Conversations With A Hovawart #1: Treasure Hunt

"I think I am on to something."

"Good girl, Tilde! Keep on searching!"

We have been training to search for money lately. It seems premature to expect too much. On the other hand, it is not the first time I have underestimated my own ridiculously fabulous dog training skills.

Identifying articles on the track

After a long winter stop, the arrival of spring also announced the start of a new tracking season.

Kenzo was excited to be reuntied with his tracking buddies in tracking class. He tracked, sniffed for marihuana and searched like there was no tomorrow.

Nothing was forgotten or needed rehearsal. We picked up right were we left before winter. After two hours of tracking, I got a very tired and satisfied pup home with me.

After the new start we made last year, armed with all we learned on our nose work summer boot camp, I wanted to set some goals of what we would like to achieve. Kenzo's tracking style is now very good. His style is methodical and nose down, as it should be. He excels at finding the start of a track, is not distracted by turns and corners. If there is something "big" left wishing for, it is how he identifies the articles found on the track.

Kenzo does stop and quickly inspects any article he finds on the track, but now the track has become such a great reinforcer for him, he quickly resumes tracking again. What I would like him to do - like you see the tracking champs do - is to lay down when he finds an article, with the article in between his front paws, while he waits for me to come and pick it up.

Here is a short video on how you can train that:

Easy, right? This is how:

1. Lay some treats on the article, Kenzo will stop to eat them
2. Give a "down" command, while laying some new treats on the article
3. Take away the article while laying some new treats, to keep Kenzo down

The idea is, after enough rehearsal, Kenzo will know the drill and starts to lay down himself for each article he finds. Enough rehearsal is the culprit here, and last year we trained it at least one-hundred times, I called the trainer in despair. She asked how many times we trained, "at least 100 tracks" I answered. "Try 200 tracks" was the reply. "and if that doesn't work, try 300 tracks". "Kenzo needs the time Kenzo needs".

And there is no shortcut. Some in class start training it separate from the track with a clicker. This made things worse because their dog is now identifying all articles by laying down. You only want them to identify by laying down when they are on the track.

We are past the 150 mark now, and I promise to show you a video of Kenzo identifying articles all by himself. Only Kenzo knows when that will be.

Hovawarts To The Rescue

This week I turn my blog over to Caroline Dunn - dog trainer, Search and Rescue handler, and Hovawart enthusiast - to provide us with a peek in the exciting world of scent and how you and your dog can do nose work too.

Venka, the Search and Rescue Hovawart, courtesy of MindYourDog

How did I get involved with Search and Rescue (SAR) and the wonderful world of nose work? Well, it all started with a Hovawart. A hov… what!? I hear you say. No, nothing to do with the famous school for witches and wizards. Although I think I may have been struck by a spell for luck the day I came across this rare German breed.

The Hovawart is a versatile general-purpose working dog from Germany, calm in the house but full of energy outdoors. They have been known since the middle age as faithful protectors of their families, watching the livestock and their master’s property, while also being excellent at tracking criminals.

Venka, courtesy of MindYourDog

Ours is called Venka. She has been working as an operational lowland SAR dog since she qualified with NSARDA in 2007. Many people have met our bouncy girl. She will lean on you for a cuddle at any opportunity. But nobody really knows Venka until they have seen her searching. Working with a Hovawart is a fantastic experience. It is all about respect and teamwork. They work with you, not for you. They have an excellent understanding of their task, great focus, but still retain a sense of initiative.

A lot of SAR handlers work border collies, some have spaniels or labradors. We have no reason to envy them. Hovawarts are amazing working dogs. To be fair though, many canines have the potential to be great for the job. Most of the breeds from the gundog, pastoral and working groups could do it, apart from those at the very end of the scale in term of size and weight. Having said that, I knew a SAR Newfoundland and once he had picked up scent, he was unstoppable. Mongrels don’t have to stay on the "back bench" either. We have a fantastic rescued boy called Red currently training in our unit, who is believed to be a collie x staffie. I will be very surprised if he does not pass with flying colours before the end of the year.

You may wonder what SAR dogs do exactly. Most use a technique called air scenting to find vulnerable missing people. They analyse scent that is being carried in the air. Many elements such as temperature, wind and terrain will affect how scent travel and a real partnership between the dogs and their handlers is necessary to ensure success. The dogs cover vast area off the lead, following directional commands from their handler and constantly checking and reviewing scent. Once they identify human scent, they will pinpoint the source, alert their handler, usually by a bark, before taking them to the location of the person.

You don’t have to join a SAR unit to have fun with your dog though. Getting started with scent work is easy. Here is a simple and fool proof method to teach a basic game at home, without any special equipment and whichever breed your dog is. You will only need a helper to get you started.

