Training Day Change

Tracking will be held on SATURDAY, December 29 at 8:00 am, at our Mission Blvd -Whipple Road location .

The Oakland Dog Training Club is hosting an introductory Variable Surface Tracking event at Cal State University -East Bay (Hayward) on Sunday, December 30 at 8:00 am. I am going to watch the event. Join us there!

See you SATURDAY,
Dave Port

Sunday's Training

Our next training session will take place on Sunday, December 23 at 8:00 am. A light drizzle will not cancel the class, but if it's raining hard enough that you have to run from the house to the car I'll understand if you stay home! Competition people, that doesn't apply. We'll need to be out in all types of weather; trials aren't cancelled due to weather unless it's tornadoes and golf ball-sized hail. :-0

Dave Port

Dawn and Penny Pass their Orange Star!

Dawn and Penny passed their Orange Star test today! Dawn introduced a new twist to her Orange Star test - the training of article indication. Penny has been trained to lay down upon finding an article dropped by the tracklayer. While they were tracking, Penny found two articles dropped by Dawn, with a beautiful down-in-place that was "fast, close, and straight." I have seen trained Schutzhund dogs that only wished they were that well trained! Congratulations!

Janet and Pepper rejoined us after an extended absence due to illness. Unfortunately I didn't get to see their first track; Janet arrived early to train so she could meet another obligation. Janet reported that she and Pepper were a little rusty. Here's hoping we get to see them next weekend, and in the future!

Lorril and Dottie tracked with their usual enthusiasm this morning. Dottie once again displayed her unique way of "indicating" the end of the track: Her tail wags so hard it literally swings all the way from one hip to the other! It's always fun to watch her find the treasure trove at the end of the track.

See you next Sunday,

Dave

Sunday's Tracking

Class will be held Sunday, 9 December 2007 at 8:00 am (7:00 am for Elissa if needed), at our new location at the north end of the field (see map). Britta track for her FH 1 title on Saturday at 7:00am in Manteca. I will keep you all posted on how she does.

There is an "Introduction to VST Tracking Event" being put on by the Oakland Dog Training Club on Sunday, 30 December 2007 at 8:00 am at CSU Hayward. All eligible AKC, ILP, and FFS dogs can enter. I don't know if Britta's titles will transfer since they're not AKC titles, but I'm going to watch if I can't enter. Anyone up for a field trip?

Dave

New Tracking Location

We will be tracking is a new location. We will use the parking lot of the Pioneer Regional Trail Staging Area. Instead of turning right on Mission Blvd, turn LEFT. Go north on Mission Blvd to the intersection of Whipple Rd. and Mission Blvd, and turn right. The parking lot is at the end of the road.

By using this location, we will avoid the stable smells that caused us trouble today. We can also walk down a horse path to lay tracks on the long side of the field, thereby increasing the usable area for tracking. The horse path does get used by equestrians, so we will have to be considerate of the issues regarding horses reacting to dogs, and vice versa. We will be able to avoid the issue of crossing each other's tracks at the new location, plus you won't have to make any confusing series of turns to get there.

As soon as I find out when I track in my upcoming trial December 1-2, I will advise the class when our next class will be held.

Dave Port

Sunday's Tracking

1. Lisa and Bob, and Janet and Pepper, both passed their Orange Star test! Congratulations! Lisa and Bob passed with flying colors, even though Bob had to climb out of a couple of furrows that were as deep as he is tall. Which is the same as Britta or Hunther climbing a 3 foot hill to follow the scent. Lisa was also getting over a case of food poisoning. Great job!

Janet and Pepper had problems with her track, as did a few other dogs today (more on this later). She had gusting winds, the smell of the horse stables, and dry cold soil to track on. The first attempt didn't go well, so Janet put Pepper back in the crate (in Janet's cool new car!). After a couple more teams tracked, Janet laid another track that Pepper followed calmly and competently to its end. After the second track, I asked Janet for the pace count. When she told me 50/50/50 (with a left and a right turn) I realized that she had just done the Orange Star track! Outstanding!

