downing on an article during a track - Page 3

mmm articles, golf balls (I like!) tracking *sob*sob* weep weep. Frozen tundra makes for no tracking, sad me lots of indoor OB for the puppers, boo hoo.........

But really great advice, I started out and am still a tad "article" shy.  My club is divided by folks who teach it on the track & those who teach it off the track.  I opted for the "on" method.  Have not done it many times but have done well and learned from the times I have and when the ice melts will come back to this topic for a refesher, thanks!

For my male I taught them off the track and then added them in once he knew them off the track.

I tried the same with my female and she wasn't seeming to get it as well off the track, so ended up teaching them to her on the track.  My main problem with her is keeping her slow.   :)

From what I've heard it's not uncommon for a patrol dog to want to track fast.  If a patrol dog tracked like for Schutzhund, it could take a long time to find the bad guy!   LOL

Dutchboy,

Can you please post your recent tracking scores from your recent or past trials. Id be curious to know how youve done yourself on the field. And the pop on the leash thing ? your completey wrong, Ive seen many top trainers use this method while approaching the down on the article and several of them have had V scores in tracking throughout big competitions.

Show me your trial scores please.

Thank you in advance,

DSV

There are  a lot of ways to train a dog...and this includes tracking...but I too have been taught by some old Germans that think tracking becomes nothing more then an ob routine...and therefore you teach it the same way...and by the way the dog should already know what a correction is...

Dutch Boy..I mean Rick...I mean ???...If you've never trialed a dog much less at a higher level then you wouldn't know what it takes to do so...There are many things that you need to know and do for higher levels then for just local trials...

Some people don't put food on the articles in teaching them...and I do...It's like saying that you don't put food on a track to teach them to track...of course you do...and then you will wean them off of it later on...But there are many ways of training...and they all work...it just depends on how your taught and the theory behind it...

But for someone to say that this way or that way is right or wrong is just someone that hasn't done very much training...So my thought is that you never know what might work for you...So don't be someone that won't try something new...Try it and it might just work...And besides you should be thinking of what works for your dog...and not because someone that you don't like has an idea of what works for him and is willing to put it on this board for others to think about and to try...

~Bob~

Bob, the only thing I would suggest when saying platz and poping is,  I would and I do, seperate the two by a second. So it would look like this. Dogs nose hits the article, the handler says platz then there is a pause for a second then slight pop or direction from the leash. If you use the two cues (word platz and the leash pop) at the same time the leash pop can and most ofted does become the primary command to down, then you have to train through it. But if you always say platz first then slight pop, the platz becomes the primary cue to down and not the pop on the line. Both will work over time but the way I have mentioned is a little clearer to the dog. 

Absolutely...Your right in saying that...It's like anything else in dog training...you must give the dog a chance before correcting it...So it would be...as the dog approaches the article...his nose goes down...you give a platz command...and then a small "pop" just to re-inforce the command...

But the way I train is just that...My Way...I offer it to people if they'd like to try it...and if not then that's ok too...I try and share what I've been taught with others...and if they don't want to try it then that's up to them...but the key is to know more then 1 way of doing things...and the more ways you know the more knowledge you have...A good trainer never says NO to any new methods that they haven't tried...You should always be open to new things...

But as I'm training a very young dog or puppy...from the very beginning...as the dog/puppy comes upon the food on the track...I give them a light  "pop"...this is so light that even a 10 week old puppy doesn't recognize it as a correction...but it's the beginning of teaching them to put your nose down in the footprint and you will be rewarded with a piece of food...

If someone doesn't like this method of training...it's up to them...just like using a "prong collar" or "e-collar" or anything else...it's up to the owner/trainer to learn from this or to just disreguard it...It's like saying "do you use any compulsion in ob"...and if you say no...then you can't ever be 100% sure what your dog will do...

~Bob~

Guys, guys why argue? At the end of the day every dog is different. Some dogs do badly with a leash pop some do fine, but in this discipline I try to use the absolute minimum amount of correction possible. I'd do more article tracks, train articles outsode of the track just to get it into the head that the articles are important, and a reward follows immediate down. Repeat, repeat. I agree tracking is essentially an obedience exercise.

Any advice re straightening a dog out?  I know about approaching from both sides.  But if my dog is angled and down...what do I do?  If I try and adjust the dog we both get confused.

Von Kohlen Berg:  Yes these trainers, as all will, use preasure. Perhaps these trainers at one time even used the lead correction, but they don't now. At least not using it to sinch up the collar. I've seen Wallace use the end of it to smack the dog with. For anyone who actually knows him knows why he tracked Merlin in the FH without a line at all.  And yes you got Mark's last name right. It's great you laid a track for him. But having known and trained tracking with mark, off and on, for close to 12 yrs now I can tell you he doesn't POP his line. Crawling out of my cave for a moment to ask you what you how a "throw chain" is used? By the way laying tracks for someone is deffinately not the same as knowing nor training with them.

Qman: I have just PM'd you are you mistake in identity. Also sorry for making you think I was saying you were WRONG. It was just something I wouldn't do and have seen backfire. Now reading your last post you stated: ........." give them a light  "pop"...this is so light that even a 10 week old puppy doesn't recognize it as a correction...but it's the beginning of teaching them to put your nose down in the footprint and you will be rewarded with a piece of food..."

This I can understand a little better. My way is very close to this. Only instead of any type of tug since I leave my line taught (no slack) I just stop so the dog can't progress and it has no chose but to put his nose down and find it. That way leaving no possibilty of thinking it's a correction.

Sorry for forgetting how thin the skin on this particular forum is.....

I would agree with those that said to work the article off the track.  Make it a seperate thing for the time being.  I also agree with Molly that you should reward for the down at the article after you have picked up the article.   Reward for the whole exercise, not half of it.

As to the "pop", one man's method is always different to the next.  Right, ladies?