Start in a closed room, hold your dog and ask your helper to show them a "prize" such as a dog biscuit or a favourite toy. If needed, they may tease by shaking it in front of your dog's nose and talking to them in an exciting manner. Then, they should place the prize just out of sight, for instance behind a box or a piece of furniture, and take a few steps back. Release your dog saying "go search". As they have seen where the prize was placed, they should go straight to it. When they do, praise them. Play with them for a short time if the prize was a toy. Repeat this once or twice, not necessarily with the prize in the same place.

The next step is slightly different.  Your helper should still place the prize just out of sight. But then, instead of releasing your dog, either cover their eyes or turn them towards you so they can’t see what is happening. Your helper should then as quietly as possible move the prize a little further. Keep it simple at first, the prize should be on the floor and within a relatively short distance. When you release your dog - remember to say "go search" - they should go straight to the place where they think the prize is. They will be surprised that it is not where they though and start searching. Unless the dog stops searching or looks too confused, don’t repeat the command. I see many people who think they are encouraging their dog, while they are actually distracting them. SAR dog handlers direct their dogs during searches, but they also know when to shut up and let their dog work. Well, have you ever try to concentrate on something while your colleague is speaking loudly on the phone or your teenager has put the volume up on their stereo? And dogs are not always a lot better at multi-tasking than men… come on guys, you know you can't talk while you're shaving!

Coming back to our scent game, once you have done this a few times in different locations in the room, your dog should not need to see the helper place the prize to a "dummy" location first. Instead, cover your dog's eyes or turn them towards you from the start, have your helper hide the prize and then send your dog with a "Go search". Always use the same cue when releasing the dog.

The dog will very shortly understand the game enough so that you won’t need a helper anymore, simply place your dog in one room, close the door and hide the prize in the next room. Open the door saying "Go search" and watch your dog go.

Then the limit to how far you take this game is only your imagination, you can make your dog search one room, the whole house, the garden, the dog park… If you do not always use the same prize, then make sure that the dog is shown it first and has a chance to sniff it. Otherwise, you may be surprised what your dog will find for you!

There are many more scent games you can play with your dog. Air scenting is just one aspect, then there is trailing, tracking, scent discrimination, etc… Why not check if your local club offers any scent activities or join a nose work boot camp? All dogs love scent work, it is suitable for all size and breed. Learn the techniques and take your relationship with your dog to a whole new level. People who have dogs who always seem to want to do more will get the added benefit of finally finding an activity that will tire their dog out. Scent games can even help with dogs who bark or get destructive when bored.

About Caroline Dunn
Caroline lives in Kent with her family and their hovawarts. She is the head trainer at Mind Your Dog, where she create happy relationships between pet dogs and their owners. Caroline and her husband James are also members of NSARDA Cantech, a charity which provides SAR dog teams to assist in locating vulnerable missing people.

For more information about Search & Rescue dogs visit the NSARDA and the Air scenting search dogs websites.

For more information about Mind your Dog events, including their scent workshops, visit the Mind Your Dog website or follow Caroline on Twitter.

This story was first published on Safe Pets UK.

Sniffing for Footprints: why Tracking is not always Tracking

The tracking posts on this blog raised some questions I would like to answer. Some asked if they could start with tracking for search-and-rescue. And some questioned if treats laid down on the track itself is proper tracking training. Before I can answer these questions, we first need to clear something up.

Basically both questions reveal the same misunderstanding. "Tracking" is a commonly used term for dogs following a scent. But sometimes tracking is not tracking. There are different styles involved. These styles are air scenting, trailing and - actual - tracking. Each style fits the task we want the dog to perform.

Air scenting

With air scenting the dog focuses on air born rafts. This is used when there is no specific track - like when you are searching for drugs, money etc. Or in rescue situations, like searching collapsed buildings for survivors. With air scenting the dogs usually scent for a specific category of scents, not necessarily individual scents.

When searching for a missing person, the point is to reach that person as soon as possible. Even when the track itself already has evaporated. Sometimes following the exact track or trail is not the fastest way to get to the person, as the picture on the left illustrates perfectly. Air scenting would still give success in those cases.








Trailing

With trailing the dog is focused on the rafts of a particular person that have fallen down along that person's route. They sniff for an individual scent belonging to an individual person.

Because of the wind they usually follow the track close, but not exactly. Dogs can trail quite fast and trailing is therefore ideal when the goal is to reach the person as soon as possible.

With trailing the handler usually has a scent article of the lost person they want the dog to find. We not only want to to find "a" person, like when air scenting, but also want to find the exact person we are looking for. They should be able to pick them out of a group if necessary.








Tracking

With tracking we want the dog to slowly and methodically follow the exact track of a person and indicate the objects they find along the track. They focus on the ground and use deposited rafts and disturbed surface to follow the track. This gives the characteristic nose down posture we know so well.

Because the scent of a disturbed surface sustains a lot longer than human scent, tracking dogs have the ability to follow the oldest of tracks, from which human scent already has disappeared.

