Working Dogs Q&As

How do you eliminate food used in training a competition tracking dog?

Is this video much different than the Dildei tracking video?

Who is the instructor on the video Training a Competition Tracking Dog?

Is the video you did on Competition Tracking filmed in America?

I do not have someone I trust to read my dog properly when I first start tracking him. Can I not start him tracking a stranger with me handling the dog?

I have a dog that has no interest in tracking. What can I do to train him? Even when he is not fed and we use hot dogs and food it is put in plain sight but he does not leave the pad. What can be done to get him started?

I am not a police officer. Our local department asked me to track an arson suspect last week. I did not do it because my dog does not have experience on night tracks. What would you recommend?

Ed, I have a 5 mo. old GSD female named Dixie. I have had her for about a month now. Dixie is already about the size of our 2 yr old GSD Sandy. When we got Dixie, we put her in with the other GSD and rott. They get along great. Question is, I am wanting to train Dixie in SAR work like our other GSD, and Dixie is not wanting to pay attention to me. My husband does not want Dixie in house, so how can I bond with her without having her in the house? Our jobs also hinder ...

Is it necessary to always give a bite at the end of every track in Tracking Through Drive (TTD)?

I do not have someone I trust to read my dog properly when I first start tracking him. Can I not start him tracking a stranger with me handling the dog?

I have a lemon beagle with the nose-from-hell... she won't potty if she scents something on the wind or ground. I watch her sniffing the air/ground, and wonder if she could do SAR. It is a waste of an excellent nose otherwise. She is very friendly (TOO friendly sometimes) to people and other animals. She has a cat of her own but I believe would chase strays. She does not appear to fear loud noises, like thunder, but rather is intrigued by them. nose to the air... nose to the air or ground...

Cindy, I have an operational SAR air scent golden retriever in the state of Virginia. I spent hours in the wilderness both training and on SAR missions. My dog has been skunked twice in her life so far. The first time was at 6 months and most recently at 4 years of age. I'm always prepared and have the necessary recipe on hand to deal with removing the skunk oil and odor. My question is: Will she ever learn to avoid these critters? She lives with three cats at home and I oft...

Cindy, Thank your for taking the time to answer these questions. I really appreciate it. My Mal is almost seven months and training in tracking and arson are going very well. I now would like to teach her to bark when she finds the Quarry. The Quarry and her play very well at the end but no barking. She will bark at home or in the car and I never correct her. I always acknowledge with a yes then calm her down and tell her that everything is ok. I don't want her to think barking is bad an...

Good morning, For someone who should know better, I've let a large playful, lab turn into a dominant, dog aggressive nightmare. I've been training search and rescue dogs for 15 years and he is my first dominant aggressive dog. He snarls, lunges when a new dog shows up at the house or out in public. As I never personally dealt with a dominant dog in the past, I didn't see all the subtle warning signs as this dog developed. He is 110# 2 ? old lab and last summer he started growling a...

I did look for an answer in your website before I began this email. I have a 7 month old GSD. He is a male about 65 lbs now. I am currently training him as an SAR scent dog. He has some tracking imprinting as a pup and still likes to track today, which I let him do. Most of the training I have began in basic obedience and "find" which he goes out no further than 25 yards and returns (recall). It took 7 weeks to teach him to speak on command and I used food and toys for motivation. N...

I am a civilian trying to learn how to train my dog for search & rescue work. I have already spent quite a bit of money on instructors, videos, & classes. I have an 11 mo. old GSD who learns very quickly. The problem I'm having are so many opinions on how to teach tracking, air scent; AKC, SCHUTZHUND, etc. Who's right??? After reading some of your articles it seems to me you make the most sense. Fortunately, my dog hasn't had enough training with any particular method of search training as I ...

Hi Mr. Frawley, I have been reading many of your question/answers on your site (a link from my state SAR site). I wonder if you could help me with suggestions for my 9 month old GSD female. She is a GREAT trailing dog with SAR...the problem I am having is that she is showing some dog aggression towards the other SAR dogs. She rushes over to them with hackles raised, and looms over them. When they run and play, she runs after them snapping at their shoulders. When she is confronted ...

I am currently involved with a non-profit organization that assists w/ search and rescues and other public safety related situations... The director has allowed me to be our S&R canine officer - the problem is... I currently have a female beagle/Dalmatian mix (75lbs, short hair, age: 5 yrs) who is a doll to play with and is very obedient. Do you think my pet would be able to be trained to conduct a search? And is there any way for me to do some trials that would let me know? Thanks in adva...

I am writing from the north woods of Minnesota where there are less than 5000 residents in a county that is more than 90% public lands. There is not a lot of activity here for Search & Rescue, but when there is, it is naturally traumatic. We have found that when dogs could be of use that it is many hours before a trained and certified professional can arrive. The closest certified unit is 5 hours away. So for over a year now I have been training my Chesapeake for SAR work. We started with air...

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'...