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by dap on 02 June 2009 - 22:06

I am interested to know how everyone prepares for the schutzhund FH.How many times a week to practice tracking,how tracks are varied during training,any details you think might be helpful to someone who is thinking about making this a goal.I just got a sch 1 on my 3yr old dog.

by Adi Ibrahimbegovic on 02 June 2009 - 22:06

Talk to Jeff and foremost Al Govednik. A is probably one of the best at FH, FH2 and world championship tracking competitors we got here in USA.

Jeff regularly posts here under the screen name "habanero", I believe.

Good luck with your training. A lofty goal.

Tracking has always been still is and will be my least favorite part of training. Not that I hate it... I just don't like it that much comparable to root canal surgery here. I do enjoy it from time to time though.

At the crack of dawn, 4 to 5 times a week for many months, is what it takes, they can provide much more details.

Also, Shelley Strohl's unattainable lovah - Phil Hoelcher is most excellent at this kind of work.

by clg on 03 June 2009 - 00:06

I love tracking. It's a peaceful and relaxing way to start the day. It sure helps when you have a dog that loves to track. My boy, Faro Stalica got his FH 1 with a score of 94 and FH 2 with a 97.

by habanaro on 03 June 2009 - 04:06

I like to vary the length and intensity of my tracks. With My older dog (who can be inconsistant ) I will often lay longer training tracks and run them at about 1.5 to 2 hours old. On the newer tracks I will incorporate more difficulties such as more turns etc. I will alternate these tracks with maybe 3 or 4 motivational tracks that are 3-4 hours old but baited heavier, or having toys at the end. These 3 tracks will combine to equal the length of the FH. I don't use much compulsion with my older dog as he can be kinda handler sensitive.

The key is keeping things from being predictable to the dog but still where the dog learns that tracking is fun and a good thing to be doing.

Good foundation work with the young dog is essential and makes training much easier as they get older.

Having said this My brother is like way better at the tracking stuff than I and if you are ever in the moline il area send me a pm ..

Jeff

by ShelleyR on 03 June 2009 - 23:06

Crack of dawn HELL! My dogs track when I get around to getting up,getting out, and laying their tracks. There are no guarantees what time you will do your FH at a trial, what the weather will be, etc., especially at a major event. I wish I had $10. for every time I did an FH track in a trial in 90-100F heat.

I try to expose my dogs to any/every condition I can think of, EVEN crack of dawn tracking, if only once or twice when I couldn't sleep for some reason or another. I DO haul them around with me in the car a lot, just waiting for some field on the side of the road to call out to me "Come lay a track here". I stop and run it on my way back from wherever I am going, failing an Act of Nature (like a t-storm or a farmer with a shot gun in his hand). Its quite common to see Shelley tracking her dog through the neighborhood, across neighbors' yards, driveways, small streams, terrain-to-terrain.

Handy Tip-
When tracking across a busy highway, don't forget to put an article a few feet short of the road so you can leave the dog down on it till the traffic passes and there is time for both the dog AND you, on your 33' line, without getting run over. My old tracking buddy had kind of a funny sense of humor... It took me awhile to come with a suitable pay-back for that clever lesson.

SS

by malshep on 04 June 2009 - 12:06

Shelly, that is too funny, but seriously being able to have a dog track across pavement, my hat is off to you. Great job!
Always,
Cee

by ShelleyR on 04 June 2009 - 12:06

Hey... If we didn't leave something behind on the pavement when we walked, our boots would never wear out!
SS

by DebiSue on 05 June 2009 - 16:06

We took our old girl to a high school during the summer just to let her out and allow her to run when we got the idea to see if she would track. It was about 90 degrees with a slight breeze. Keep in mind we had only had her about 1 year and had no idea what tracking involved. We parked on the pavement, I distracted the dog while keeping track of where my husband was going. We waited maybe 15 minutes and I let her out of the vehicle and told her to "Go find Paul". She ran around to his side of the truck looked at me then took off, never looking back at me. She made a bee-line straight across the concrete parking lot to where he was hiding out of site on a lower level. Later we let her track on grass and laid very difficult trails, each of us taking turns on different days, different terrain, all off leash as the school is fenced and in the country. We even let her track other people in the family. We had so much fun that we decided to read up on tracking and maybe get into it. Imagine our surprise when we found out we were doing it all wrong. We were stunned. It's possible someone trained her before we got her at 1.5 years but because it was so obvious she had been abused I really don't think that happened. I think it's just another example of what a GSD can do when asked.

by habanaro on 06 June 2009 - 15:06

One other thing to do if your planning to do an FH look for a seminar or training day with some people who have had some success with FH's Ther are a whole bunch of ways to train but you will need at some point decide whats best for your dog.

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