will cause the dog to be failed. So you want to be a Tracking Judge? So you have been tracking for a while now and think you want to become a Tracking Judge? The Tracking Club of Central Florida is instrumental in mentoring and helping you in your pursuit of this venture. But are you ready? Have you gone to the AKC website and read what all the requirements are? Here are the minimum requirements. As you can see there are quite a few and will take a minimum of 6 consecutive years in the sport for starters. 1. Personally owned, trained and handled two (2) dogs that have been awarded an AKC Tracking Dog title (TD) or AKC Tracking Dog Urban title (TDU); 2. Been active in the sport a minimum of six (6) consecutive years; 3. Observed tracking judges in planning and plotting TD or TDU tracks by: 4. a. Serving as a tracklayer for a minimum of ten (10) TD or TDU tracks at AKC member or licensed tracking tests. Must submit completed charts of at least two (2) tracks which you served as a tracklayer. b. Apprentice judge under two (2) different sets of judges. The apprentice assignments must be at two (2 different TD or TDU tests with three or more dogs entered and judged. The judge may not be a member of the apprentice s household or immediate family. Note: Track laying and apprenticeship requirements must be done at separate events and may not be combined. 5. Attended an AKC tracking seminar within the last three (3) years.