In K9 police work tracking is used as they also set out to find any evidence a criminal might have "lost" along the way. Finding evidence is almost as important as finding the criminals themselves.










There is no "best" way. But depending on the task at hand, one of the specific styles will fit best. Dogs can master multiple styles.

Which brings me back to the first question. Can we teach our dogs tracking for search-and-rescue? The answer to that would be a no. When we are searching for a missing person, we want to find them fast, and a tracking style is too slow to be an option. When there is still a track available we can use trailing, or when too much time has past and the track has evaporated, we can use air scenting.

On the second question about using treats on the track during training sessions, the answer would depend if we are talking about trailing or tracking. With tracking, treats on the track are needed to learn the dog to slow down, and also to let the track itself become the reinforcer. When the reward would first come at the end of the track, all dogs would rush ahead to get their reward. Using treats on the track and no reward at the end creates trackers - no treats on the track and a reward at the end creates trailers.

Kenzo is getting quite savvy in both air scenting and tracking. And since last month's nosework camp, we have been training a lot with following the individual footsteps as required in tracking, and getting his focus back on the track. Before nosework camp, I trained Kenzo without treats and a reward at the end which explains the problems we encountered. It made him move towards a "trailing" style, not "tracking". Her is the last video from yesterday's session, and you can see the progress he made. He is very focused and moves his nose from one footprint to the next:

What do you think? Does it make sense to follow only trailing or air scenting style in search-and-rescue? And what is your opinion on using treats when training tracking?

***

All illustrations are from the excellent book about scent, "Scent and the scenting dog" by William G. Syrotuck. If you want to know more about the world of scent this is definitely the book to read. It is obligatory material on police K9 training schools. It is not so much a training manual, but more a thorough description of what scent is all about, and what your dog can do with it. After you have read this book, even a routine dog walk will never be the same. Welcome to the dog's world of scent!

Scent Discrimination: Nosework Camp part II

Kenzo sniffing apples

One of the topics of last week's Nosework camp was scent discrimination.

We could chose an item we would like Kenzo to search for by scent. Either an apple, a tea-blend, coffee, or something like money. Searching for money could quickly become expensive. You need bills with different amounts. New bills, old bills, etc. And as we already can search for marihuana, adding money to our curriculum could also give some the wrong impression. So we went for the apple.

To train scent discrimination you need a couple of tall glasses or cans. One of the glasses contains the apple, the others contain something that looks like an apple - sort of - like plums or oranges.

You might wonder why the tall glass? Simply because we don't want them to think it is an exercise "how to get the apple out of there and eat it".

What we want to achieve is to present the glasses in a row to our dog and have them indicate to us which one contains the apple. You can train this with a clicker - not necessarily though - but I will use the clicker in the examples.

Step 1. Put nose in glass

Introduce the apple in a glass. When your dog puts the tip of his nose in the glass, you click. Some dogs already got this in the first session. Others had some difficulty finding out what was expected. As an example, I took a video of the first session I did with Viva when we got home again. You can see she has no clue what I expect of her. When she shows stress by scratching herself I stop the session.

We only click when they put their nose down in the glass. If we would click on licking or tipping the glass over, we might create the wrong behavior.

Step 2. Chose the apple

After step 1, your dog probably thinks this is the "put nose down in glass excercise", so we have to introduce scent into the equation. Now you use two glasses, one with the apple and one with a plum or an orange. They will put their nose down in both of them. You click when they are down in the glass with the apple. This will teach them it is all about the apple. Here a video with Kenzo I took on return from camp. He is still with this step. Can you see where my clicker timing is wrong? I was not a big help in this session for Kenzo.

The last choices Kenzo made were very good!

Step 3. Indicate the apple

To rule out they chose by exclusion we delay the click. We now first click if we can see they stay with the apple, and they are telling us deliberately "it is this one!". First then we are sure they understood it is about the apple, not the glass or anything else they might think of. In the next video you can see Kiwi, she reached far and made it to this step already during the sessions on the nosework camp.

There are three more steps to go through: 4. distractions, 5. mark and 6. cue - and we tell more and show video's with Kenzo and Viva when we get that far!

It was very interesting to see all the dogs evolve through the steps. Kiwi made it to a first session into step 4. And one dog was able to demonstrate step 4 in its fullest. All dogs were able to leave the camp in step 2. That in itself is a very good result when you think the camp only took 3 days. It was awesome to see the differences in style between the dogs. Like Kenzo, who was carefully choosing his moves what to do, was in sharp contrast with Kiwi's high speed learning style.

It is important not to go forward too fast. First when they got it right 8 out of 10 times they are ready for the next step. It is also best to start each session with a short repetition of the steps you already master. Like a short rehearsal. If they show any confusion, it is probably best to move a step back or start from the beginning again.

