October 19, 1980 dawned cold and wet. As I rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn, I was greeted by my black Labrador, Satin. Satin and I were going for our American TD today. This would be Satin's last competition. You see Satin had epilepsy and could no longer compete under the stress of Open obedience. After getting her American and Canadian CD plus her Canadian TD, I had promised her she could retire after her American TD. In fact, I already had a deposit on my next puppy who was due to be born at any time.

The weather on this day wouldn't bother us as we had trained in much worse. The winter before when we were in training, we were out every weekend regardless of the weather. Many a time I'd drive to the field I used, slipping and sliding on the snowy roads. Once there, I would lay my track (sometimes in temperatures near zero), drive back home, get Satin and drive back. By this time the track was aged enough to begin. My usual choice of clothes was a full snowmobile suit with just my eyes showing. Satin would be dressed with a doggy sweater under her tracking harness.

I felt a little rain wouldn't be a problem. Besides, I had just bought a new rain slicker and brand new rubber waterproof boots.

We arrived at the test headquarters where we checked in. At the headquarters I began to drink my first of many cups of coffee to keep warm. It was also there at the headquarters that we drew our track positions. Satin would run track number 5.

According to AKC regulation, a track must be between 440 to 500 yards. There is a stake at the start of the track and another stake 30 yards into the track to show which direction the track goes. These stakes are the only indicators of the track direction. You are allowed to restart once, provided your dog has not passed the second stake. Once your dog passes this stake, there's no turning back. The track must be aged a minimum of 30 minutes to a maximum of 2 hours. (I found out later that Satin's track was aged 50 minutes.)

Since it was cold and damp, I kept Satin in the car until just before she was to track. I spent the time watching the other dogs and cheering for those who passed. The rain had stopped just before the first dog started, but as Satin's time came nearer, the clouds had begun to darken.

Finally, it was time to get Satin out of the car and tacked up. I put on my rain coat and walked to the starting stake. Just as I got to it, it started to pour. Buckets! Ah well, I had a water dog, right?

I gave the command to "Find it" and Satin took off. When Satin is tracking well she moves very fast and I have to hurry to keep up. She hit the end of the 30 foot lead and pulled strongly. She was on the track. The second stake was just ahead. she passed it; no turning back now. We were in no man's land. Just as we passed the stake, it happened. At first I thought it was my imagination. It just had to be. But no!! My brand new rubber "waterproof" boots had begun to leak. We still had over 400 yards to go.

We continued tracking straight for another 100 yards, when Satin indicated she had come to a turn. She began to cast. Casting is a tracking term for circling around sniffing for the turn. I started to slowly back up, reeling in the slack in the lead. Satin suddenly pulled strongly to the right. Now I don't generally talk verbally to my dogs much while we are tracking. I don't want to distract them. I usually just give them an "Atta girl" or "find it" once in awhile. I do a lot of mental communication. I asked her mentally if she was sure of the turn. She pulled harder, saying she was sure and off we went. "Atta girl!"

This leg of the track lasted 85 yards before Satin once again indicated a turn. I again backed up, reeled in the slack and mentally urged her on. This time she went to the left. "Atta girl!" 85 yards later we hit another turn. She spent what seemed like hours looking for this turn. All this time it was still raining, and yes, my boots were still leaking.

Another left turn, still another "Atta girl" and we were off again. This leg of the track only lasted 72 yards. Satin indicated a right hand turn. By this time I knew we had to be close to the end of the track and I started looking for the article while Satin pulled me along. 75 yards later, she broke into a run, pulling me into one also.

Suddenly she pounced and came up with the glove in her mouth. She started shaking her head and jumping into the air with this glove in her mouth.

I always wave the glove in the air for the judges to see before I let her have the glove for keeps. This time there was a slight tug of war with me yelling "Give, Satin, give" before she finally gave up the glove to show the judges. The judges then shouted "passed" and the other exhibitors cheered. The rain then stopped. I couldn't believe it.

Satin had covered her track of 447 yards in 6 minutes. When you're out there it seems like 6 hours. We went back to the car where I dried her off and wrung out my socks. Damn boots.

Finally, when all the dogs were through, we went back to the headquarters to try and dry out. At this time the track giving club usually feeds the exhibitors and the judges pass out the awards to those who passed. 6 out of 10 dogs passed; we were the only Lab. In a tracking test, there is no score, you either pass or fail.

It was finally my turn to receive our award. The rain and the leaky boots were forgotten. Satin had become Woodhaven's Lady Moondance, Am/Can CD, TD! She was now officially retired. I was sick in bed for a week after that test, but it was worth it.

October 19 has been special to me over the years. My new puppy was born on the day Satin received her TD. Six years later on that date, the puppy's daughter received her Canadian Championship.

Oh by the way, before I forget, I took my brand new rubber "waterproof" boots back and got a full refund!

© 1989 - LRM

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