Just started tracking

[turkeyhunter94]

Met with a trainer the other day to start tracking. While there she was giving him a test to see how much drive he had. She had me bring his fav toy. Well he really dont have one so I picked one out and took it. She had him on a long leash and was throwing the toy to see if he would go after it. He would go and find the toy some of them were thrown behind stumps and trees where he could not see them. But once he found it he wanted nothing to do with it.

We then moved to the second part of her test and this time she was going to lay a track (about 50 yards) and hide behind a tree. Well when we started this I still had the dog on a long line and he got so excied bc he wanted to find her wanted to get to her. The trainer hid and Lota was on the track. We did this 3 times making it a little harder and a little longer evertime. The last time she dropped over a small hill where he could not see her hide and he still found her.

The next day I had my girlfriend and her daughter hid in the woods at our house. We did this 4 times first one a short track where he seen them hide. Spun him so he lost where they were he got on the track and found them. Next 3 that we did he did not see where they hid only thing he had was the start of the track they were a little longer and blind tracks he had finds on all 4.

Very happy 2 days training and 7 finds I think he has found his calling!!!!

[gypsyrose]

Originally Posted by turkeyhunter94

Met with a trainer the other day to start tracking. While there she was giving him a test to see how much drive he had. She had me bring his fav toy. Well he really dont have one so I picked one out and took it. She had him on a long leash and was throwing the toy to see if he would go after it. He would go and find the toy some of them were thrown behind stumps and trees where he could not see them. But once he found it he wanted nothing to do with it.

We then moved to the second part of her test and this time she was going to lay a track (about 50 yards) and hide behind a tree. Well when we started this I still had the dog on a long line and he got so excied bc he wanted to find her wanted to get to her. The trainer hid and Lota was on the track. We did this 3 times making it a little harder and a little longer evertime. The last time she dropped over a small hill where he could not see her hide and he still found her.

The next day I had my girlfriend and her daughter hid in the woods at our house. We did this 4 times first one a short track where he seen them hide. Spun him so he lost where they were he got on the track and found them. Next 3 that we did he did not see where they hid only thing he had was the start of the track they were a little longer and blind tracks he had finds on all 4.

Very happy 2 days training and 7 finds I think he has found his calling!!!!

Gypsy showd promise early on and i asked about search and recue some one here told me to stop all training that search and recue wasent a game but i kept at on my own with no experance and no trainer. Gypsy curently will find from a scent in a baggy to date i'v used all my family and friends for decoys. she has found every one every time we are now working sent cones and finding spicific people in a crowd. its great fun and if we are ever needed i'm sure we can find. she is two now and my pride and joy.

[jocoyn]

Originally Posted by gypsyrose

Gypsy showd promise early on and i asked about search and recue some one here told me to stop all training that search and recue wasent a game but i kept at on my own with no experance and no trainer. Gypsy curently will find from a scent in a baggy to date i'v used all my family and friends for decoys. she has found every one every time we are now working sent cones and finding spicific people in a crowd. its great fun and if we are ever needed i'm sure we can find. she is two now and my pride and joy.

Games are fun but NOT the real thing. I do not see any issue training and having fun but your statement, which I bolded, is troubling.

Please do not offer your dog to help find a missing person or get in the way of a real search-same thing please do not start searching before the authorities get there if someone does go missing. You can mess up valuable evidence!

Your dog may well be suitable and could possiblity develop into a deployable dog, but there is a lot of structured scenario based training - AND - certification - before any legitimate team will allow a dog to work.

I could tell some scary (true) stories about where pets with some tracking training somehow wound up deployed on a search.

Edit-the number one issue many folks have doing tracking and then taking to a SAR venue is having the dog find the start (especially in an area contaminated by the victim-such as around their home). In tracking you know where the track began but you do not clearly have this info in a search.

[gypsyrose]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Games are fun but NOT the real thing. I do not see any issue training and having fun but your statement, which I bolded, is troubling.

Please do not offer your dog to help find a missing person or get in the way of a real search-same thing please do not start searching before the authorities get there if someone does go missing. You can mess up valuable evidence!