Nosework tires. A session should preferably only take a couple of minutes, and they need a short break between each session. It depends on the indivudual dog, but with Kenzo and Viva I train this never longer than 15 minutes in all per day.

As you know, Kenzo can already search for marihuana. We trained this in a different way, but as our trainer pointed out the method we used didn't address searching by exclusion. And there was a risk Kenzo used exclusion instead of scent. Terminally worried I used the first available break to hide some pieces of cloth in the stone wall at the entrance of the camp. Some with and some without marihuana scent. I was relieved when Kenzo quickly found the marihuana and ignored the other pieces. Now when I think of it, I left the pieces in the stone wall ... oh my. Searching for apples has its advantages.

Kenzo is Back on Track: Nosework Camp part I

Kenzo and Viva happily united again

Yesterday Kenzo and me returned from nosework camp. After three days of scent feast, my head is still spinning with all the info and advice we brought with us home. But more important, Kenzo is back on track!

One of the main reasons we went on camp was because we made no more progress with tracking. Just recently, Kenzo missed his tracking exam as a result of that. And despite the advice we got from our trainers, we didn't improve.

When we started on camp, I made a whole list of things that needed some work. And when Vibeke Gyldenkærne, the tracking trainer, started out by asking what issues we encounter on the track I spilled out my wish list. Without blinking an eye - to what for me felt like overambitious and mission impossible for just 3 days - she simply replied: "Lets solve that than...".

Let me explain that Vibeke Gyldenkærne is one of the few - and maybe the only one - in Denmark that trains tracking solely based on positive reinforcement. And she has proved it works, as a multiple Danish Champion in tracking. In a world dominated - excusé le mot - by old school police K9 training, training with Vibeke is refreshing and inspiring.

I noted that for each solution she offered for our issues, her advice was many times contradicting what our regular trainers advised in the past. But she was always spot on. She quickly find out what Kenzo needed and got him tracking again in no time. I am so thrilled. At one point, when Kenzo had to find a track, I thought he followed a wrong track and stood still. But Kenzo insisted! He didn't let go and was determined to follow the track. Vibeke was very pleased to see that. For me, it was awesome.

But more about tracking soon. We also trained scent discrimination together with Charlotte Lyngholm - the organizer of the event as well. Like Vibeke, Charlotte has an impressive resume in dog training. In a country without certificates, Charlotte sets her own standards and studied behavioral psychology, is attending seminars and academy's in the US and Holland. In short, a lady with high standards.

We should chose an item we would like Kenzo to recognize by scent. Either an apple, a tea-blend, coffee, or something like money, we could make our pick. Kenzo already knows how to search for marihuana, so we chose the apple. I was looking forward to see if we could make it in only 3 days. Marihuana took us a lot longer. If we made it, and how to start on scent discrimination with your own dog, is going to be part of the next installment, hang around!

The Scent Box

Kenzo impatiently waiting for his turn to track

Kenzo joined his first tracking class for this season. We used the time between classes to reflect. What have we achieved so far and where do we want to get better? This season will therefore be all about improving focus and concentration on the track, and a proper marking of the objects Kenzo finds on the track.

The situation we find ourselves in is not uncommon. It happens to many trackers. We all rush ahead and experiment with new elements on the track. Turns, distractions, different types of vegetation, etc. Any issues, like in our case Kenzo's ability to keep his focus, regularly come back and hunt us. Things that have been simmering under the surface from the start and only seem to get worse over time.

The track itself as reinforcer

Those problems could all have been avoided with a proper start. Correcting unwanted behavior later on in tracking is very difficult. We cannot help by instructing or showing the dog what to do. Or reward them for everything they do correct. They will loose their ability to problem-solve independently and when they encouter an issue on the track look up at you, asking "ok, what now?". We cannot correct, in the punishing sense of the word, either. As that will spoil their interest in tracking as a whole. Why do something that is no fun? All the reinforcement should come from the track, not you. Therefore it requires a lot of planning and creativity to work on a problem. How to let the track itself teach your dog to track? A good start can prevent all these problems.

Starting tracking by not tracking at all

The newbie trackers in class have started with something new and very interesting. Actually they start with tracking by not going tracking at all. The only thing they do is something called The Scent Box. Any issues the dog (or the handler) might have will turn up in the Scent Box. And they first start tracking when those issues are solved.

In short, the Scent Box is a small trampled area with a lot of treats. In the box is your scent. Outside there is none. The treats attract the dog to the box. They quickly learn scent discrimination. The treats are where the scent is. No treats where there is no scent. This way they build up the necessary understanding and confidence before they start actual tracking. Here is a short video introducing the concept of the Scent Box (starting 1 minute into the video):



The Scent Box is "invented" by Joanne Fleming-Plumb, a dog trainer with a long and impressive resume in tracking, obedience and defense training.

