IPO 2050 .. What Must Change ..Tracking - Page 1

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bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 30 April 2014 - 18:04

For IPO or any dog sport that involves biting to have relevance or public support and appeal several things must change or these biting dog sports will continue to decline and become weaker and poorer with less and less public, political (Local, State, Federal), and dog owner support.  One of the first things that must change and probably the easiest to tackle is obedience tracking.  The tracking phase of IPO as currently done takes tremendous time and resources over a long period of time from the owner/handler to train this portion plus it is a huge problem and major time waster at any IPO trial.  Many people are excluded from IPO simply because the time and energy to train IPO tracking is so difficult for most urban and suburban dog owners to provide over the long period of time needed to train.  Finding tracking fields is a major problem and the time spent on tracking is disproportionate to the real value of the exercise.  Scent work yes, obedience tracking no.  Scent work has gained slightly in popularity because dogs of all sizes, breeds, and ages can compete on an equal footing in many cases.  If one looks at some modern Winter Olympic Sports there are examples of sports in which intense physical exercise and exhaustion are followed by the need to focus and work both efficiently and swiftly (Biathlon for example).   This could be a template for changes in IPO scent work and serve a real purpose in selecting for "breed worthiness".  We ask for a dog that can perform tough physical challenges and then settle and focus and perform nose work immediately following that physical challenge.  A hot and excited dog asked to find and identify a specific scent or item is a much tougher problem in actual nose work than the current obedience tracking routine.  The present IPO obedience tracking is neither physical nor does it test the dog's nerves unless boredom and willingness is a test.  Taking the usually off site tracking test out of an IPO routine would free up time and resources (judges for example) to evaluate more dogs and judges plus scoring are another problems to be discussed in other posts.  Tracking as currently tested could continue as FH or other tracking titles for those who want that title which is already distinct from IPO.  


by zdog on 30 April 2014 - 19:04

why is someone that has done nothing or even attemtped to do anything trying to tell people how to select for breed worthiness?  The only thing wrong with IPO is money.  on it's own, done fairly with good judges, it has created legendary working dogs known the world over.  The only thing weakening it is lazy mother effer's creating excuses.  

Give me 20 dogs that have passed a legitimately given and passed IPO test, and I'll find 20 real world jobs for these dogs. No problem.  


VKGSDs

by VKGSDs on 30 April 2014 - 19:04

I don't like tracking and fall under the category of people whose IPO training is significantly impeded due to living in the city and not even having enough space for puppy scent pads, but there are already plenty of other bitesports that don't require a tracking phase. When I'm training in IPO that includes tracking.  Not every phase will be my favorite and nothing should be easy-peasy.

Try SDA.  They do have tracking for those that like it (and I've done it in trial despite my dislike of it, but it was my then-dogs best and favorite phase) and they have different types and levels of protection, some more "practical" and others just like IPO (blinds and sleeves). 

If you like Nosework better, do that!  There are already multiple establish organizations hosting trials (I've done one of those trials as well).


susie

by susie on 30 April 2014 - 19:04

" The present IPO obedience tracking is neither physical nor does it test the dog's nerves unless boredom and willingness is a test.  Taking the usually off site tracking test out of an IPO routine would free up time and resources (judges for example) to evaluate more dogs and judges plus scoring are another problems to be discussed in other posts.  "
Out of this statement I´m guessing you never trained a dog through the 3 steps ( 1, 2, 3 ) of a "simple" IPO track.
Just try it, afterwards we may discuss about the "non"physicalness and the "non"testing of the dog´s nerves.

" ...free up time and resources..." - for whom?

"..evaluate more dogs..." - there are a lot of sports and trials without tracking involved.

" ...become weaker and poorer..." - no problem for me, there are far too many so called German Shepherds out there.

There are countless kinds of sports for dogs already without tracking, nobody is forced to participate in IPO, but as soon as you want to BREED, at least in my opinion, you should show proof of breed worthiness (health tests, AD, BH, IPO, breed survey, show result ).
That´s not asked too much for a WORKING BREED.

The easy way mostly is not the best way.

 


Hired Dog

by Hired Dog on 30 April 2014 - 19:04

Eh, I tend to agree with you on this, I think that some sort of detection exercise like an article search or an area search would be more useful for real life applications. I also think that tracking can still be included, if its done the RCMP style and includes several surfaces as it also has more relevance for real life work.

 


bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 30 April 2014 - 20:04

Judges are a finite resource and an expensive one at that.  An IPO trial with two parts instead of three .. with both parts on the same field or on two adjacent fields with different set ups going simultaneously would be much more spectator friendly and fun for all.  Judging has to become more transparent and easily understood ( ie the dog and handler did it or they didn't .. full points or no points in many cases ).  The utility of IPO tracking for making breeding choices is very low.  If you think IPO can survive in it's present format then this conversation may be lost on you.  Remember that before the entire competition aspect of IPO was started it was a pass/fail breeding test only so many changes were made to get into the mess it is in now.  How many people show up for tracking as spectators???  The draw can be as important as high training level for tracking on a hot and dry day and then the other quite changeable environmental conditions may influence the results greatly.  The blinds could be repurposed for scent work in many different ways to make scent work a more fun and transparent event, easier to train on small fields, and a less resource hungry event. 


clee27

by clee27 on 30 April 2014 - 20:04

This is my first time doing IPO, I usually track my young dog 2-3 times a week, he appears to really enjoy tracking, and we have several parks all over our city that I can go to for tracking. When I go to parks, the grass just tends to be kept cut much shorter than the fields we track at when we are at club training.

The sport itself is a commitment and very time consuming, it's been explained to me that the tracking portion is very tiring for a dog because it's like if we were hyperventilating doing an activity, and it requires a lot of focus. I've heard many say IPO tracking isn't realistic for real world use, so maybe that's your point?

My understanding is that the tracking phase is intended to test the dog's ability to be trained to scent with precision, as well as their mental and physical endurance.

I'm not making statements of fact, I'm merely stating how I've interpreted things from going to training and my experiences. I happen to enjoy tracking, but the fact that my dog takes to it easily probably helps. It feels like I'm the one who needs to be trained, and my dog waits for me to stop screwing up so we can progress. 


bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 30 April 2014 - 21:04

If you want more public support and participation then do something that clearly is of benefit to the public and is fun for the trainer, dog, and spectators.  IPO tracking is as exciting as watching paint dry.  If I lost my car keys in my yard an IPO tracking dog would be great but if a child has wandered far from home a S&R dog is what is needed.  I would say that dogs prefer working any kind of scent boxes or apparatus over IPO tracking and you can practice in your garage on a rainy day if need be.  


Hired Dog

by Hired Dog on 30 April 2014 - 21:04

If you want to change the sport and attract more participants, professionalize it, offer money for the winners, make it worth their time and investment to participate in it. The way things are going now, this sport will die soon because of lack of participants and other pressures.

Hired Dog

by Hired Dog on 30 April 2014 - 21:04






 


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