Calmness after article

[JackieM1982]

Hi all,

At times, Treck tends to leap up from the article after I give the 'such' command. To combat this I tell him to 'such' while he is still eating his article reward and this causes him to resume tracking in a calmer manner. But, how does this roll over into a trial scenario? He tends to lay there and load.

Thanks!

[Kayos and Havoc]

Are you AKC or SchH tracking? I really do not care if my dog leaps up and takes off again, but I wonder if in SchH this is not wanted?

I would be happy the dog was having fun and enjoying the work but if you really want the calm, slow re-start, continued practice should help. The food is a good idea and you may also want to add a calming word like easy or say your search word very sofly and slowly.

[angelaw]

Sch tracking you want the dog to restart off the article calmly and intently.

[Kayos and Havoc]

You Schutzhund guys are so into obedience on tracks!

[JackieM1982]

I'm definitely appreciative of his enthusiasm, but he'll lose points (and has) for leaping forward after his indication. And then I don't like the picture that creates after he has resumed tracking, it makes him fast and hectic until he calms into a nice, methodical rhythm again.

I do say 'easy' and 'ssssssuch' which does help. But sometimes he gets excited when I say 'easy' cos he knows I'm going to say 'such' next, lol.

I'm sure more practice is needed, but was wondering if there was a technique I was missing out on.

This past Sunday ...

[angelaw]

yeah we are, lol Joschy used to be very fast and I would have to do short pops to teach him to slow down.

[Castlemaid]

One trick I was taught was to put a piece of food on the track right after the article. When he comes to expect it, he will have his nose to the ground as he stands up, focused and working, looking for it.

It really helped Keeta slow down - she goes back to being focused right away.

[lhczth]

I do what Lucia does except that I put the piece of food there after the dog indicates the article, while they are eating their reward. This way the dog can't get rewarded if it ever walks the article. Then I usually have a piece of food about 5 paces out too. Dogs get used to this and will search calmly after the article even when the food isn't there.

[JackieM1982]

Alright, sounds good. I don't consistently bait after an article, instead I sort of vary it. But I'll be sure to be more consistent and will hope to see an improvement over time. And continue with a quiet 'such' command, etc.

[jesusica]

In addition to Lisa's explanation, I wait until my dog is calm, forward facing, and focused before giving the command. Initially you want to give the command the moment they look forward. Slowly work towards the dog lying there in a collected manner for longer periods of time before continuing.

Also the piece of food goes in the next footstep, not where the article was.