It was very interesting to see the newbies in class start with the Scent Box. You could already see the issues from each dog appear. Some were too eager, some unfocused. Some could already move on to their first track after a couple of Scent Box sessions, others are still in the box. One thing they all had in common. They made some staggering progress. Their issues were addressed, and maybe even solved, before they started with actual tracking. I am expecting some serious competition from the newcomers. This is going to be a fun season.

Training tracking and the holy treat

When we train dogs we use treats to reward them. That cannot be that different when you train tracking? Well, it is not that easy. The use of treats in tracking training is not as straight forward as it seems to be in something like obedience training. We can reward with treats when finding objects on the track or the person the track leads to. But what about laying down treats on the track itself?

Natural behavior

To follow a scent track is a natural thing to do for a dog. That explains how it can be possible to train tracking without treats. The dog is already doing what is natural, no reward needed. Much unlike obedience training where we want the dog to sit, lay down, heel, etc. Which is not natural behavior and we need treats to "lure" them in doing what we want them to do.

But although following a track is natural, there are those elements in tracking as a sport we humans added. They are not natural and we have to teach the dog. Moments like the initial finding of a track, marking objects that are found on a track, not getting distracted by crossing tracks, turns in tracks, etc. And here it sure is convenient to use treats. But they come with a downside. The dog is vulnerable to take the whole thing for a treat search. Using treats is a shortcut, allowing you to quickly overcome an issue. But using them too much or too long will set your dog back, and feeds his interest away from the track and towards the treats.

You can overdo it

Mea culpa. As shown in the next video I overdid it with treats on the track for Kenzo. I used treats in the start of the track a couple of times. This helped to make Kenzo eager to find a track in a starting area. Already after a few times, he got it. But I continued a couple of times more with treats although unnecessary. The result is that Kenzo now continues searching the start area for treats. When he is sure there are no tracks with treats he first starts to follow the track. And that is not good, he must choose the track, not the treats:



Treats are a shortcut, and they do offer a quick fix. But use them with care. Rather too little then too much. It is difficult to get a dog of the treats again when you took it too far. And you do not really need them. Breaking something up in smaller pieces is also a way, it just takes some more time. In Kenzo's case I could also have teached him to find a track by increasing the distance to the track with small intervals in each training session.

Controversial

Treats are a controversial subject in tracking circles. If you would not know the subject, you could mistake a discussion about treats between tracking dog trainers into a holy grail discussion between religious fanatics. As always, the wisdom is right in the middle. What is your opinion on treats?

***

More tracking posts:
How to: Going your first track
Preparing to move beyond the first track: studying body language
Tracking: training turns
Training tracking with your dog, raising the bar

Welcome to the world of scent

One of the things that have always fascinated me is a dog's scenting capabilities. When a search-and-rescue party is on the news, or a drug smuggler is arrested at the airport by a K9 unit, I find myself wanting to know more about the dogs involved and how they did it. Next to the actual story itself.


It takes just a sniff

Everything a dog does has to do with scent. They live in a world of scent. Take a dog walk. You have probably noticed you can pass by another dog when it is out of sight and going downwind. But if you were going upwind it is like your dog's nose from one moment to the other is catched by a virtual fish hook. They don't see the world, they smell it.

What an interesting world that must be. I could go to my favorite restaurant, sniff a little, and know which of my friends or foes have been there before me. And from the people I have not met before, I quickly find out their age, gender, and general state of health.

Trust your dog

It is the dog that can step into that world of scent, we are merely outsiders and have no clue on what they "see". That's why handlers of search-and-rescue dogs always say "Trust your dog". But thankfully our dogs love to tell us in their own language what they are scenting so we can engage in their world. With a little imagination we can paint a picture of what they are really experiencing in daily life. Make a habit out of observing your dog on your daily walk and wonder why they stop at certain places. Let them to go off the path and indulge them. They don't have to "heel" all the time. Let them be dogs and prepare to be awed.

It is difficult to imagine how it would feel if we could distinguish as many scents like a dog. On top of that it depends on wind directions, humidity, going up- or downhill, and a lot more factors. When you have already been going to nose work classes or have done some first tracking with your dog you are probably wondering about what you have been observing and which factors played a role in your last "search".

Scent and the scenting dog

Fortunately, there is an excellent book about scent, "Scent and the scenting dog" by William G. Syrotuck. If you want to know more about the world of scent this is definitely the book to read. It is obligatory material on police K9 training schools. It is not so much a training manual, but more a thorough description of what scent is all about, and what your dog can do with it. After you have read this book, even a routine dog walk will never be the same. Welcome to the world of scent !

I hope this book can bring you closer to your dog and maybe also inspires to engage in nose work. What could be better then to let your dog explore his own "dogginess"? It is one of the most rewarding activities you can do together. To quote Randy Hare: "Anything a dog can learn on his own is more effective and better understood than what humans can force on the dog".

