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December 28

We tracked back at the field by the Battlefield Green subdivision/Community Center and Valero on 360.  It was 52°F and wind was 10-15 mph north and we were going west down the tracks so wind was blowing Cheeky to the right a couple times.  Otherwise she stayed right on her tracks. I laid her track in a different part of the field and going in the opposite direction from where we usually go and that was good practice for her because she tried to pull me towards where we normally track until she picked up on the track in front of us.  I practiced keeping pressure on the line and she kept her nose down the entire time.  The first article was the only one she seemed to spot and run to from a few feet away.  She had to work to find the other two articles.  Today's tracks were 60/70/80 scuff steps with food drops every 3 steps.

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December 27

Today we went to Cold Harbor Battlefield for the first time this year.  We have tracked near there, but not actually at the Battlefield until today.  It was very busy around 2 pm (I guess because of the holiday).  I was a little concerned it was going to be very noisy, but the dog walking group that was meeting up while I was laying the tracks for Cheeky moved along before she got out of the van.  As we were walking over to our tracks, a man was about to walk his three dogs right into the start of our first track.  I asked him to steer clear and he was very nice about it.  Unfortunately, he lost his handle on his leashes not once but twice and his dogs came running over to Cheeky.  Both times she didn't seem bothered by it and I picked her up until he had control of his dogs and moved away.   It was 41°F and not windy when I laid three tracks for Cheeky that were 50/60/70 scuff steps and food drops every three steps.  She got right to wo...