4Winds K9 Trailing Canada

05/13/2026

Something has been brought to my attention about posting student work that really bothers me. I equally post and portray all students who attend trailing and tracking lessons or clinics. There is no favouritism and each one has their unique journey and K9 partner.

I am sad to hear some have felt “less than” simply because of likes and shares. I work as a communications professional in real life with a long career in the field. I should have known this.

Therefore I am taking some steps towards a more educational approach and less personal narrative. I value you all! You are amazing!

Social media has a way of making it appear some get no attention or are not as eye catching which is not my intention here. ALL teams are working beautifully and committed to learning this craft.

As a result I am going to adjust how I post about lessons. I love to watch and help each team, we can all learn from each team and each team deserves acknowledgement and respect.

As we move into more lessons at this time of year, watch for changes.

Heads up to participants as well. Video is your learning tool first and foremost. IN PERSON VIDEO REVIEW AND DEBRIEFS will become a crucial part of our routine. It’s why I bought an iPad!

I will make this page less about short highlight videos as we become focused and serious about progress and mastery of this amazing activity. The website will also be updated with the same focus.

Pic is of my three Border Collies posing after some fun tracking last weekend. Dogs just love to be with us. They don’t know about social media. But they do know if their partners feel insecure or unsure they are making the grade. Dogs are very perceptive of our feelings.

How we feel can impact our training. We all progress differently. Social media sadly has a way of contributing to morale or demoralization and is not usually linked to reality.

I am very privileged to be part of so many journeys and appreciate the trust people place in my training.

Have a wonderful day!

05/12/2026

FILLED! Thank you! Beginners Mantrailing Seminar June 13 - 14. One spot available! Olds AB, two full days of trailing. $360 plus GST. We Have Fun! Contact me if you’re interested! Dbspiritdance at gmail dot com

05/11/2026

This little video was taken a week before Micah died. It’s so hard to believe. The vets gave her days and she lived for 5 weeks. She amazed us all. The time was like a miracle and I thank God for it - but made it harder to believe I’d lose her.

Micah - Gem Von Wendelin TD UTDX - always gave me 200%+++. She is the best dog I’ve ever had. In my life there will always be a before and after Micah. Some dogs are just like that. She was my heart. 💛

In the end it was her heart that failed due to fluid build up and an inability to transport oxygen. Her passing was peaceful with the dignity she deserved. She managed to get to the car and to my surprise she walked in, wobbly and weaving, going first to the toy display, then down the hall at our vet office. She made it clear it was time as it was all she could manage but still giving her all ❤️

I held her (see the comment) and my other dogs gathered around. After she died I was able to shed all the tears and cry and scream in anger and heartbreak. While she lived I laughed and surrounded them all with peace and love and light. 😭✝️

05/11/2026

I was going through Notes on my phone and found this one that I wrote when Micah was 7 months old. This photo is from Oct 2017. I am heartbroken to say I lost Micah on May 6 to hemangiosarcoma - cancer - on her spleen and heart. She just turned 9 last month. As you can imagine it’s a profound loss. She was my best friend, partner, teacher and the best dog I’ve ever had in a lifetime of wonderful dogs.

At 7 months of age Micah was proficiently doing beautiful and confident urban and field tracks. I had hip surgery coming up and was determined to ensure she had solid foundations for our future tracking and later as fate would have it, trailing. Here is the note. I feel I was writing it to my future self and hope that it may resonate with some of you.

Written in October 2017

“Old Dogs

Enjoy the little things! Today I’m thinking about how short our dogs’ lives are. It seems like one moment we spend all of our time training our main working dog and in the blink of an eye they are old, or gone and we are focused on a new young one. I have a towel in my kitchen that says:

Enjoy the little things
For one day you may look back and realize
They were the big things

I frequently take and share silly photos and videos of my dogs (not always posted on this public page). There was a day - before Facebook mind you - that I would never dream of sharing anything except a photo that showed my dog with feet placed perfectly and ears just right ...

Well I’m older now and have been blessed with 15 dogs since my childhood. Some died young. Some lived to be very old. Some were lost to cancer. Some were titled. Others were not. I’ve had GSDs, Border Collies, Rough Collies and mixed breeds. I have loved each one and have been grateful for the joy and lessons each dog has shared so generously.

As my pup Micah turns 8 months old she is looking and acting very mature and of course I’m excited about her future. Then I see 12 year old TCH Jet beside her and remember 2005 when I went to my first stockdog clinic with her, filled with dreams for her future. I remember watching young Ted fly around running sheep effortlessly.