Scent of the Missing

Scent of the Missing. Love & partnership with a search-and-rescue dog
by Susannah Charleson

Are you intriged by K9 search and rescue? Do you wonder why dogs are so good at this and what the partnership with such a dog would be like? Be prepared to be swept off your feet by this book.

Susannah Charleson takes you on a journey in the search and rescue world. She is herself intriged by search and rescue (SAR) work, joins a SAR team in Texas and decides to become a handler. After a long search she picks a Golden Retriever puppy as her partner, Puzzle. With her high drive and willfullness Puzzle is like born to become a SAR dog. The story follows Susannah and Puzzle through the many training sessions to become a team, and as they search for the lost.

What I love about the book is that it describes so well how the partnership between Susannah and Puzzle evolves and deepens. And to which lengths Susannah goes to understand how Puzzle works, how she thinks, and how her world of scent must be like. Not a training book, but a book on partnership, love, and understanding.

But this book is also for you if you are mostly interested in a dog that is "just" a part of the household. SAR, like tracking, works with a very important principle: "Trust the dog". You don't have to practice SAR to benefit from this principle in the everyday life with your dog. When your dog barks, or starts to act strangely, trust him, what is he trying to tell you?

I am really excited about this book and will probably read it again. And again. And again. If you love dogs, you must own this book.

***

Interview on Fox with Susannah and Puzzle (video)
Patricia B. McConnell book review of "Scent of the Missing"
Scent of the Missing, official website

Training tracking with your dog, raising the bar

Are you ready to raise the bar and start with some serious tracking? There are many things you can practice beyond the first track.

Lets start as an example with a video of Kenzo where I train dry weather conditions with him. Here in Denmark it is rarely hot and dry, so the weather from last week with 30C/90F gave an excellent opportunity to train this. Kenzo also doesn't like hot weather at all. Together with the fact there is not much scent on a dry track, it will ask the out most of Kenzo. The track you are about to see is a 300 step track, laid by a "strange" person, has one turn, and we use a lot of objects on the track he has to find:



Under normal weather conditions, this track would have been a piece of cake for Kenzo. But you can see how difficult he gets it by just changing one variable: the temperature. He wasn't eager to find the track, he passed some objects, and he lost the track once. Although loosing the track is not a problem at all. The important thing is that he keeps on working trying to re-find it, and he did just that.

When you are ready to raise the bar too, make sure to draw up a schedule or journal for each training exercise. Then you are sure only to raise the bar on one or two variables. Especially note the weather conditions, as they will usually change, you will need to adjust your schedule according to them. Don't move forward to soon, and redo some tracking scenario's to ensure practice and a successful outcome. Here are some variables you can start working with:

Track length
Add to the length of the track in 50-steps intervals. You can also lay separate tracks and run them as legs. Make sure to have water with you on tracks that are more then 500 steps. Have a water break not to exhaust your dog. Each training exercise should end in a success.

Track scent
Instead of laying the track yourself which has a very familiar scent for the dog, let him follow the scent of a person he is unfamiliar with. This is something you need to do regularly, so your dog doesn't think the meaning is to follow your scent only.

Find the track
With the first track we had the dog laying down in the start of the track. Let him find the track by taking some steps away from it and let him search for the track. If you always indicate the start of a tracking exercise with putting on the harness, he will know it is "tracking time" and will start to look for the track himself. Move away max 10 steps from the track.

Weather conditions
Make sure to train in different weather conditions. Extreme dry weather and extreme wet weather are difficult to track in, as these weather conditions don't hold the scent. In drougth, the lack of moisture needed by the bacteria to work and be part in producing scent is missing. They same is true with extreme wet weather, also here the bacteria are not doing their scent producing work.

Age of the track
Let the track age in 15 minute intervals. Dogs can still track even hours after the track has been laid. This is also important to train, as in the first hour of the track the human scent is prevalent. After this period, the human scent fades, and the scent of the crushed vegetation by our footsteps is all what is left. The dog has to learn also to follow these types of tracks.

Tracking surroundings
Lay a track in grasslands, areas with low vegetation, forests and rural areas. And also in this order. Grasslands are the easiest, rural areas are the most difficult. When tracking in a rural area, make sure to start tracking with 30 minutes old tracks again, as it is mostly the human scent the dog can follow. But also think about tracking in a valley, or on hills. Where the wind blows of the scent differently then it would on a plain field.

Turns
Make turns on the track in different angles. Make sure to mark an upcoming turn with a marker 5 steps before the turn. When turning left, put the marker to the right of the track and vice versa when turning right. When you use a lot of turns make sure you or your tracking partner draw a map of the track. You should always know exactly where the track is, if it would be needed to help the dog.

Distractions
Add distractions to the track like road crossings, change in vegetation, other persons laying tracks that cross yours, tracking along roads or farms with animals. You can use this to teach your dog to focus and not get distracted by external factors. When he does, make the stop and hold the leash until he re-finds the track. If you dog has forgot about the track, mark that with saying "No" as a correction, and put him back on the track again like if you would start the track. When crossing a road it is very likely he will loose the track. And you don't want your dog circling on a road trying to re-find it. Just move to the other side of the road and set him on the track again.