2. Patti O'Neill and her Tervuren, "Anika" joined us this morning. Patti is going for her Schutzhund 1 title with Anika next week, and hopefully will be joining us again in the future. Welcome aboard!

3. Dawn and Penny, Janet and Pepper, and me and Hunther all had problems with tracks laid near the 8:00 am class start. (Interestingly, Elissa and her two dogs, Bodhi and Leroy, didn't seem to be bothered by the conditions.) All three of us laid second tracks, and all three of our dogs handled the second track much better than the first. I couldn't figure out what was going on, as all three dogs are usually good trackers. But I noticed that Penny's second track was run with a deep nose almost the entire way, whereas her first track had a lot of trailing and air-scenting. For some reason, I checked the thermometer in my truck. I saw that the air temperature had risen form the low 40's to 59 degrees during Penny's second track. The wind had also slowed to almost nothing. Afterward, I laid another track for Hunther, aged it for 45 minutes, and he ran the first two legs almost perfectly. (He had some attention issues caused by some medication I had given him, another variable to be controlled for.) I would have scored him in the 82-85 point range for the second track; he would have gotten a failure for the first one.

Here's what I think was going on: The soil and the air was cold and dry; even for those who hydrated their tracks, the low soil temperature inhibited the growth of the bacteria in the scent to the point that the tracks couldn't age properly. That, combined with the wind further drying the soil and removing more heat, along with the competing distraction of the stable smells to confuse and distract a dog that had already lost the track scent, made the tracks much more difficult for our dogs to figure out. I tried to locate a website that would explain how much faster soil loses heat than air, but got an information overload (none of which answered my question). Also, on reflection it seems that the farther away from the hills and stables a dog was, the better the dog did on the track.

It sure wasn't pleasant watching Hunther perform so badly at first (with a week to go before his Schutzhund 2 trial!), but I learned a lot about environmental factors affecting Hunther's and the other dogs' performance this morning. I also learned to control my panic!

Dave Port

We will be tracking at the Mission and Decoto field on Sunday, November 25. I will be at the field at 7:00 am to accommodate Elissa's schedule, but you can wait until 8:00 am if you like.

And now for the good news...they plowed the field! I went to the north end and laid tracks for Hunther and Britta. I sunk in up to my shoe tops! It should be excellent conditions, if anyone wants to try for an Orange Star.
See you Sunday, Dave Port

Lorril and Dottie Pass The Orange Star!

Lorril and Dottie passed their Orange Star test today! Dottie moved out calmly and confidently on the track. She got to the first turn, and made a hard left onto the second leg. I thought she had smelled a rabbit hole, but she then proceeded down the second leg with no change in speed. It was an extremely accurate turn! She took the second turn the same way, then got to the big pile of treats at the end.

One thing that I noticed was that Dottie's tail did not wag as much as usual, at the beginning of the track. It appears that once she gets going, she concentrates to the point that she forgets to wag her tail. Of course, that all changed at the end of the track.

Elissa and Bodhi tracked well today. Elissa's track wasn't exactly laser straight, but Bodhi didn't seem to notice or care. Elissa later told me that she had trouble laying a straight track. I explained that the inner ear and sense of balance caused this, but I think she thought I was pulling her leg. So, here's the link to a good article about the graveyard spiral. Really, I wasn't making it up! :-)

I had an interesting conversation with an experienced AKC tracker at the Schutzhund club afterward. She told m that Schutzhund-style footstep tracking (like we're doing) made her dog more accurate on the longer, older AKC tracks. She said that if she had to do it over again, she'd train Schutzhund style first, then switch to AKC style.

See you next Sunday at 8:00 am,

Dave Port

Sunday's Tracking

Tracking will be held at the Mission Blvd. and Decoto Rd. field at 8:00 am on Sunday, 18 November 2007. See you there!

