Scent tracking

kmes

Oh wow! Thanks a bunch!!! Seriously, you did a great job explaing everything!

I do a lot of hiding treats and hide-and-seek (finding me or hubby) with my guys. Roxy is good but Penny is REALLY good.
Now I am just dying to start working with her!!!

Paul Bright

Thank you for posting this thread. With dogs that are not much into playing (like my maltese) getting every day to be exciting is difficult. Having something like this to be a guide is excellent.

Exercise and play are very important for all breeds of dogs. Even those who are "couch potatoes" and just loves to sleep. As responsible owners, we need to exercise our dogs

Leema

I hope I'm not tramping on any toes here, but thought I'd post how I taught my dogs to track. I teach my dogs for a very specific purpose - we trial under ANKC rules (Australian kennel club) and I train my dogs to pass tests under these rules.

These rules ask the dog to follow scent over the ground - the purpose is to follow the path the person took exactly, not to find the person directly. (i.e. the dog needs to ground scent, not air scent)

One of the big cues for our dogs is the start flag, a tracking harness, and a long line. All these things say to the dog, "We want you to use your nose now." However, if my dog didn't have some of these cues, they'd probably still track. These cues at the beginning of a track say loudly and clearly, "You are tracking now" - it's a great help!


To begin training, I put my dog on harness and put a start flag in the ground. Our cues start early!
Then I got a friend to hold something my dog really likes. Clover is just nuts about tennis balls, so this was an obvious choice, but I'm also helping people train their dogs using tasty sausage, etc. I get my friend to show the dog the tennis ball/food/whatever and then walk away, only about 5 metres, and hide behind a tree. The dog watches this happen, and then we simply follow the path the friend went.

From here, it is simply a matter of increasing distance and complexity. Longer courses, courses with distractions (e.g. cross tracks), courses with corners, steep slopes, etc.

ScentHound

Not at all. It will show people that there are different ways to train the same end result. I developed my procedure due to my schedule. That way I can work them while doing chores around the house. It cuts down on time spent running scent lines. Lately, Time is a thing I have little of.

kblover

I can't see the video explaining the Recover cue.

It asks for a password. I tried mine (thinking it wanted me to log into photobucket) but that didn't work.

ScentHound

It seems to be missing. Let me find it and repost it for ya.

ScentHound

Try this link.
20100325_2.mp4 video by lordodhinn - Photobucket

kblover

Thanks!

Oh, a question - I plan to name this "search" since "Find it" means that he's to dig it out and get it and in this exercise I just want him to indicate and wait for further direction/sit still near it.

Should I mark and reward RIGHT as he noses the location while he's sniffing around feverishly to find it? (say I put it under some blankets, something he's already familiar with)

What way would you suggest teaching the dog to, basically, abort the rest of the chain he knows to do (the dig it out and grab and retrieve it portion)? My guess is marking earlier but you've done this in reality, so I'm interested in your thoughts.

ScentHound

I mark and reward as they nose it when playing a game inside with them. When running a scent line (depending on their level) they receive treats along the track, and several at the end of the line. I personally feel that you should control the rewards given and not let them dig in to get the treats.

In essence you want your dog to understand that he/she will be rewarded for the effort and not have to go after the one he smells. I also suggest teaching the leave it command, especially if you are working with any type of scenthound. I keep a trainer treat bag in the frig for training, and am able to drop a piece of meat on the floor without the dogs going after it. All that is needed is the word Leave it. This also helps with Missy's fetish for Toilet paper rolls.

Ok, extremely tired ATM so I hope that made some sense, lol.

ScentHound

Wow, I was really tired, lol.

This is what I was trying to explain with gibberish. THanks for posting this in the nosework thread foxy.