Disturbed ground - did i do this right?

cowboy17 · 11-14-2011, 07:22 AM

Wondering if I did this right, as I was so proud of Gunner..

Trampled down a square on the grass about 5ft x 5ft. every inch was trampled and stepped on.
I marked the corners with gold tee's so I knew where the area was.
I then spread treats, about 20-30 of them within the area.
Gunner was introduced to the area by me taking one treat, giving the command of "such" and tossed to one treat into the area.

He would NOT leave the area. He searched and searched every treat in there and would get to the side of the area and turn back in looking again for more treats.

It was absolutely awesome to watch. (I have never done any tracking before).

did I do this correctly and what are my next steps? Repeat the same a few more times?

GSDElsa · 11-14-2011, 08:28 AM

I'm sure everyone has different ways to do this, but this is the way I"ve done it/seen it done. I've always been told 5' diameter is too big--3' is better to start (and circles--sounds like you are doing a square?).

Also not to TOSS a treat into the area, but rather put the treat to the dogs nose, and lower the treat and their nose to the ground, then get started.

But definitely a lot of different techniques, so some people may do it your way.

Mrs.K · 11-14-2011, 08:37 AM

I don't do a square or circles. We've always started with the "Abtritt" and a straight track.

**Castlemaid** · 11-14-2011, 09:27 AM

Sounds good! Smart dog, figured it out quick.

onyx'girl · 11-14-2011, 09:42 AM

I watched a Joanne Fleming Plumb video and I liked one of her suggestions...pull the pup off the box while there is still a bit of food on it. That will build drive for the next time you go out.
I've always done 3x3's too. No visual markers(other than a flag), the tamped down vegetation should be all you need.
You can rent some good tracking videos from BowWowFlix.com: Dog DVD Rentals | Dog Training Dvd | Dog Dvds | Rent Dog Videos

GSDElsa · 11-14-2011, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

pull the pup off the box while there is still a bit of food on it. That will build drive for the next time you go out.

yeah, I forgot to add that as well.

**lhczth** · 11-14-2011, 10:27 AM

I also do boxes with my little puppies before going to regular tracks. The boxes are smaller, maybe 2X2, but I am tracking little puppies. You usually won't put much more than 10-12 pieces of food and, as Jane pointed out, you will want to pull your puppy off the scent when it is still searching and there is some food left. Yes, that builds drive.

cowboy17 · 11-14-2011, 10:58 AM

Thanks for the feedback folks.

I will pull him out early next timeand decrease the amount of treats. I was just so in awe that he was so good at it that I wanted to see if he could find them all.

Will remove the visual boundry markers for next time.

Also, will try a circle, and see if that gets different results.

So do I stick with this 3-5 ft area for a while (5-10 times) or do I progress to something different as soon as I am sure he gets it?

Videos are great for me, I will look into them as I need some form of process to follow.

onyx'girl · 11-14-2011, 06:45 PM

After you do boxes, then you can do footstep track of the scentpad....about a 10 step 'track' ending with a jackpot, again, I'd pull the pup off before he eats all the food, and I used my pups meals for this, so he'd be good and hungry, the track meant more.
Because it doesn't take much time to lay a pad/short track, it is fairly easy to feed pup from a pad/track.
Then you can start doing three small tracks before you lengthen it with a possible turn(randomizing the bait, so it isn't in every step). Serpentines are good too. I'd recommend renting Joanne's intro into tracking to start with, they are pretty short videos...but will give you great information to start.

BR870 · 11-14-2011, 07:08 PM

Somebody mind explaining the pulling the pup off the scent pad bit to me? I get that it is to increase drive, but I'm still unsure about it...

FWIW, I'm working with 2x2 scent pads, marked with only one flag and about 5-7 peices of food inside. Once we are sure she has that mastered we'll move to triangle shaped pads pointing out towards a short track, but that is not till we are sure she has this down cold.

11-14-2011, 07:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
cowboy17 Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 143	Disturbed ground - did i do this right? Wondering if I did this right, as I was so proud of Gunner.. Trampled down a square on the grass about 5ft x 5ft. every inch was trampled and stepped on. I marked the corners with gold tee's so I knew where the area was. I then spread treats, about 20-30 of them within the area. Gunner was introduced to the area by me taking one treat, giving the command of "such" and tossed to one treat into the area. He would NOT leave the area. He searched and searched every treat in there and would get to the side of the area and turn back in looking again for more treats. It was absolutely awesome to watch. (I have never done any tracking before). did I do this correctly and what are my next steps? Repeat the same a few more times?

