Lessons on teamwork

https://youtu.be/CFS7N6KEBa8?si=RKr0uRrDFtIJ2sjL

MAM and I thought this video, and some commentary, might be helpful. This is Fletch and I last week.

1. Please note that he starts tracking at the flag—he doesn’t run out, circle and catch it, he finds it at the flag.

2. Can you see how centered he is over the track, spine straight?

3. At 1’25” he wobbles a little, I slow to a stop, he searches, nose deep, working. I relax and let him work. He’s not asking for line, I’ve got a soft elbow so he has give and take—he’s not feeling me restrict him

4. He shows me straight spine on the track, in the correct direction, so I give a little line with tension, he continues, I follow.

5. He wavers again at 1’35” but recovers almost immediately, so I just break stride and then follow

6. At 1’44 seconds he gives clear LOS. At 2” he digs in, I pause, he reconsiders, casts off, and gives a much more convincing clear and confident direction, again, I let him take that line (straight spine,centered over the track), and then I follow

7. He stops to eat a food drop, I let him show me the track before I follow

8. At 3’1” he shows LOS again. At 3’23” he investigates the wrong way. I give a little line, he comes back. I would have added a lot of line pressure/tension (but not actually stopped him) if he’d kept going.

9. At 3’32” he takes a straight line, I let line go, he sticks it, I follow.

10. We have a gorgeous article indication, and again, after I tell him how wonderful he is, I stand up and wait for him to clearly reaqcuire and take the track.

11. At 4’21’ another clear LOS. At 4’38” another LOS. And this is why I plot my own tracks. I KNOW it goes straight ahead. I am perfectly willing to let him take his time and figure this out. He does, and another nice article indication. AFTER a clear down that has some duration, I cue his ‘reward’ which is to bring me the glove.

I suggest you watch this at 0.6 or so speed, so you can see tiny things. Fletch is driving bus—if he tells me to wait while he works something out, I do. I might limit how much line he has to do his checking, but I am unlikely to get into a pulling contest. If something is SO interesting he just has to check it out, I will let him. Every wobble, every waver is information….if he’s heading back to the track, I’ll let him take 2-3 steps to show me he’s back on before I follow. NOTICE HOW CLOSE I STAY TO HIM. I catch back up as soon as I step out to follow. When he casts, I stand still, always facing the direction we were last tracking.

Your training tracks should look like this. Your dog might not look just like Fletch, but your back and forth communication with the line and with your feet should look just like this.

You can only train like this if you put your own tracks in, and use solid double line ups so you know where every damn footstep is. It can only look like this on a blind track if you’ve done hundreds of these on tracks you laid. And, for the love of god…flags DO NOT replace double lineups. As humans, we do not walk in straight lines. If we did, no one would ever get lost in the woods. We walk in curves. So without double lineups, your flags are not in a straight line, and you are asking your dog to follow a track that isn’t there.