Distractions, and articles (again…..)

I talked about this yesterday, and it's important enough to put into print. Short story--your tracking dog needs to be trained to work with distractions. What are distractions in tracking? The most common one is the judges. We often don't follow on the track (and if you look back at us while tracking, we will absolutely move somewhere, anywhere off the track). If we can cut a corner, or stand on a hill to watch you....it's entirely possible your dog will see us off in the distance, or possibly, be heading towards us. So training for those situations is a good idea. There will likely be a gallery, and they often don't follow our directions, thus there could be a group of people in your dog's line of site, or making noise somewhere along the track. There may be another team out in the field, finishing their track after failing--and their track is next to yours, so dog, handler, and tracklayer are moving in your dog's sight.

Jenn Jordan is doing an awesome job training for this, and I recommend her training videos! Train in public places, train near soccer or baseball games--BUT-- please, set your dog up to succeed. A 5 yard track (please read that again, it's not a misprint), with food every 3 inches, allows the dog to make a choice between the environment and the track. The dog might need to watch the environment for a few minutes before they feel safe enough to try sniffing. During that period, you need to stand still, relaxed posture, SILENT, and let the dog figure it out. IF the dog 'locks in' to the movement (a) you set this up too close, and (b) now you will, SILENTLY, wiggle your fingers in the grass (not point--wiggle flat in the grass)next to a piece of food. As the dog investigates that, move to the next piece of food. FIVE yards!!!! Before you can even ask me what is the next step, I'd like to see 5 yards of nose down, focused tracking, with a silent handler, in an active location.

There are blog posts on article indication on this website. If anyone videoed me with Ernie yesterday, at the glove, please post it. Most of you are getting to the article, be it on the track or in your living room, and making it a 'job' for the dog--a behavior they have to learn. Hint....if the article is going serve as the cue for the article behavior, the dog has to want the article. It must predict good feelings for the dog. You're serious...and you can (hopefully) see from the video, the one thing I am NOT with Ernie is serious. This is the best thing he's ever found....it moves, it shakes, it jumps, it tugs--and as long as he interacts with it, it keeps happening. And if he gets distracted....holy cow, it wiggles past him until he notices and chases again. He runs off with it? I don't care--he's carrying it!!!! That's stellar!!

So please, wherever you're starting your article training (living room, front yard, whatever) please start by making the article awesome. You're dog doesn't play? Stuff it with food (dinner?), let him 'find it' (not hidden at all), feed him from it, one piece at a time....after 10-15 pieces, set it behind you and let him 'find it' again. Make sure he knows he is BRILLIANT--not a quiet "good dog," but enthusiastic fun praise. Repeat until the food is gone. I'll lay odds he's excited when you pull the glove out at dinner tomorrow! Remember, the dog isn't going to offer the behavior if he doesn't see the glove/end article/any article as a source of reinforcement. You have to build that step first......