Dave Port

Sunday's VST Test

I went to the PAFTA VST Test held at Evergreen Valley college, and had a GREAT time! The people were friendly, explained the rules and trial etiquette, then we were off to watch the first team give it a try. Unfortunately, this team (a lady and her Yorkshire terrier) caught a bad break. Their starting area was on a grass strip about 75 yards long; as we arrived to watch, we saw that there were about 30 Canada geese and ducks on the start. You could see the Yorkie pick up the scent, then lose it, pick it up, lose it, etc. Finally, the judges had to call them off. Hopefully they will have better luck next time. One thing that was interesting was this: I don't normally think of a Yorkshire Terrier as a hard puller, but this dog stretched the line when it was on the scent.

The second team was a lady and her Beagle. They started on a downhill sloped grass area, went through a landscaped area covered in English ivy, around a concrete courtyard in the center of a group of classrooms, down a series of terraced concrete steps, along another grass area, down a concrete sidewalk and around a corner to the end. This was all in the center of a typical community college campus, with buildings and trees and a hundred other things to stir the scent. this was another hard pulling dog; the handler had to RUN after him when he was on track! As we hung back about 50 yards and the dog rounded the last turn, we couldn't actually see the end of the track. But we knew the team had passed when a scream went up and the judges began to clap and call us in! It was a very exciting moment! the Beagle's handler (whose name I unfortunately but typically didn't get) said that they had tried the VST six previous times without success. The ladies whose names I did get, Bea and Linda, told me that passes are rare and that I was fortunate to have seen one. They asked me if this was something I might like to try. Oh HELL yeah! I am going to their club meeting next Friday, and will pass on the info as I get it.

This look like it would be a LOT of fun!

Training on SATURDAY, November 10th

Training will be held on Saturday, November 10th at 8:00 am this week. We'll be at the Mission and Decoto field. On Sunday, I am going to Evergreen College in San Jose to watch a Variable Surface Tracking event hosted by the Palo Alto Foothills Tracking Association. Here's the map. I will have to find out the time, but I am planning on being there at 7:30 am.

Sunday, 28 October's Class

Today we had Dawn and Penny, Elissa and Bodhi, and Lorril and Dottie on the field. Today, there were several notable performances from all three teams.

Lorril and Dottie laid a track closest to the stables at the east side of the field. We were concerned about Dottie's reaction to a horse and rider who stopped to watch, as Dottie had never seen a horse. Well, I still think she hasn't seen one, because she never even glanced at it! Deep nose, wagging tail; a happy tracker!

Dawn and Penny had an interesting track. Penny would "buttonhook" back to the food on the track, then continue on. She then tracked Dawn's path back to the car in one steady track. It turns out that Penny is ready for tracks with little or no food on them! Dawn laid a 30 pace track with food in every step. She then walked back to the start, went about 15 yards west of the first track, and laid another, longer track with 2-3 pieces of food at the beginning, and a small pile of treats at the end. Bingo! Penny tracked the second track with a deep nose, no buttonhooking, and a steady even pace to the end! Penny also grasped the indication of articles. In about 15 quick repetitions, she was downing at the article that Dawn had dropped on the ground.

Elissa and Bodhi worked a 210 pace track with 2 right turns, a prelude to a regulation Schutzhund I track. Bodhi picked up the scent right away, and moved out at a steady, even pace. His first turn to the right was taken with no change in speed, no change in depth of nose; it was as if a string from his nose to a hand underground was pulling him around the track. At the second turn, he gave one quick toss of his head to check the track, then turned right. Again, no loss of speed or concentration. Only a particularly hard-hearted judge would have taken one point for the head check; otherwise it was a 99.5 point track! 90 more paces, 2 articles, and Elissa and Bodhi are good to go on trial day.

It was particularly satisfying to see Elissa and Bodhi doing so well. For a long time, it was as if Bodhi didn't understand what Elissa was asking him to do. Elissa was getting frustrated and discouraged. For some reason, the last three tracks that I have seen looked as though a switch had been thrown in Bodhi's head, and the light bulb had come on. "Oh, NOW I get it!" was the picture of Bodhi on the track today, and I congratulate Elissa for not giving up.

