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© 2003 by Ed Presnall
We live in a society that desires everything pre-packaged. Unlike fast food or the express check out lane at the local grocery, there is no easy method or packaging to teach tracking on variable surfaces. Each dog has their own individual requirements and training needs. Some may learn or catch on much more quickly than others but as has been said by many who are training, “tracking on variable surfaces is much harder and more complex than we ever comprehended before we started”. In tracking, we strive to be better each time we go out and our egos demand that we set lofty goals for ourselves that normally involve titles and initials to place before or after our dog’s name.
When we as handlers make mistakes we become frustrated and upset. It seems that we rarely learn from our mistakes the first time we make them and so we appear to be doomed to repeat the mistake over and over until we finally get it right. And then, just when we think we have it all figured out, we have a relapse and everything seems to go wrong. Like calmly driving down the street and looking up into the rear-view mirror to see the revolving lights of the Police Cruiser behind you. Unconsciously our heart jumps into our throat and we overcompensate in one-way or another. That is our nature.
One of the things I have learned in working with a multitude of tracking dogs is that, unlike people, when dogs make mistakes, they learn. In order for your dog to learn to discriminate between two scents on a track, he must, at some point make a mistake and select the incorrect one.
My training philosophy is based on training on short complicated components, which teach the dog to solve problems. When the problem, whether scent or directional is solved, the dog is rewarded with praise and learning rewards the handler how the dog reacts in a given situation. When the dog makes a wrong choice, a mistake so to speak, he is allowed to work out the problem again, or is brought back and worked through the problem. Through such a training process I believe the dog can and does learn from making a mistake.
I develop a training program utilizing specific routines and individual components to offer the dog multiple opportunities to make a mistake. If I am working alone I go out of my way to try not to restrain, direct or help the dog at turns. Using this method, I am trying to advance both my and the dog’s learning curve. I need to know how the dog reacts to each of the following points in crosswinds, downwind or upwind, near buildings or in parking lots in order to be a better partner.
How does my dog indicate loss of scent?
How far past a turn will he travel before indicating loss of track?
How does he indicate loss of track?
What does he do when he realizes he is lost?
When lost, does he panic, lie, quit or search for the track?
How do I get him to go back to work?
Continually working on known tracks will be restricting to both your and your dog’s learning ability. You are restricted in watching, evaluating and hopefully learning how to read his body language while he is tracking and he is restricted from making the mistakes, which allow him to learn.
The manner in which we introduce our dogs to various problems and the resulting praise or rejection of him for making a decision, rests with our training techniques and us. Although it is our nature to try to do everything in our power to help our dogs make the right decision, it is, in the end, his decision to make.
Allowing your dog to range and cast in searching for the track will enhance his learning skills provided you keep the ranging within a reasonable distance of the track. I prefer to try to have my dogs remain within one leash length of the track; however, in wind conditions, heavy weather, and around certain types of buildings it may not be possible.
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