You are going to enjoy working with your dog! When you have practiced the above, you should take a moment and reflect on where you stand. You are already a pretty good tracker and very close to getting your TD certificate!

To help you draw a schedule for your training exercises, I can recommend you to read the book Tracking Dog: theory & methods, by Glenn R. Johnson. The book lays out a very balanced training schedule. And is also a very good book to learn tracking and help you troubleshoot along the way.

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Related posts:
How to: Going your first track
Preparing to move beyond the first track: studying body language
Tracking: training turns

Kenzo on a "wet" tracking day
Note: For everybody that was asking why on earth I was wearing long trousers on such a hot day. Good question ! The answer is ticks. After the track I removed 7 ticks from Kenzo and 2 from myself that were looking for a place to dig in. Kenzo is also well protected for ticks. But this is something you have to look out for when tracking.

Tracking: training turns

A track with multiple sharp turns can be a challenge for dog and handler. The change in wind direction blows the scent away from the track and the dog can overshoot the turn and get "lost". With sharp turns (300 degrees or more) it is even to be expected your dog overshoots on a turn. What to do?

Kenzo waiting patient for his track
When the dog overshoots a turn he will put some effort in finding the track again. Depending on patience and temper there is a risk he will loose interest and give up the track. Doing turn exercises on a smaller scale will motivate him to keep looking for the track and to prepare him for the fact that the track could continue in every possible direction. Dogs that are used to straight tracks with there handlers behind them, tend to always try to find the track in the same forward direction.

Snake track
Training turns can be done with a so-called "snake" track. This is a short "S" shaped track that you lay in a imaginary square of 10 by 10 steps. The boundaries of the square mark where you make you turns. Put flags/markers on the corners of the square so you can orientate yourself when laying the track and find your turns when tracking. As with the circle track, make heel-to-toe steps and put treats on the track. Put a treat under each step when you make the turn.

Follow the track with the dog on a short leash. The treats on the track will slow your dog down and will keep him on the track. If he overshoots stand still and let him find the track. As the leash is short, he will find it. While turning and overshooting, study the dogs body language. He will probably stop wagging his tail and move his head up. When the nose goes down he will try to find the track. When the tail is wagging, he has refound the track. This will help you recognize turns on real tracks.

Turns on the track
When you start making turns on your real tracks, make sure to start with easy 45 degree turns. Don't make a sudden turn, gradually change the direction of the track divided in a 5-6 step movement. Put a flag/marker 5 steps before you start the turn, so you can remember where the turn starts and you can help your dog. Also try left and right turns before making more frequent and sharper turns.

If your dog would still have difficulty with the turns on a real track, regularly repeat a snake track with him, and help him by laying some treats just after the turn on the real track.

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Related posts:
How to: Going your first track
Preparing to move beyond the first track: studying body language

Preparing to move beyond the first track: studying body language

Did you enjoyed your first track? Hope you did well. When both of you are in for some more advanced tracking, the next exercise will help you to prepare.

The first track was in a straight line all downwind. Before adding more complexity by making turns on the track and let another person lay the track, how do we know if the dog followed the track correctly? We cannot pick up the scents on the track and cannot double check what he was doing. Adding distance, turns and another persons scent on the track will soon leave us clueless of whether the dog is still following the track or not.

Kenzo on track
When going downwind and meeting a turn, the scent will turn with the track but a part of it will be carried straight ahead by the wind in some distance. The dog can overshoot the turn, follow the scent carried by the wind, and then get lost. Here you come in the picture. Now is the time to show that tracking is team work. How can you recognize the overshoot and how can you help your dog back on track?

Her the dogs body language comes to the rescue and will tell you what is happening. Not all dogs use the same body language while tracking, unlike the universal body language used to communicate with other dogs and humans. You will have to study his individual body language. When you can recognize his body language, you are ready for more advanced tracks. What we need is a track with different wind directions where you know exactly where the track is. All the time.

Introducing the circle track. A track laid down in a circle covers wind from all directions. To lay a circle track put a flag/marker in the middle of the imaginary circle you are going to draw, attach a long line to it, and hold the end of the extended line in your hand and walk in a circle. Lay the circle track as if it was a first track: make a starting triangle, start downwind, walk heel-to-toe, a treat every other step, use a start and end flag, lay an object at the end.

