Article methods - Page 2

I am not that careful with my articles, I have all kinds from wood, carpet, leather, plastic and metal.  I had a conversation with a World level competitor one time who mentioned he keeps all of his articles outside on a table in the sun.  He handles them very gingerly.  His explanation was that he might get to a trial where the track layer may try to "screw him" and not leave a good amount of scent on his articles.  So, he trains with only a small amount of scent on his articles. 

But there must be some scent on the article for the dog to indicate.  If you keep your articles sealed and handle them with tongs, where does the human scent come from?  The article has too be handled and carried by the track layer before he/she lays the track. It's in the rules.  Just placing the article in your pocket will transfer scent even using tongs.

Perhaps, Jeff has some ideas?

Jim

One thought is that you get too much scent on the articles or the articles get contaminated by food other smells. (From your training bag)  I will try to replace mine every so often for that reason.  The article gets too much scent and the dog can kinda air scent the article and cheat on the track.  I do know of people that keep theirs in a  ziploc bag seperate for that reason.  I have never seen anyone use tongs to handle the articles.  I think  it is so you only get the tracklayers scent.