Dave Port

Class Date Change

There will be no class on November 11th, 2007. There is a VST Tracking test on that date:

VARIABLE SURFACE TRACKING (Outdoors)
Palo Alto Foothills Tracking Association
Event No: 2007285406
Evergreen Valley College
3095 Yerba Nuena Road
San Jose, CA

I am planning on going to watch this, so I can find out what's required to enter and pass. If any of you are interested in watching, let me know and we can make it a "field trip." (sorry, I couldn't resist).

Class will be held on the preceding Saturday, November 1oth. We will be at the Mission/Decoto field at 8:00 am. If this is a problem, let me know and I may be able to set something up during the week.

Dave Port

Sunday, 28 October Tracking

Sunday's tracking will take place at the field at Mission Blvd. and Decoto Rd. at 8:00 am.

See you Sunday,

Dave Port

Friday - Elissa and Bodhi Earn Their Orange Star!

Elissa and Bodhi often run a track on Friday mornings, before attending another training class. Toady, I caught them both as they ran a 150 pace track with a left and a right turn. At the first turn, Bodhi gave one quick check to the right, then took the left turn as if his nose was being pulled on a string under the ground! Same for the right turn!

Of course I "forgot" to tell them that they were taking their Orange Star tracing test; no exam phobia that way. During the other training class, Elissa had to leave early for another appointment. I got to embarrass her in front of the class by giving her her new pin (which I had conveniently put in my pocket prior to their track).

Good job, Elissa and Bodhi!

Last Sunday's Tracking

Sunday's tracking saw Dawn and Penny at the field before the instructor! Julia and Robert Barnes showed up; I got them started on the basics of H.I.T.T. tracking. Lorril and Dottie tracked about 90 paces, and did very well. Janet and Pepper, Elissa and Bodhi and Hunther and I all had a great time!

Sunday, 21 October 2007 Tracking

Sunday's tracking will take place at the field at Mission Blvd. and Decoto Rd. at 8:00 am. Please see the post dated 27 September 2007, as Blogger.com is having "issues" with uploading images as I write this.

See you Sunday,

Dave Port

Sunday, 21 October 2007 Tracking

The field map is located in the post for September 27, 2007.

Dave Port

New Member

We have a new member! Julia Barnes and her female GSD Nikita joined Michele and me for a tracking session on Monday. I showed her the basics of H.I.T.T. (Hydration Intensified Tracking Training). Nikita tracked 25 steps on dirt, and 25 steps (twice) on asphalt with great success. While I was talking to Julia after the end of the last track, Nikita spontaneously began to follow the track again! Glad to have you with us!

That session provided some interesting feedback from Michele about a problem I've been having with Hunther's article indication. He has been turning his butt slightly clockwise upon downing at the article. At Michele's suggestion, I followed behind and slightly to his left. Upon finding the next article, Hunther swung his butt counterclockwise and downed. Hmmm. At the next article, I walked up and straddled him, and he stayed straight. Apparently he has been turning to see where his reinforcement will be coming from. So from now on he will be seeing me coming directly over him before reinforcement. That (and some off-track shaping to have him watch the article intently) should solve the problem.

Dave Port

Sunday's Training

Dawn and Penny arrived at the field on Sunday, about 5 minutes after me. I found that in my haste to transfer all my equipment to my new truck, I forgot a) my treats, b) my PVC pipe, c) my start flags, d) my tracking line, and e) my articles. I did bring my dogs, who unfortunately did not get to track because I had no equipment. :-(

Dawn and Penny worked four tracks. Penny did really well considering the layoff she had. She had a little trouble on turns and crossing furrows, but she didn't quit. She looked happy to be out tracking again!

See you all on Sunday, 14 October 2007, at the Mission Blvd. and Decoto Rd. dirt field at 8:00 am.

Dave Port

7 October Training

Training will take place at 8:00 am on Sunday, October 7th, 2007. we will be at the Mission/Decoto dirt field. Hope to see you all there.

