May 19, 2011
My 10 month old dog is trained to track. Now it is time to train it in Air Scenting. I am having problems with control off leash. What should I do?
Full Question:
Mr Frawley,I have a 10 month old Bouvier that I am training for SAR. He is currently tracking but I am starting him on the basics of air scent off lead. My problem is that the older he gets the more the prey drive seems to have kicked in. Once he took off after snowmobiles while off lead and now he is starting to show interest in cars (crouching and attempting to lunge while on lead) I have started putting a prong collar on him and walking him by the road and treating him if he doesn't try to chase and correcting him if he does. He was pinched twice by the prong and now sits behind me when a car goes by. Am I on the right track? He seems to be rather "soft" with corrections. Also, should I tell him No or Leave It while correcting? He is starting to run the fence in the back yard when cars go by and works himself into a frenzy and will now jump the fence to chase the cars.
Janet
NY
Ed's Answer:
You are about 200% wrong is just about everything you are doing.
10 months is way, way, way to young for air scenting.
Read my articles on TRACKING THROUGH DRIVE on my web site.
If you want a SAR dog then do it right. Learn about TTD. Train your dog in TTD. When that is done then do air scenting. Your dog is still a puppy – whoever is giving you advice needs training.
Here are some videos to teach you the right way:
Training a Police (S&R) Tracking Dog – Level One This video was filmed in Canada with the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). In my opinion they are some of the best tracking dog instructors in the world. S&R trainers in Canada cannot be called out until they have passed a level one certification by the RCMP. This training tape shows how dogs are trained to this level.
Track Laying for a Police Tracking Dog How to lay a good training track is critical in training tracking dogs. This tape goes into a great deal of detail on track laying. There is an art to laying a good training track. This tape shows how the experts do it. If you are new to S&R or police tracking, or if you are constantly having to retrain track layers, this tape can save you a lot of time and energy.
10 months is way, way, way to young for air scenting.
Read my articles on TRACKING THROUGH DRIVE on my web site.
If you want a SAR dog then do it right. Learn about TTD. Train your dog in TTD. When that is done then do air scenting. Your dog is still a puppy – whoever is giving you advice needs training.
Here are some videos to teach you the right way:
Training a Police (S&R) Tracking Dog – Level One This video was filmed in Canada with the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). In my opinion they are some of the best tracking dog instructors in the world. S&R trainers in Canada cannot be called out until they have passed a level one certification by the RCMP. This training tape shows how dogs are trained to this level.
Track Laying for a Police Tracking Dog How to lay a good training track is critical in training tracking dogs. This tape goes into a great deal of detail on track laying. There is an art to laying a good training track. This tape shows how the experts do it. If you are new to S&R or police tracking, or if you are constantly having to retrain track layers, this tape can save you a lot of time and energy.
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