Just a quick question on tracking.I just started training my little guy to track,working on laying a track with some hot dogs and I heard somewhere(maybe here) that playing hide-n-seek with the dog can help hone his skills.If thats true my question is how does this help?If he is following my scent to find me -well my scent is all over the house,how does he discriminate old scent from fresh,or is it more a question of teaching him to seek things out?He's got a hell of a nose and I don't want to start confusing him(or myself).And also with the harsher weather coming is it still good to work with him even when the weathers bad?Thanks

If you do the hide-n-seek, your dog will air scent-which is great for patrol & search work, but Bad for SCH article tracking.
Id just stick to the hot dogs for a while, you can incorporate the other later when/if appropriate, depending on your goals. DOgs begin to love it & its alot of fun really. The hide N seek is aloso, just very different.

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Just a quick question on tracking.I just started training my little guy to track,working on laying a track with some hot dogs and I heard somewhere(maybe here) that playing hide-n-seek with the dog can help hone his skills.If thats true my question is how does this help?If he is following my scent to find me -well my scent is all over the house,how does he discriminate old scent from fresh,or is it more a question of teaching him to seek things out?He's got a hell of a nose and I don't want to start confusing him(or myself).And also with the harsher weather coming is it still good to work with him even when the weathers bad?Thanks

Hi Michael. In addition to thinking about your tracking goals (SchH sport work? SAR? Drug/bomb etc. detection?....) I encourage you to think about your track bait. I know that hot dogs are very common for the "food bait" part of track training regardless of goal. (Ultimately, the successful dog will track with NO food whether it's sport or a real job).

We are tracking for SchH sport. To be serious about it, our adult SchH and SchH prospect dogs get most of their food day in and day out from the track - not a bowl. I don't think a diet of mainly hot dogs is good for my dogs.

While I'd love to do even better for my dogs, we use Natural Balance Turkey rolls cut up into relatively small pieces for tracking. IMO - too much grain for my taste, but better than all the nitrates, etc. in hot dogs. (still looking for a better alternative to reduce the grains and still track every day!!)

I know this is a bit off topic from your question, but I hope you will consider it if you plan to track alot - give the best quality food to your dog that you can, including the track.

Beth

You mentioned you just started tracking your little guy. If it`s for the sport schutzhund did you start him off on sent pads first? I like to start my dog on sent pads. Teach them to spend a little time on searching the sent pad. Then you can add legs after the dog knows the sent pad real good. Then you incorperate turns. Then add articles. Now there are two ways to do this. Add them to the track and teach him down on the track or teach him down with articles away from the track. It`s personal preference and what`s good for that paticular dog. I did mine on the track and after telling him to platz when he finds the article, worked well for him. It only took two articles and he got the hang of it. And you can change up the hot dogs if you want. Sometimes they get bored. I use cat food sometimes. Can`s that say sliced. Those are good sizes.

My purposes for tracking is to hopefully get involved with some sort of SAR group after he's trained,it's always interested me and when I purchased him I specifically wanted a dog that would be good for that.Also when choosing a trainer I found one in my area with an excellent rep. who has trained police dogs etc...
When I start a session it only lasts for maybe 20 min. or so and all I do is stomp out a track usually about 25 yards or so and lay a piece of hot dog every 2 or 3 ft. I wait for about 10 min. then bring in the pup(1yr. old)I have him on a harness and give the sook command while bending over and swiping along the ground with my hand.Once he finds a piece its lots of praise.We do this until the end of the track where I put a little pile of treats for him along with a personal article ie.glove,hat,etc...Thats pretty much what a typical session consists of.If there's something else I should be doing or maybe change,I'm all ears.Thanks for all the replys <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Michael,
Do you belong to a SAR group now? You said that you wanted to join a SAR group after your dog is trained. I think joining a group, learning what the standards are and having them help you with your training would be beneficial for you and your pup. We have a few people with pups on our team and also some young dogs that are coming along nicely. The best thing is that the newer handlers learn what it takes to train as far as time, dedication and commitment, money, and most importantly they get to learn the other training that should be obtained such as SAR Management, Map/Compass/GPS, Mantracking, Wilderness Survival, Basic First Responder ect....
This is just some of what our team requires. I run a 4.5 year old Bloodhound on mantrailing and I have a 1 year old Malinois for Cadaver/Airscent work. It is fun and rewarding work.
Also you mentioned you were training to "track", have you given any thought to trailing? In my neck of the woods tracking is footstep to footstep ground disturbance work that usually is the LE portion since the dogs basically need fresher scent to pick it up. Trailing is scent discriminate and the dog does not necassarily stay on the trail depending on the weather conditions and topography and the trail can be aged quite awhile.
Just wondering. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Carol has good advice there

Don't know what kind of dog you have and how you are being trained, but I do know that I have met quite a few LE who believe that bloodhounds are the only breed capable of scent discrimination and that pointy eared dogs can only track. Don't agree - just saying that viewpoint is out there.

By the time a SAR dog is called in, you need one capable of working with a scent article and casting for the start of the trail in an area that has been heavily contaminated by the first people out**. Also need to be able to run much older trails than LE typically run.

Many teams have some restrictions about the use of dogs that have been trained for sport too. Not to start a discussion on that, but it is a reality you may have to contend with.

**and often the SAR folks don't get called in until it gets dark, or it is the next day, etc.

HEE HEE...Those darn "Bloodhound People".... <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Please know that although I run a BH, I am not in that category and I also am not keen on recommending that a novice go out and get a BH. They are definitely not a dog for everyone. I love mine to death and he works his heart out for me.
Pointy eared dogs are just as capable of trailing IMHO.

Carol, Thanks for the reply.I do not belong to any club right now.I have looked on-line for SAR groups in my area,but havn't found any close enough to train with.I live in Frankfort,Il.(about 35 miles SW of Chicago).
I have read a few books on SAR and am aware of the dedication etc...I enjoy working with my dogs and also have some medical backround which I would like to put to use before I forget it.I havn't given much thought to what kind of work to train for, such as tracking or trailing etc..but I would like to get involved with something along those lines.
I did find one group(Chgo. area SAR),however they train once a week and on a day that I work,also further than I would like.I do have a regular job which I have to take into consideration(without it there's no money for anything else)My hrs. are pretty set it's just finding something that goes with my schedule.Even finding a trainer was dificult due to my schedule.
On a seperate note I am currently working with a 1yr. old GSD who from what the trainer tells me has a heck of a nose and lots of potential.Any advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanks

I will get you some contacts for your area and will pm you with them tonight when I get home from work.