Thanks - Dave,

That is exactly what I am doing.....he does have a good search drive and I play for small amounts of time, then he goes back in his kennel.

A question open to anyone re: basic ob. HE HAS NO FORMAL OB. No out, sit, recall......I have read some things that say training OB can take drive out....Should he have these commands down before starting narco training beyond fetch?

Thanks

If you use marker training for OB work you shouldn't loose drive. You loose drive when you correct a dog. By using motivational (marker) training you minimize the need for correction and the loss of drive that comes with it. Done correctly, motivational/marker training increases the dog's drive to work for/with you.

Agree with Mara. And I'd think this little lab has been in a kennel just waiting to work/have a job. I can't imagine that teaching him some basic stuff will stifle his ability to sniff out drugs, and he's got to pick OB stuff before long to do his job. Just my opinion, but I don't think you are overloading his mind if you also work on the sit/down/stay type stuff in short fun intervals.

Edited by Chip Bridges (06/13/2010 07:16 PM)
Edit reason: clarification

Thanks guys,

This is our first day....we have played fetch for like 3 minutes at the time......he does not want to out the ball at all......

we have done some drive and focus building......also short intervals

I am a marker trainer, so my techniques are motivational. We have worked on sit and starting down.

He is a very willing participant........I want him to only improve.

Thanks for your advice everyone....I will keep you posted.

One more thing....since he will be a working dog.......(I am waiting for my working puppy DVD)...He should stay kenneled when I am not working him right????

I keep dogs kenneled when I can't supervise to prevent bad habits and keep them out of trouble. If I can supervise, I let them hang out with me. I give them something to help them settle - a bone to chew on or a stuffed kong. If I'm watching TV or doing computer work, they are with me.

Time spent together strengthens your bond with your dog.

Again, agree with Mara. If I'm doing anything around the house and my new pup can be around for it, they're with me. If I can't keep a close eye, I try to kennel. If you look at the coffee table behind Shortstack in my signature photo, you'll see why!

Looking forward to updates. Have you tested the dog's sniffer at all yet?

Well, I did run the basic tests for drive...he passed flying colors still does everytime we play.

He is ball crazy, he will scratch and bark to get at a ball, and even when he is not supposed to...he is constantly sniffing/hunting anything that resembles a ball!! So that part is covered.

His nerves seem good (he was a stray and severely emaciated just 2 months ago. So even after all that ....he would rather play ball than eat......

He will relentlessly hunt the ball and found the ball stuck up in a bush during the test....

I am hopeful, but he is only 11 months old....I want him to keep his drives, so I am asking a lot of questions.

I have a lot of dog experience, but no detection, so I promise to be a good pupil!!!

Thanks for asking,

I'm a pupil too, don't mistake my posts for anything beyond that! Sounds like you're doing a fantastic job!

I was reading this thread out of interest.

My sister is training a Portuguese water dog for scent work...not narco but possible search and rescue. Mostly she is doing this with this particular dog because the dog is so nosey and food motivated. It is a great thing to train and because the dog loses interest in agility and obedience (competitively) Turns out the silly thing has a great nose.
I would think that having the nose would be one of the key things to go with the drive. And that that in and of itself is an individual dog thing.

I know a Border Collie that did search and rescue (including 911 cadaver work). I would NOT think of a BC for this but his owner saw it in him. He worked stock too.

Our county meth dog is a Golden with just a phenomenal nose and drive. A golden!? For some reason this cracks me up. Maybe cause I know what a nut he is when boarding him.

I would think that for a truely exceptional dog in the field of scent work you really need to pick the dog individually. Other than beagles or bloodhounds many dogs don't use their nose so much. I would imagine it is hard to just pick a puppy and train it up and get something magically remarkable.

I'm no expert but I would say it depends on the dog and the handler. I have worked with bloodhounds and coonhounds that make great detection dogs, but I have worked with many more that due to personality or prior training would never stay in a program long enough to graduate. I have seen a number of small dogs, especially beagles that have the nose for detection work, but are often overlooked because their size is a disadvantage if a search turns violent. The majority of detection dogs I have worked with (not as handler) have been mals or labs with a few GSDs and retreivers mixed in. But in scent detection fields like tracking, cadaver dogs, lost item, prey tracking, etc. I've seen dogs running the gamut from small dogs to big dogs regardless of breed.

If I had to choice one dog to do everything it would be an Australian shepherd or cattledog. Cattledogs have been the most hardcore dogs I have ever worked with. I have been bitten more times by them and I have had them save my life more times than any other dog breed.