Your dog may well be suitable and could possiblity develop into a deployable dog, but there is a lot of structured scenario based training - AND - certification - before any legitimate team will allow a dog to work.

I could tell some scary (true) stories about where pets with some tracking training somehow wound up deployed on a search.

Edit-the number one issue many folks have doing tracking and then taking to a SAR venue is having the dog find the start (especially in an area contaminated by the victim-such as around their home). In tracking you know where the track began but you do not clearly have this info in a search.

I still hope some one will take us serious and give us a chance i live in a remote area of florida. my property alone has had three people lost in fifteen years ive owned it i my self hiked across holms county in search of a lost hunter no dogs were avalible my nephew after being told to stay out of my woods was lost for over five hours my swamp has vines with half inch thorns through out again no dog. i agree gypsy and i have alot of work ahead of us but i feel i've laid the ground work and with some qualified help should be able to be certifide some time this year. i myself am a seasoned offshore captain and have extensive hiking experance as well as navagation. i under stand the grid system of searching. under water as well as land. i also have acess to the network of volunteer fire departments in the area. no this is not a game with me and i'll not quit. i have people interested in working with me localy and have this week talked to a deputie from k9 no i'm sorry but this is two years of work and i'm not ready to give up.

gypsy tracking a deer with new gear - YouTube

gypsy tracking a deer with new gear - YouTube

[jocoyn]

Being networked in is very important. There are a lot of SAR folks in Florida though I don't know all the teams and who is so good and who is not so good but even in a remote area you are probably not more than a few hours from a team. Getting National Certrifications are definitely the norm though.

One of the scenarios we have seen seasoned dogs struggle to [police and SAR] work through is the type of issue where someone wanders away from their home. Usually a dementia patient or small child who has their own odor all over the place because they are out and about around the house a LOT.

By the time you get there the family has been searching all day and it is getting dark. The neighbors have also driven over everything in the 4 wheelers. The child or old person is elusive so they are actively evading the searchers.

They then go off and wander over their own old trails and all kinds of weird places you would not think a human being could go, often winding up tied up in brush or in a structure near their home, hopefully not in the water.

I do NOT envy you working in the area where you live. I absolutely HATE it when we get called to the lowcountry with snakes and gators and pigs. Maybe those boa constrictors down there are taking all those out though....

[gypsyrose]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

Being networked in is very important. There are a lot of SAR folks in Florida though I don't know all the teams and who is so good and who is not so good but even in a remote area you are probably not more than a few hours from a team. Getting National Certrifications are definitely the norm though.

One of the scenarios we have seen seasoned dogs struggle to [police and SAR] work through is the type of issue where someone wanders away from their home. Usually a dementia patient or small child who has their own odor all over the place because they are out and about around the house a LOT.

By the time you get there the family has been searching all day and it is getting dark. The neighbors have also driven over everything in the 4 wheelers. The child or old person is elusive so they are actively evading the searchers.

They then go off and wander over their own old trails and all kinds of weird places you would not think a human being could go, often winding up tied up in brush or in a structure near their home, hopefully not in the water.

I do NOT envy you working in the area where you live. I absolutely HATE it when we get called to the lowcountry with snakes and gators and pigs. Maybe those boa constrictors down there are taking all those out though....

I havent taken on this venture lightly; as previously posted i'm a retired charter boat capt. in 1994 or5 three gyus went out to scuba dive a wreck off of marco island my boat's home port was fort myers. to make a short story out of this thay found their boat on the bottom when thay swam around the wreck one was found clinging to a microwave tower near the wreck they were diving on but two decided to try and stay near the wreck, they were never seen again the coast guard gave up searching and the familiy call our marina I went out and continued searching untill the weather turned for the worse. we also had to give up i was hart broken and facing the familie was one of the hardest things i'v had to do in this life. i most certinly know the only game here is in the training and how the dog looks at it. I have the time now and the terran to train in. thank you for your kind words but to date not one sar.s group has returned my calls.

[jocoyn]

May want to post in the SAR section ...... there is someone here who got on a good team in Florida.