9 month old GSD Tracking Video - Page 3

Very  nice! Keep up the great work! :-)
Theresa

Do you really want me to tell you what I see?  Already readers are chirping about what a bad man I am for not jumping on the bandwagon and telling you that your dog is ready for the FCI FH Championships.  I will tell you what I see but I will not tell you how to correct it because I am not there to see your dog's reaction, or yours for that matter, to the training.  I would hope that the woman walking with you would help you with some of this.

You know what Phil, if you want to give training advise to someone you don't know, based on a few seconds of a video clip, that's on you, and your problem, but when you suggest people have said this dog tracks like he's ready for even a schutzhund 1, you piss me off and you go too far.  No one said anything but nice tracking for a puppy.  Stop putting words in other people's mouths......or maybe I'm just cranky today.

Yeah I know, I have a problem telling the truth.

Phill.... just share!


I will start with the most visible..... (I dont like to put so much OB (lets say the corner) on a track in a 9 mos old puppy). It is not helping the dog to think and work independently in a long run.
 

Thank you everyone for your kind comments, I simply wanted to share a video of my puppy.  I know that this video was not perfect, and it is alway nice to have other people's views on what they see.

Sueshine:   Thank you, We did not do anything to teach him to be concentrated on the track, this just comes natural to him I guess, He never gets distracted and he just love to track. 



Phil Behun:   I never asked you what was wrong with the video, I simply asked you to please share your opinion, which you never do, all you want to say is that I do not know what I am doing, and that is fine, I don't know you, and hopefully never will.

Everyone is entitled to thier own opinions. I'll just leave it at that.

Over the past 29 years of training dogs for PP, Police K9, Schutzhund and French Ring, I have taught several hundred dogs to track.  I have taken dogs from beginner to TD, TDX to VST.  I have taken dogs from beginning SchHI to FH.  I have taken green K9's and taught them to track (not trail or air scent, but track) on concrete, asphalt and gravel.  I have taken HOT Malinois to "V" tracks at Regional and National Championships.  I have laid tracks at club trials, Regional Championships and National Championships.  So I can suffice to say that my experiences and opinions probably have some credence.  By posting your video on both the GSD Messageboard and the General Topic Messageboard, I think you were trying to do more than just throw out photos of your dog.

But anyway, I digress.  What I see in the video is a dog that's being taught to track as much or more with his eyes and not necessarily with his nose.  The track was kicked in too hard which, because of the dry/short grass was very visible.  Footsteps were narrowed to aid the left/right behavior which is fine for a beginning dog but can also teach "running" on the track.  Develop consistency in how you hold the leash as to not distract or mistakenly correct the dog.  He runs to your second "flag" because he knows the second scent area is there.  Remember, dogs are hunting when they track and the thrill of the hunt is far more enticing than the actual find.  Keeping them thinking that there is always one more footprint with one more piece of bait keeps them going.  Same premise in doing motivational obedience, "will the toy come after the next step or the next exercise?"  Be creative and keep them guessing.  Putting food at the same places on a track makes them predictable and boring and creates missed steps.

Short grass is great for teaching a deep nose but food must be buried to maximize searching each footprint and not promoting a "scoop and dash" vacuum like behavior.  And when laying a track, don't fall into the old habit of "stomping" the crap out of the ground.  The rulebook states that the tracklayer will walk at a "normal" pace and articles will be placed on the track while the tracklayer is still moving.  Meaning, no "kicking in" the track or stomping out scent pads for article placement.  Even scent pads are laid differently than in the past, less time is spent at the start and pads are the width of your 2 feet side by side.  Your dog does not need tracks kicked in to find them, that's more of a crutch for handlers.  Consistent leash work is very important as you can inadvertently be sending your dog bad messages down the line.

Whose dog is it,,,your's or your husband's?  I wouldn't change surfaces until the dog is proficient on one.  Once the dog gets consistent on one type, ie short grass, now I switch to something a little taller.  If your goal is to have a multi surface tracker, stop tracking on grass and do ONLY asphalt, complete with turns and articles.  If you intend to have a SchH tracking dog, don't worry too much about the hard surfaces as even for FH II, the crossing of roads and gravel is minimal and most dogs can limp through it.  If your dog becomes too proficient on grass, he won't want to track the hard surfaces.  Vegetation is easy compared to concrete and your dog will try and default to the grass.  IMO it takes at least 2 years of consistent tracking (on your part) to get a confident tracking dog and in some cases, closer to 3. 

I like your explaination Phil, I have a Like a Hurricane Aiolos Apollon, Catori von Schoerling daughter.
Always,
Cee