11-14-2011, 08:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
GSDElsa Crowned Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Central, NY Posts: 3,706	I'm sure everyone has different ways to do this, but this is the way I"ve done it/seen it done. I've always been told 5' diameter is too big--3' is better to start (and circles--sounds like you are doing a square?). Also not to TOSS a treat into the area, but rather put the treat to the dogs nose, and lower the treat and their nose to the ground, then get started. But definitely a lot of different techniques, so some people may do it your way. __________________ Justine, mom to: - Elsa - BrightStar Rescue - "Da Pookins" - Medo Aritar Bastet - "The Beast From The East"

11-14-2011, 09:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Castlemaid Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Northern British Columbia Posts: 9,089	Sounds good! Smart dog, figured it out quick. __________________ Lucia Keeta BH, OB1, TR1, AD (HOT) Rottweiler/Hairy Dog mix?? Shelter rescue Gryffon Vom Wildhaus BH, OFA Good (HOT) "Bites Through the Sleeve" Cuddlebug, b: Mar 2009

11-14-2011, 09:42 AM	#5 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,611	I watched a Joanne Fleming Plumb video and I liked one of her suggestions...pull the pup off the box while there is still a bit of food on it. That will build drive for the next time you go out. I've always done 3x3's too. No visual markers(other than a flag), the tamped down vegetation should be all you need. You can rent some good tracking videos from BowWowFlix.com: Dog DVD Rentals \| Dog Training Dvd \| Dog Dvds \| Rent Dog Videos __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo Last edited by onyx'girl; 11-14-2011 at 09:44 AM.

11-14-2011, 10:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
lhczth Administrator & LOTR Addict Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Michigan, USA Posts: 11,698	I also do boxes with my little puppies before going to regular tracks. The boxes are smaller, maybe 2X2, but I am tracking little puppies. You usually won't put much more than 10-12 pieces of food and, as Jane pointed out, you will want to pull your puppy off the scent when it is still searching and there is some food left. Yes, that builds drive. __________________ Lisa Clark Zu Treuen Händen Working German Shepherd Dogs *South Michigan SchH and Police Club*

11-14-2011, 08:37 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mrs.K Crowned Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 6,381	I don't do a square or circles. We've always started with the "Abtritt" and a straight track.

11-14-2011, 10:58 AM	#8 (permalink)
cowboy17 Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 143	Thanks for the feedback folks. I will pull him out early next timeand decrease the amount of treats. I was just so in awe that he was so good at it that I wanted to see if he could find them all. Will remove the visual boundry markers for next time. Also, will try a circle, and see if that gets different results. So do I stick with this 3-5 ft area for a while (5-10 times) or do I progress to something different as soon as I am sure he gets it? Videos are great for me, I will look into them as I need some form of process to follow.

11-14-2011, 06:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
onyx'girl Crowned Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: SW, MI Posts: 17,611	After you do boxes, then you can do footstep track of the scentpad....about a 10 step 'track' ending with a jackpot, again, I'd pull the pup off before he eats all the food, and I used my pups meals for this, so he'd be good and hungry, the track meant more. Because it doesn't take much time to lay a pad/short track, it is fairly easy to feed pup from a pad/track. Then you can start doing three small tracks before you lengthen it with a possible turn(randomizing the bait, so it isn't in every step). Serpentines are good too. I'd recommend renting Joanne's intro into tracking to start with, they are pretty short videos...but will give you great information to start. __________________ Jane~ Kept by Onyx, Kacie and Gideon v Wildhaus aka Karlo

11-14-2011, 07:08 PM	#10 (permalink)
BR870 Master Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 828	Somebody mind explaining the pulling the pup off the scent pad bit to me? I get that it is to increase drive, but I'm still unsure about it... FWIW, I'm working with 2x2 scent pads, marked with only one flag and about 5-7 peices of food inside. Once we are sure she has that mastered we'll move to triangle shaped pads pointing out towards a short track, but that is not till we are sure she has this down cold. __________________ Rob Ezra von der Rennbahn Princess Abigail "Abbie" Kai (RIP) Loki (RIP)

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