The pins were/are a BIG hit! Everyone who has seen or received them likes them. Janet, when I see you again I'll be sure to give you your pins.

Dave Port

30 September 2007 Class Location

We are switching back to the field at Mission Blvd. and Decoto Rd. Since our dogs have been doing so well, let's start them on a new surface.

Sunday, 30 September 2007 at 8:00 am.

Our pins have shipped as of Wednesday, 26 September; they should be here any day!

Dave Port

Post Trial Post Mortem

Well, the trial didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Hunther came out of the crate for obedience spun up to about 30,000 RPM (figuratively speaking). Most of what he has practiced deteriorated dramatically. We wound up with 82-62-76 for 220 total. The tracking conditions were beautiful! Hunther got the 82 in tracking, which as a "tracking coach" makes me happy and relieved.

Dave Port

Trial Info

I am in the trial for obedience at 7:00 am (yawn!), and protection at 10;42 On Saturday, and Hunther and I track at 8:50 on Sunday.

For the tracking field, take I-880 to the SR 237 interchange. Go west on SR 237 to the McCarthy Ranch Rd. exit. Go north on McCarthy Ranch Rd. to Ranch Rd, and turn left. Look for the trucks/listen for the dogs.

For the obedience field, take US 101 south to the Bernal Rd. Exit. Go west on Bernal Rd. to Monterey Hwy, take the off ramp to the right, and turn left at the stoplight. Go south on Monterey Hwy to Metcalf rd. Turn left on Metcalf Rd, then make an immediate right turn onto Coyote Ranch Rd. (it looks like a driveway, but it's a road). Go south about 1.5 miles south, the field is on the right. Only competitors will be allowed to park inside the fenced area, so be sure to park along the road.

No Training Sunday, 23 September

There will be no training September 23. I will be competing at the United Schutzhund Club of America's Northwestern Regional Championship. I won't know the location of the tracking field until the Thursday prior to that date, but I will post it here when I find out. I will also post the time the event starts.

Elissa and Bodhi's Yellow Star Test

Elissa and Bodhi passed their Yellow Star test toady! Elissa laid a 100 pace track on an asphalt parking lot that had two concrete and brick decorative walkways. By the time she finished and got Bodhi out of the car, the water had completely evaporated from those sections of the track. Bodhi took it in stride, only straying a small distance off the track before returning. Unfortunately I did not have my video camera up and running, but the track was witnessed by Lisa, Lorril, and Janet.

Good job, Elissa! I am glad to see you succeed after all the effort you have put into Bodhi's training.

Lorril's and Dottie's Yellow Star Test

The video of Lorril's and Dottie's Yellow Star test would not load up for some reason. They passed the test in fine form. I'll work on the technical issue to see if I can get it to work.

Yellow Star Tests

Lisa and Bob




Janet and Pepper

These teams successfully completed their Yellow Star test on 2 September 2007. Way to go!

Dawn and Penny's Yellow Star Test Video

Here is Dawn and Penny successfully completing their Yellow Star test!



See you Sunday, September 2nd at James Logan H.S. at 8:00 am,

Dave Port

Dawn and Penny Earn Their Yellow Star!

Today Dawn asked me about the requirements to earn the Yellow Star. I reviewed them with her, and just for fun she agreed to try it. She laid a 107 pace track, aged 5 minutes, then got Penny out and got her ready. Penny aced it! Dawn reported that Penny only missed one or two pieces of food on the entire track! Dawn then provided me with three behaviors indicating that Penny was indeed tracking, and three behaviors that indicated that she had lost the scent and was searching for it.

Blogspot has recently added video uploading capability to their site, so with Dawn's permission I'll post it when I get it edited into a short clip.

Next week I had planned to switch from asphalt to dirt. That is now on hold, to allow any other members to try their hand at the Yellow Star tracking requirement. We will be at James Logan H.S. for the test.

See you on Sunday,

Dave Port

Sunday, 26 August 2007 Tracking

Once again, we will be tracking at James Logan High School at 7:00-8:00 am on Sunday, 26 August 2007. The time is flexible. Don't feel that you HAVE to show up at 7:00; Elissa shows up early to track, then teaches her agility class. I have a new handout for teaching lost track drills, i.e. what do you do when your dog loses the scent?