I remember the hours I put into tracking with Jet and River, Caden and Ben, and the others before them - Jessie, Hawk, Robin, Thorn, Kate, Shaman... in the days before urban Tracking and in the obedience and show ring. And the others, untitled but what does it matter now? Taffy, Beau, Suzy, Knight. Dogs of my youth.

Even though I’ve lived in the moment with each one, the clock has moved swiftly ahead. What do I remember most? Tests? No. Time together on dewy mornings? Yes. And the people: Friends I’ve made through the dogs. Yes.

I’m starting to feel old in dog years. And I’m even more determined to enjoy the little things. And to keep treasuring the old dogs in my life who’ve been such faithful friends and partners. It’s hard to lose them. And it’s true they remain in our hearts and in the right light, or if we squint, we see them running alongside us as we soldier on without them.

Perhaps dog owners know more about the circle of life than anyone. We get our next pup with a heart filled with faith, knowing we can love another. And down the road yet another soul is waiting to be born at just the right time.

Treasure those little things. A sloppy kiss, a muddy floor, a nudge to go out at 3 am, a valiant try to find a track, a beautiful recall, a funny trick. The list is endless. They are truly the things that matter.

On a snowy day in Alberta
God Bless

05/11/2026

Here are Kerry and young enthusiastic Joey! Earlier we had worked on transitions and connecting the dots and he remembered it on this trail. Kerry gave him more line where the boulevard wasn’t as busy and he ran to the end of the line to power onto the boulevard. At another transition he scooped his nose into the scent.

I felt bad near the end as he was 100% right but on a dead end side of chain link but through handling Kerry allowed him to reposition and he nailed the end. Kerry’s handling changed significantly with this new long line. Joey likes having more space to work and he calmed down when he had that. Really great work!

05/11/2026

Here are Chrisanta and Winnie on their tracklayer pick up and drop off exercise. In this case wind was at Winnie’s back at the drop off site - and she went until the scent dissipated. I thought she might go down the far side of the building if the scent lifted over.

But if you check out my rough map, runner Kelly cut across the parking lot corner for a continuation of our connect the dots exercise. The gap where I picked Lelly up is shown with yellow bars.

Winnie connected them alright! At the building doors up some steps the scent was blowing right along the wall and she solved her own problem turning back and onto the wind to wrap that track up with a bow. So great to watch this.

05/11/2026

This is Kelly and Deacon’s tracklayer pick up and drop off exercise. I had to cut out some video at the start due to chicken bones around the boulevards from a close by restaurant. Kelly had to eventually walk Deacon past one area and then he STARTED! The wind was in his favour and brought scent to him along a building so he made short work of the gap (yellow lines on the map). Thanks to runner Kerry!

05/11/2026

These are highlights of today’s teams letting their dogs discover how transitions work and finding the scent on parking lot medians with rocks, grass and mulch.

Fantastic work as runners for each other and by the dogs with good line handling to let the dogs get ahead to discover the scent trail!

This takes the mystery out of big parking lots. It’s partly based on a technique I learned from the head trainer (retired) for the RCMP when I worked my GSD with him for three years!

05/11/2026

Fun afternoon - 5 hours with Chrisanta Gunderson, Kelly Po***ck and Kerry Rosenbach! The dogs each did transitions and connecting the dots in big parking lots, followed by a tracklayer drive by pick-up and drop-off! Check out the photos below and the videos of the big parking lot work - highlights in the next post!

05/10/2026

This was so fun to follow. Quill has not had a lot of training in the past two years as she focuses on sheep herding but she remembers what the job is! She was really working the scent and finding it on obstacles or in patio doorways- and especially at the scent cone near the end.

She stops to sniff here and there 😣 and I’ll put and end to that on walks. For now I use my mean mama voice - “you get out of that.” I am super happy with her. My Ray Bans died and I lost two minutes fiddling then pulling out my iPhone. She didn’t mind the wait and took off again nicely. Good girl!

This was so fun to follow. Quill has not had a lot of training in the past two years as she focuses on sheep herding but she remembers what the job is! She w...

05/09/2026

Border Collie Finn’s practice today. We have not had a chance to train for quite some time. Today was a known track and Finn did a wonderful job. Using Ray Ban metas so they restart every three minutes. Not edited at all.

I am always so proud of him. He is a good tracker but very sensitive and always wants to be right so handling him is always with a light touch.

You can see his reactions to the wind direction quite easily but he sorted it out himself. At the end you can see him let me know he was in a scent cone.

I will be transitioning him to a full time partner this year. He’s earned it!

We have not had a chance to train for quite some time. Today was a known track and Finn did a wonderful job. Using Ray Ban metas so they restart every three ...