Fall 2017  Saber Tails 63    

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

TRUST the dog in order to get to the end of the track.  Letting go of your thoughts about where the track might go and 

trusting your dog is much harder than you think.

N

ow that you have the back story of AKC tracking and how Eleanor and I got started, sit back and enjoy our journey 

in the pursuit of the very humbling and elusive Champion Tracker title. 

Eleanor’s TD

O

ur 2nd TD attempt was at the Greater Kansas City Dog Training Club test at Smithville, Missouri.  Smithville is a large 

recreation area where the wind really blows off the lake.  It was a COLD and cloudy March day.  The air was moist and 

the grass was crunchy when you walked on it.  This test is a big one: 12 TD tracks.  They divide the tracks into 2 groups of 

6.   I drew Track 5 of the blue team.  So, Eleanor and I had to wait our turn and try not to get too stressed while waiting.  

The grass at Smithville is generally quite short which does not hold scent as well as longer grass.  But the moist air and 

cold temperature would help intensify scent.  Eleanor was the 1st PBGV either of my judges had ever seen in tracking 

and they were excited to see a PBGV track.  I was hoping we would have a good day and Eleanor would do the breed 

proud.  At 10 AM, our judges directed us to our start flag.  For TDs there is a start flag with another flag 30 yards down the 

track to help the handler.  Eleanor is a speed-demon.  She generally runs through a track, dragging me behind.  Today 

was no different.  As we walked up to the start flag, she had already picked up the tracklayer’s scent.  She briefly stopped 

at the flag to sniff the start article, then we were off with the grass and frozen puddles crunching under our feet.  We 

were heading for a tree line, since TD tracks cannot go through woods, I knew a turn was coming up somewhere before 

the trees.  But Eleanor was at the other end of the 40’ tracking line, nose down, and on her game.  Trust your dog, I told 

myself.  Soon enough, Eleanor lifted her head indicating loss of scent.  She circled to the right and gave a nice track in-

dication (dropped her nose) as she crossed the track.  She veered left and headed down the 2nd leg.  Later, when I was 

looking at the judges maps, I would find out the 2nd leg was 110 yards long.  But for now, we just needed to keep on 

trucking down the leg.  

W

hen we got to the next turn, Eleanor again lifted her head and indicated loss of scent.  This time she didn’t really 

circle, she just turned to the right.  I stood my ground and waited for her to indicate she was on track again.  As she 

crossed the track, she abruptly turned her head to the left and stopped.  When her body caught up with her head, she 

took off down the 3rd leg.  She was really on now.  Her body flattened out and her tail was held up at angle.  Our 3rd leg 

was 105 yards long.  The good thing was she was moving fast enough, I didn’t really have time to think...or screw her 

up.  I was practically running behind her.  Soon she made another turn to the right.  As we passed the end of a tree line, 

I look up and ahead, I see what I thought was the end glove straight head.  WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS!!  But Eleanor 

made a nice turn to the left and headed off across an open field.  I thought to myself, “What is she doing?  The glove is 

right up there.”  So, I hesitated, but she kept motoring on.  Then I looked ahead to the left and there it was.  The REAL 

glove!!  When Eleanor got to the glove, she stopped, sat, and let out a resounding “AROO”, followed by repeated “Aroos.”  

We had our TD title.  The judges were impressed with her tracking ability and speed.  One of the judges told me, “You 

know, tracking is not a timed event.  But, if a Golden Retriever owner asks you how fast you ran your TD, you tell them 4 

minutes.”  Yep, it took Miss E all of 4 minutes to travel 445 yards and make 4 turns.  (Apparently, Golden Retriever people 

are really into the time element of tracking).    

Eleanor’s TDX

M

arch 24, 2013 dawned cold and cloudy with snow flurries.  It was the day of the Cornhusker Tracking Test at Branched 

Oak Lake northwest of Lincoln, NE.  I threw the dogs in the car and off we went…Eleanor was going for her TDX 

title.  This was Eleanor’s 6th attempt at this title.  Our failures to pass were mostly my fault, my inability to truly trust my 

dog.  Some of our tries left me feeling like I couldn’t train a dog to do anything and some left me hopeful.  Sometimes 

it seems like passing a tracking test depends as much on the “stars aligning” as it does on training.  Eleanor, however, 

always enjoys tracking and is never concerned with whether nor not she passes a test.  She just enjoys the journey.

We stopped at the McDonalds for our traditional tracking treat – a sausage biscuit from the dollar menu - and contin-

ued the drive to the test site.  I walked into the draw site and would be the 4th person to draw for 1 of the 5 tracks.  The 

tracking community is relatively small and most of us know each other and have trained together at some point.  You are