May 19, 2011
When should I start articles on my track and should I introduce the articles on the track or off the track?
Full Question:
When should I start articles on my track and should I introduce the articles on the track or off the track? 
Ed's Answer:
I used to believe that articles can be trained off the track. I still think a lot of people do this and have success with it. This is their way and if it works for them then it is OK. I have a different idea of how t train articles and I believe that it should be done on the track during a training session.
The first thing that needs to be done is the dog must completely understand the "DOWN" command. This means that under ever circumstance when you give the DOWN command the dog will drop like a stone. This is trained with motivation and then followed with conflict training (see my article on motivational approach to all dog training). None of this training is done on the track.
The second thing that a dog must understand is how to track. He must know and understand corners on the track and must be tracking at the required speed.
When these two things are trained the dog is ready for the article training. Remember, in every part of dog training it is only possible to train one thing at a time. This is why the dog must first learn the down and also learn to track before it learns to down on articles.
When the time comes for article training the track should be done in nice green grass (an easy track) with no turns. The idea is to make the track as simple as possible. We are not training tracking at this point, we are training article during tracking. So we make the track easy. So we have a straight leg track that is maybe 10 yards long with 10 to 15 articles on it. The handler holds his dog on a short leash (his hand is about 2 to 3 feet behind the head of the dog). The dog must be used to the handler being this close during tracking. This is something that should have been done during normal tracking training.
Then as the dog approaches an article the handler gives a DOWN command. If things are correct the dog will drop. The handler then calms the dog with his voice and a calm stroke along the back. He may even give the dog a small
treat (but this is a judgment call - if it distracts the dog then he should not do it) After the dog settles in the DOWN, it is given the command to track again and will not have to go far before it gets another article.
This kind of training is the best way for me to train articles. Longer tracks with turns can be used when the dog is going DOWN on articles without a voice command or a pop on the leash.
The first thing that needs to be done is the dog must completely understand the "DOWN" command. This means that under ever circumstance when you give the DOWN command the dog will drop like a stone. This is trained with motivation and then followed with conflict training (see my article on motivational approach to all dog training). None of this training is done on the track.
The second thing that a dog must understand is how to track. He must know and understand corners on the track and must be tracking at the required speed.
When these two things are trained the dog is ready for the article training. Remember, in every part of dog training it is only possible to train one thing at a time. This is why the dog must first learn the down and also learn to track before it learns to down on articles.
When the time comes for article training the track should be done in nice green grass (an easy track) with no turns. The idea is to make the track as simple as possible. We are not training tracking at this point, we are training article during tracking. So we make the track easy. So we have a straight leg track that is maybe 10 yards long with 10 to 15 articles on it. The handler holds his dog on a short leash (his hand is about 2 to 3 feet behind the head of the dog). The dog must be used to the handler being this close during tracking. This is something that should have been done during normal tracking training.
Then as the dog approaches an article the handler gives a DOWN command. If things are correct the dog will drop. The handler then calms the dog with his voice and a calm stroke along the back. He may even give the dog a small
treat (but this is a judgment call - if it distracts the dog then he should not do it) After the dog settles in the DOWN, it is given the command to track again and will not have to go far before it gets another article.
This kind of training is the best way for me to train articles. Longer tracks with turns can be used when the dog is going DOWN on articles without a voice command or a pop on the leash.
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