My Track Laying Town Bag with Shoulder Strap
Every Sunday morning since last June, weather permitting, I wake up early with the beagles to get ready for tracking. Only Okie goes, but Poppy is excited to eat early so she gets up with us too. We eat our breakfast, make many travel bevs, then Okie and I load up the car and head 35 miles north, to one of 3 business parks, to meet up with our tracking group and start our morning.
People always ask me what tracking is, and basically I tell them it’s the AKC’s fun and games version of search & rescue. The AKC has a better explanation that of course I never remember.
“AKC Tracking is a canine sport that demonstrates a dog’s natural ability to recognize and follow a scent and is the foundation of canine search and rescue work. Unlike obedience and agility trials, where dogs respond to the owner’s commands, in tracking a dog is completely in charge, for only he knows how to use his nose to find and follow the track.” - AKC’s A Beginner’s Guide to Tracking
Anyhow, there’s more to tracking than just following your dog around as it sniffs out a human’s trail, someone needs to lay these tracks down. When we first meet we’re given a list that indicates which person is laying which dog’s track, where, and what type of track it is. From there we head out to lay each other’s tracks, then meet up to follow the dogs together. The track laying is where this bag comes in.
When laying a track you need to carry a lot of items with you – flags to mark the start, a clipboard to draw your track out, a pen or pencil, chalk, flagged clothespins to mark turns, treats for the dog you’re laying the track for, and of course the articles, which are the items the dog finds along the track. I also carry a cheat sheet and maps of the area since I’m a newbie. All of this is way too much to fit into your pockets and the pack I use when following Okie on a track is packed with things I need for that so a separate solution was in order.
While developing the instructions for the Town Bag I ended up with a half sewn bag body and outer pocket with the handles already attached. I can’t remember how, I think it was something with the order I sewed things together in, but it had to be put to the side. When I was folding it up I thought it could make a funny little file tote of sorts. I found it again last month while doing a little clean out and decided to finish it up as one, but while sewing I realized it could make a good track laying bag with the addition of a shoulder strap.
Altering the original Town instructions to make a flat bag was easy, I stitched down the entire length of the outer pocket rather than leaving the space between the two pockets open for the gusset. I then sewed up the sides as written and that was it, very easy.
Adding a shoulder strap to the Town is something Karen and I have talked about and has been on my to-do list for a while now but it kept getting pushed back in favor of more pressing things. Since I was on a roll, and had my bag supplies out already I decided to give it a go. I tried two different ways to attach the D-rings to the bag and there are a few more I’d like to try before I decide on a best way for this particular bag due to how bulky the canvas and French side seams are.
I also didn’t have the best hardware on hand, the D-ring I used is a bit thick for this project – I’d like something a bit more streamlined. The lever snaps I had don’t swivel, and I didn’t have a slider to make the strap adjustable. I’ve ordered these items though, so once they come in I’ll do some fiddling and get a tutorial up so you can also add a strap to your Town Bag!
Have you added a strap to your Town Bag? If so, let me know! I feel like more of you will have tried that than tracking, but if you’re also into tracking hit me up. I love to talk about it but it’s hard to get people that interested in a sport where you walk around following dogs on the sniff all morning.