When going the track hold the line at the same distance as when you laid the track. This will tell you exactly were the track is. You have to use a normal leash for this exercise, we don't want the dog to move to far off the track. You can move a little to the side of the dog so you better can study his body language. For the rest, go the track the same way as the first track. Remember: no commands and no talking :)

Kenzo on circle track
Now hope your dog has not already become so good that he follows the circle like a vacuum cleaner, but that changing wind directions throughout the circle force him to keep focus on the track in a subtle way. The circle shape will also support the transition from a straight line to real turns. Study his body language. What happens when he goes slightly off track. Look at his body posture, the tail position and if he is wagging his tail or not. Tail down, he probably lost the track. Head up? No clue yet, thinking about his next move. Tail up, found it again. Wagging? going on the track!

You are getting prepared. Hang in there, one more exercise to go before we start advanced tracking. Enjoy!

How to: Going your first track

Dogs love to find and follow scents. They discover the outside world with their nose. Its what drives them to go out for a dog walk. Tracking plugs directly into this elementary need. Making tracking one of the most rewarding training forms for the dog.

Teaching a dog to track is not difficult at all. They can already do it. And we can learn to be a part of it. Do you like to give it a try? Here is how to go your first track. The next two videos show how to lay and go your very first track. After the videos there will follow some more detailed instructions.



Now that we have laid the track, we are going tracking with Viva the Hovawart. She joined our family recently and I have only done some "find it!" excercises with her, so this will be her first real track you will see! For the sake of the video I made it difficult for her by crossing a path in the field where I laid the track. That way I am sure she will go off the track and I can show you what to do.



So far a quick video introduction. Did you notice how natural it was for Viva to follow the scent? Dogs just do that, the only thing we have to teach them is to follow the same scent and mark objects along the track. Now some more detailled instructions to help you on the way.

Laying the track

First of all, you will need some gear:

• two flags/markers to mark the start and end of the track;
• a leash, as long as possible;
• preferably a harness, but a normal collar will do. No choke collars because your dog will do a lot of pulling and breathing when on track;
• lots of treats;
• an object like a cell phone, a purse, etc., what we want the dog to find by tracking.
• water, dogs get very thirsty when tracking

When you and your dog start to enjoy tracking there is plenty of opportunity to buy special tracking gear. To get a taste of tracking, the above will do just fine.

Find a grassy area which is as undisturbed as possible and where there are not too many distractions. Going to a busy park can set you up for failure, as your dog will find many tracks and also see and hear things that might be of more interest then going tracking with you.

Tie your dog to something or let somebody hold him. Now you can start laying the track. The track should always go downwind. This will force the dog to put his noise down to find the track. Mark a triangle in the grass the size of your dog. Trample/stomp all the grass inside the triangle. Put a flag in the ground left of the triangle so you have marked where the track starts. Start to walk in a straight line. Make small heel-to-toe steps and leave a treat beneath every other step.

The first track shouldn't be long. We just want to have a success out of it and have the dog to learn that following one particular scent track will lead to a reward. You can make longer tracks later. A track of max. 30 meters will do.

At the end of the track, lay down the object you took with you and put some treats on top of it. Now take 5 big steps forward and put the second flag/marker in the ground. Return to your dog in a big circle, well away of the track you laid.

Now we have a track that is made up of human scent and the scent of crushed vegetation that the dog can follow. Wait at least 10 minutes before going the track. That will allow all the scents to start settling in. Don't worry about taking too long time, the ideal time to follow a track is after 30 minutes.

Going the track

Put your dog on the leash and give him the "down" command, so that he is laying inside the triangle at the start of the track. Try to calm the dog and wait until his nose comes down and begins to sniff in the triangle. If necessary motivate by moving your fingers through the grass in the start of the track. When the nose comes down and the dog begins to sniff he has picked up the scent. Immediately give him the "track" command, and make a forward move with you body encouraging him also to move forward. Let him follow the first steps and discover the first treat.

Follow behind the dog with the leash extended as much as possible. Use the flag/marker at the end of the track to check if the dog is still on the track. When you are on track just follow to dog. No praising or sounds at this time, that will only distract the dog. When you can see the dog is off the track, stop walking. And here again, no commands whatsoever. The dog will start to circle trying to find the track. As soon as he finds the track again, follow. First when you see the dog is making no effort to find the track or is distracted by something in the surroundings and has forgot about the track, get him gently back to you and show him the track and use the "track" command again.

Don't be disappointed when your dog goes off the track. It is his first, and he hasn't understand yet to follow one particular track. He has probably picked up another scent track and is following that. Just stop and let him on his own return to the original track. Dogs are fast learners, they can smell the difference in scents for a track, and will quickly understand that following the same scent gives a reward.

It is possible the dog is going slightly beside the track but seems to follow its direction. Don't worry about this, it is probably caused by a change in wind direction, which blows the scent away from the track. The treats you used on the track will draw the dog back to the original track.

When you come at the end of the track, stand still exactly at the moment the dog has reached the object you placed. Now is the time to praise! and make it loud! This will teach the dog that he tracks to mark or retrieve an object.

Congratulations, you have finished your first track! How was it to have your dog in the lead?