One of the walking paths at Lab Land between the ferns and the woods.
Number of Dogs: You may bring more than one dog. I would recommend no more than 3 because you will be laying a lot of tracks as well as running a lot of dogs. If you wish to work 3 or more dogs, you may wish to sign up for fewer dogs and then alternate days. I do require that you work each dog at least 2 days.
Number of days: You may attend any number of days starting on any day of a camp session. This is possible because we work each dog at its own level of training. You must work each dog at least 2 days so we may all see the improvement in the dogs. You may bring dogs that are not registered. They are welcome during play time but will not be worked during camp hours. If you choose to work those dogs on your own time that is fine.
Pricing:
| No. of Dogs | 2 Days | 3 Days | 4 Days | |
| One | $300 | $365 | $425 | |
| Two | $450 | $550 | $630 |
Lunch (except drinks) is included in the price of camp.
I will provide water and coffee. There is a refrigerator and a microwave available for your use. If you have special dietary needs, please let me know well in advance of camp.
Housing: There are many motels in this area but quite a few do not accept dogs. Please make reservations well ahead of time to insure you have a place to stay.
Campgrounds: There are many campgrounds in the area, both state and national as well as private. If you are interested, I will send you a list or direct you to the local Chamber of Commerce.
Hours: The hours of camp depend on the dates of the camp. We have extremely long days in June and short days in October. If the weather is going to be warm, we will start earlier in the day. If it is going to be cold, we may start later. We will end the day when we are done but will be done usually before 4 p.m. We usually start camp with registration at 8:30 so we can start by 9 a.m.
Purlie Pavilion as viewed from the drive into Lab Land
Facilities: Lab Land is 30 acres of land with a clean porta potty, wonderful water, a large shelter building and a smaller garage. The buildings are placed in such a way that we have opportunities to introduce dogs to Variable Surface Tracking. I have kiddie pools which we fill with water for the dogs to cool off and /or play in. We will do some tracking at Lab Land. There are some wonderful tracking fields on state land about 3 miles away.
Photographs: I take lots of photos at each camp session. I used to teach photography and one of my goals is to insure that every camper can go home with a good photo of his/her dog tracking. Campers will get to view most of the photos before the end of camp. New: This year there will be no added cost for photos. The cost will be included in the new pricing.
Caper tracking with headquarters and Purlie Pavilion in background
How to sign up for camp: Before you sign up, please write to Susan to check on availability of space in the camp session in which you are interested. You must send a non-refundable deposit of $50 per dog. While I can’t return your deposit, I will let you apply it to a later camp within one year. I will consider exceptions on an individual basis. When you sign up for camp, please mail the appropriate deposit (or the whole amount if you prefer) to me at the address below. Be sure to tell me how many days you will be attending, how many dogs, what breed(s) and age(s), and what level you and your dogs are at the time you sign up. The camps are based on our books Fascinating Scent: A Tracking Manual and The Fascinating Scent Tracking Workbook. You must purchase at least one of these books to provide a guide or refresher of what was said at camp. You may purchase them ahead of time or buy them at camp and save the shipping costs. I require checks or money orders for camp deposits to make book keeping a little easier (i.e. no PayPal for camp). Make checks payable to Susan Eldred and mail to 4415 Arborvitae Dr. Honor, MI 49640-9527. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me: 231 882-7218 (home) or my cell 513 821-1969.