Jinx at 6 months ~ tracking

[umzilla]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_LkNufXsyc

Filmed yesterday in a light drizzle.

Christine

[elisabeth_00117]

He is doing great!

Okay, I have a question.. where do you find a willing participant to film you?! Hahaha..

I have a real question though, we have been using articles since we began, is there a reason you didn't? In your description it said you were just now introducing them.. what did you use before? Or did you just end when you were done without the "reward of the article"? Just curious as it seems there are many ways to teach tracking. Stark is 5.5 months old and we have been using articles since we began.

[Samba]

Oh, nice tracking pupper!

[Liesje]

Originally Posted By: elisabeth_00117H
I have a real question though, we have been using articles since we began, is there a reason you didn't?

Everyone has their own way but we don't do articles yet either. The TD wanted us to put a really good foundation so that when the dog tracks, he is focused and there is no confusion or pressure. I actually do article stuff with Nikon but not while tracking, basically I get him a bit hyped up (just pat him up and play around) and then toss out and article so he will run to it and platz on it. Actually before even doing that, I would lure a down with the article and also have a treat in my hand and as soon as he platzed with the article between his legs, I flipped my hand to give the treat (so he knows that articles = treats). Likewise when I start putting them on the track he will get treat rewards when he downs on the article. But before the article is on the track I want him really settled into the correct tracking behavior *and* understand the down on the article. Right now our tracks end with a few extra pieces of food and then I pop his ball out my pocket and play for a minute (but no obedience, just play reward for the track).

[ShatteringGlass]

Introduction of articles depends on how you train. I didnt train Shane with food in the footsteps, so he would get food at the end when he found the article. I am training for AKC tracking.

[elisabeth_00117]

Originally Posted By: ShatteringGlassIntroduction of articles depends on how you train. I didnt train Shane with food in the footsteps, so he would get food at the end when he found the article. I am training for AKC tracking.

This is the way we have been taught. I started doing the food in the footsteps but then stopped once we obtained a trainer to help me.. haha.

[umzilla]

Originally Posted By: elisabeth_00117Okay, I have a question.. where do you find a willing participant to film you?! Hahaha..

My ever patient husband.

Quote:I have a real question though, we have been using articles since we began, is there a reason you didn't?

There are so many theories out there, so you have to find what works for you and your dog. Also, some of it depends on what type tracking you are training for. I plan to do Schutzhund and AKC tracking, which are very very different styles, with different type articles. It's a balancing act, but I firmly believe dogs can cross train! I want to imprint the obedience to the track first and foremost - if the dog can follow the track, he can find the articles that are on the track.

Christine

[umzilla]

Today Jinx saw high cover for the first time. He thought it was a blast and truly had no clue what he was supposed to be doing out there.

The start



After we finished -



Silly picture with the kids



And standing, watching... He's 6 months old.



If you have been following the other thread that compares SchH to AKC tracking ("Is this normal? Video of a dog earning a TD" is the name of the thread I think) - today I saw once again (as all my dog go through this), he reacted to the high cover almost as a different sport.

[onyx'girl]

Nice Job Jinx and Christine~ He is gorgeous!
I am a tracking newbe and the club I have been visiting, the trainer is using Joanne Fleming-Plumbs methods~ A very calm ending and you don't get the dog excited afterwards(I am not doing articles yet either). I have only done it a couple times there, and was serpentine type track.
There is a reward jackpot at the end of the track, but no whoopti do.
I was wondering if anyone else is using her methods?

[Northern GSDs]

Quote:I was wondering if anyone else is using her methods?

I'm not very familiar with the details of her method (very interested in learning though!), but as you talked about a calm ending etc, this is what I've been doing (and it has helped tremendously):

Our track always ends with a very calm "ok we're done...good job" and a few reward pats on her side. No jackpot whatsoever at the end of the track (including no food jackpot). However, I do think in many ways it depends on the type of dog one has. With Jax, she is very high drive so anything that increases her drive for the end of the track causes her to become far more hectic in the track, as her mindset heads to her wanting to get to the end reward as quickly as possible (she air scents amazingly, so i guess she figures if she can do that and get to the end, why bother putting her nose to the ground ). With a dog that has less motivation for the track, I would think that increasing the "jackpots" at the end of the track (and even within the track) could be beneficial. This was what I did with Brodie (we just did recreational tracking though) and it helped for him (as he did have less drive & motivation to track).

As for articles, I introduced/taught them away from the track after some basic fundamentals of tracking had already been achieved (eg when I introduced articles, I did so on a straight short leg on a different day than our regular tracking, with lots of articles along the way with a reward given when downing on the articles). I personally think there is alot of benefit in doing it this way, because the dog already has to maintain so much focus when learning to track...when starting with tracking, the learning curve is already quite steep enough that introducing too many elements all at once can be mentally overwhelming for many dogs (not to mention stressful, which can then carry into the tracking itself and therefore result in hectic/non-focused tracking). However, this is just MHO.

We do SchH tracking. It's been a pretty painful road, as she is not a "settled" methodical type tracker by nature but rather a "trailling- high nose-get to the end" type tracker We've also been very very VERY fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with some excellent mentors who excel in SchH tracking at high competition levels.

I'll be interested to continue reading this thread!! Good stuff