See you Sunday,

Dave Port

19 August 2007 Tracking

Tracking will take place on August 19th, 2007 at 8:0 am - 8:30 am.See you there!

This Sunday's Tracking

Lorril and Dottie arrived with Dawn and Penny at 8:00 am. Both dogs are now doing 'S' turns and missing food due to attention to the track. Missing the food in this case is not a bad thing. The dogs were passing over the food and not stopping to eat it, because they were more interested in the track.

I noticed one other positive sign from both dogs. When their handlers took them out of their cars, both dogs immediately put their noses down to the pavement! They were obviously enjoying their tracking.

Dawn told me that she doesn't like the idea of highlighting her copy of Scent and the Scenting Dog. To clarify the requirement, if you don't like the idea of marking up your book, just take notes on separate sheets of paper. The important thing is that you can show me that you have read the book. Anything you're comfortable with is fine.

Dawn let us know about REI Sporting Goods as a supply source for materials to use for making tracking lines. They have flat and round line used in mountain climbing that is excellent for our purposes. Clips can be purchased at Ace Hardware and other hardware stores. This will wind up costing a handler less money than a commercial line, and will be tailored to the individual's preference.

We retired to a local Starbucks after training. Lorril shared some neat organization ideas for the business management side of my little endeavor. I especially liked her card file attendance system, and her ideas about marketing and insuring that people stayed motivated to complete the course. Thank you Dawn and Lorril for your help!

We will be moving back to the dirt field at the beginning of September. Everyone has made enough progress that we can begin the next phase of training.

See you Sunday at James Logan H.S. at 8:00 am on Sunday, August 12th,

Dave Port

5 August 2007 Tracking

We will be tracking at James Logan High School at 8:00 am on August 5th, 2007. I will be available for those of us who are not attending the docTEC seminar this weekend.

Please bring your copy of Scent and the Scenting Dog, so that I can check the highlighting. The criteria for the Yellow Star level are now finished. There is an additional highlighting requirement, but almost all of you are at the performance level required.

See you Sunday,

Dave Port

29 July 2007 Class Summary

Dawn, Elissa, Lorril, and Janet attended today's training. Elissa showed her dedication by showing up an hour early! We took advantage of the cooler weather to discuss various issues related to track laying, micro climates, and how to begin training corners.

Two issues came up in one form or another: The dog investigating cracks in the pavement, and the dog checking to see if pebbles and other debris are edible. We discovered that small currents of air were probably blowing the scent into the cracks in the pavement, which acted as a funnel until the scent settled. Most of the investigating of cracks appeared to take place on the downwind side of the track. The second issue, of dogs checking objects off the track, appeared to be a minor problem. The dogs that did it did not stray from the track by more than about 1/3 body length, at most; the dogs then returned to the track and continued to solve the tracking problem. They appeared to be checking to see if the object was their reinforcement for tracking.

we began the training of corners by laying an 'S' shaped track, with a radius of about 15 feet for the arced portions of the track. This seemed to work well, so this became the homework assignment for the week.

Palo Alto Foothills Tracking Association is the local AKC sponsored tracking club. The website has interesting info on AKC style tracking. They have a track laying seminar in October that looks promising, for those of us interested in AKC style tracking. I am going to investigate this further, as it will be another "feather in my cap." I also would like to work toward the VST title for Britta.

See you next Sunday at James Logan H.S at 8:00am,

Dave

Sunday's Tracking

Sunday's tracking went very well. Dawn and her dog Penny showed up and gave tracking a try. Both Dawn and Penny did a GREAT job! Penny worked three tracks (three by Dawn and one by me). Penny got the hang of things right away!

Lisa and Bailey ran three tracks, all laid by Lisa. Bailey has turned into a tracking demon! He put his nose to the ground as soon as he left the truck! He was definitely motivated!

