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to CyberHound Congratulations to Jane Jonas of Lincoln, Nebraska and her Basset bitch, CH Jonas' Hattie P. Hellraiser TDX, for passing the March 24, 1996 TDX test in Denver. Hattie did an excellent job on a 980-yard track with three obstacles, including two paved road crossings. Hattie's performance was particularly satisfying for me, since Jane has been reading my columns and applied some of the techniques I've discussed. In fact, she taught me something I never thought of. More about that later.
Hattie lost interest in tracking last fall. Apparently, she was overtrained. Jane told me she was so excited about the sport that she took Hattie tracking two or three times a week. As I've said before, this is a good way to teach your dog to hate tracking - too much of a good thing. To solve this problem, Jane did three things: 1) she stopped tracking for a while, to restore Hattie's hunger for the activity, 2) she cut back training to once a week to maintain renewed interest, and 3) she began placing a leather chewie at the end of training tracks to motivate Hattie to like tracking again. It worked.
At the Denver TDX, Hattie had a solid start, and worked hard the whole way. This was a much better performance than when I saw her fail a TDX test last fall. It's nice to know someone out there is listening.
Jane has been using the "end-of-the-track-chewie" trick regularly, rather than just once or twice. I don't know why I never tried this before, but since we used this only once many years ago for about three or four training sessions, Kay and I somehow became brain-locked into thinking of it as a last resort. Well, guess again.
We are currently training a wonderful bitch we got from Randy and Penny Frederiksen a few years ago. She took to tracking like a duck to water. However, we noticed she became frustrated in our dry, dusty climate. She began to sneeze often, as the ground and vegetation were extremely dusty. So, we stopped tracking and waited until we had some precipitation. Next time out, we tried a chewie at the end of the track. Sure enough, her eyes lit up when she found it, and she couldn't believe her good fortune! We sat down in the field and waited about 5 minutes or so, until she finished it. Then, we walked out of the field with lots of praise and goodies. The second time we did this, she couldn't wait to get to the end of the track. Jane and Hattie taught us to try this technique regularly, instead of waiting every lifetime or so.
I've got some exciting news for you online junkies: not only is there a tracking mailing list on the internet, but BHCA is building a Web page. If this is gibberish to you, let me explain.
The internet, an international network of computer networks, is an incredible communications tool. Three aspects of this important new technology are making it quick, easy and cheap to network with others. These are e-mail, mailing lists and the World Wide Web. I'll give you a brief rundown on each.
Electronic mail, or e-mail, has been around for many years, but only recently have computer software and online services been user-friendly enough for a non-computer person to use effectively. E-mail is as simple as typing a message or letter on your computer, hitting a button, and having it delivered to someone else on the internet, usually within a few minutes. I have been sending my tracking column directly to Mary Ann Clark, Tally-Ho editor, by e-mail. It avoids printing, typing over, addressing and stamping an envelope, and a trip to the post office. Very slick.
Mailing lists are groups of people who share a common interest for discussion by e-mail. A central mail server keeps track of people on the list, and routes each message from a member to the whole list. Once you have established an internet account, which can be as cheap as ten bucks a month, you can subscribe to a mailing list for no additional fee. When you subscribe, you get every message sent by members to the list. The current tracking list generates about 5 to 10 messages a day. Anyone with a computer, modem and internet account can establish instant communications with anyone else similarly equipped. Because of standards developed over the last 25 years, someone with a Macintosh computer and a 1200 baud modem (relatively slow) can communicate with someone with an IBM PC with a 14,400 baud modem (relatively fast). The network automatically makes the conversion, just like the universal language translators in "Star Trek."
The World Wide Web is a multimedia network on the internet. It contains text, graphics, sound, and various combinations. However, it generally requires a faster computer, with more storage space to use effectively. Web addresses are different than e-mail addresses. And you have to have Web browser software (which most online services offer as part of their package). I'll check out the BHCA home page (currently under construction) and let you know more about it next time.
If you have a computer and modem, but don't know the first thing about the internet, I suggest a major online service like Compuserve or America Online (AOL). America Online gives out free, easy-to-use software disks in computer magazines. You can literally be on the internet in a few minutes for only $9.95 a month. However, a word of caution: After your 10 free hours during the first month on America Online, you only get three hours a month for the basic fee. Additional charges are something like $2.00 per hour, so you can get addicted and run your bill up. You need a credit card to sign up for any online service.
To avoid the escalating charges of online services, you can get a direct internet account, also with free software, for as little as $15 per month. I use Netcom, and pay $20 per month for unlimited time. They have a fairly intuitive software package, a good Web browser, and decent e-mail and other capabilities. But I recommend starting with an online service such as AOL for online beginners, just because they are easier to install and learn.
OK now, for you cyber-trackers or online junkies, here are some addresses:
My e-mail address is: craiggreen@mail.com
You can subscribe to the tracking mailing list (all breeds, not just Bassets) by sending an e-mail message to:
listserver@reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu
Leave the subject blank, and type the following as the message:
subscribe tracking "yourname"
Of course, don't type "yourname." If your name is Mary Jones, for example, type:
subscribe tracking mary jones
Right now, I'm working on getting my past tracking articles online, linked to BHCA's home page. I'll let you know about any progress I make on this. See you next time.