Lisa mentioned that she knew of several people that expressed interest in tracking, that have small dogs. We came up with several ideas to make tracking accessible to small dogs. This is a "run what you brung" class; purebred, mixed breed, and small dogs are all welcome. If your dog has the desire, I will be glad to have you in class.

See you next Sunday at James Logan High School at 8:00 am.

Dave Port

Sunday, 29 July 2007 Training

Training will take place at James Logan High School in Union City, at 8:00 -8:30 am. We will be H.I.T.T. tracking for awhile, so please bring your sprayers and treats! For new students, don't worry about equipment; just bring treats and your dog.
See you on Sunday!

Sunday Tracking

Sunday's tracking went well. The weather was very co-operative (light winds, cool, overcast), which really helped. Several areas to address were brought up, which leads to the change of location for the class.

The class will be held on Sunday, July 22 2007 at 8:00 - 8:30 am. The class will be held in the parking lot of James Logan High School, 1800 'H' St, Union City Ca 94587. We will begin our H.I.T. tracking, so bring your sprayers. If you haven't gotten one by Sunday, I have one that I'll share, of course. Since we'll be H.I.T. tracking, we should be able to get in a few more tracks than we would on the dirt field.

The class will be held on Sunday, 15 July 2007 at 8:00 - 8:30 am. We will meet on the dirt field north of 34400 Mission Blvd, Union City, CA 94587. As always, new members are welcome! I have new member information made up, and be sure to bring coffee for the discussion while the tracks and scent pads age! (Click on the map for a larger view.)

New Information

Two new handouts will be available this Sunday. I photocopied the USA Rulebook's tracking rules and made enough for everyone who was there last week, plus two new folks if needed. I also made a sample tracking log that can be filled out in three minutes or less. If you haven't started your log, you may want to wait and take a look at this.

Also, Janet told me about the sign-off sheets used in Search And Rescue dog training to track progress. I am going to start this by this Sunday. Everyone is progressing so fast that I may not get my White Star pins in time to hand them out!

First Training Day

We held our first training session today. Elissa and Bodhi, Janet and Pepper, Lisa and Bailey, and Lorril and Dottie participated. We met at a field located at Mission Blvd. and Decoto Rd. The scent pad exercise was taught today. This works best with a dog that hasn't been fed the morning of the training session. (If your dog is ravenous to the point of not being able to concentrate, go ahead and feed him/her a reduced portion of food):

1. Obtain four flags for the corners. Sprinkler system flags sold at home improvement stores work fine.
2. Scuff your feet in a straight line about 5-10 paces long, depending on the size of your dog. Make a right turn; repeat until you have a square. The idea is to make an area large enough for the dog to walk around in without being cramped. Walk into and out of the pad from only one corner, to avoid confusing the dog.
   
3. Within the boundaries of the square, scuff your feet and walk for approximately 3-4 minutes, to deposit your scent within the square.
4. Lay pieces of your dog's favorite treats along the edges of the square. This will teach the dog that reinforcement comes from sniffing the area that you have walked on, and that the area you haven't walked on provides no reinforcement.
5. Let the scent pad age for a few minutes while you prepare your dog (potty break, attaching the tracking line, etc.).
6. Lead your dog onto the scent pad, provide enough slack in the tracking lead to allow the dog to explore and find the treats. If the dog should leave the pad by more than two body lengths (an arbitrary number used to denote a distance) and does not voluntarily return to the scent pad, gently lead the dog back onto the scent pad.
   
7. Stop the exercise after about two minutes, or while the dog is playing (not "working!") intently.
   

There is very little that can go wrong with this exercise. The only things I could think of were making the pad too small, and not using a high enough value treat for reinforcement. If your dog leaves the pad too often, try addressing these two points. I didn't see any problems with any of our trainees. They all did great! I enjoyed training with all of you this morning!

Dave Port

Welcome to The Way Of The Dog. We are a San Francisco Bay-area based tracking group. We study scent theory, track laying, and other subjects relevant to Schutzhund style tracking competition.