OK Folks,

Thanks for the advice.

Can I now assume that my post is in the wrong place? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> And I should now post in the other forum?

Cheers

John

Terry-I didn't try to slow him down; if he doesn't screw up, why shouldn't he find the person as quickly as possible? I've just been told that he'd have to learn the "baby steps" routine if we were going to do schutzhund, which I'm not going to, because he's really not cut out for sport. I'd be interested to hear more of your methods, but if everyone else wants to focus on sport tracking, you can PM me. He tore his ACL tracking his dear old Mom at a dead run (windy day-only overshot me by about 4 feet, immediately corrected himself), so I think tracking is going to be something we should concentrate on doing together, since he's going to be somewhat limited in function <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. If I can't find any help, I hide my other dogs or cats in places and have him track them. He likes it much better than they do. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Jenni, sounds like your dog has the drive to track. If you dont always have someone to lay your track, you might try the poor boys way. I do this when starting all our pups anyway. I put the puppies in a pen and tie a rope to the door and run away a couple hundred feet to the end of the rope pulling the gate open as I run by. I run until the pups catch me. When they become to fast for this game I will con someone into turning them out after ever increasing amounts of time. In this way you can teach your dog the basics of tracking without hounding all your family and friends to lay tracks. Also if you can develop a desire in your dog to play tug of war with an old shirt or whatever he likes to play with, use this as a reward when he finds you. When this dog is tracking you on 45 min to one hour old tracks for a distance of 1/2 mile you should consider getting someone else to lay your tracks. As he progresses you may have to put him on a leash, some dogs will track much faster than you can run . This is the reason I use Hounds that open (bark on track) and ride mules.I have never trained a dog for leash work but I have used one of mine on a leash a coupe of times and he made the transition really well.

While that would be fun and interesting, I'm afraid I'd have a difficult time explaining to the police how/why my dog is technically not unattended, even though I'm half a mile away, and he's running full speed through the neighborhood <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />. Where are you located that you can get away with this? Lucky! Even though my dog would ignore anyone he came across, where I live, people would take about 1.5 seconds to call the cops on a large, black german shepherd streaking around... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Whoa..whoa!
Folks, the tracking that Terry is talking about is an obscure type of law enforcement tracking that is done only *rarely* in this country, so don't get all excited here. Did ya notice the part where he's riding a mule following the tracking dogs? Are any of you planning on adding a mule to your training kit? Didn't think so....

An old law enforcement joke would be "what do you call a tracking dog that's 1/2 mile from it's handler?"
"Lost"

Jenni, you would control your dog so that you could keep up with it and arrive on the tracking suspect at nearly the same time - if you're a significant distance away, the suspect has an opportunity to kill your dog.....hence we changed the law enforcement tactics for suspect pursuit about 35 years ago.

Notice that for the most part, serious SAR handlers ( who spend for time actually man trailing than any LEO ) are tracking on leash. That should tell you something.

Unless you're planning on running down chain-gang escapee's, stick to the footstep-to-footstep menthod of learning your inital training - it's the year 2006, not 1956. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Hence my reply <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. I can hear it now..."Umm, Officer, my dog is not loose, he's tracking . Yes, I am half a mile away from him, but you'll have to go now before he hears us...he's supposed to be tracking, not listening. Now scoot-or I'll have to start all over!"

I asked where Terry's located because of the mules; I'm quite curious. I don't think we have much of that kind of territory around me, so we'll have to stick with a leash and tracking others for now, although experimenting is fun if you're not concerned about your dog learning a particular method. Don't worry Will, I won't send Caleb off to find you in Florida <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />!

I think Terry is with the OK State patrol.......

Ahhh, OK. That would explain the mules.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />and also dogs running all over the country... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I wanted to add one thing. I have ridden with the volunteer SAR in GA on more than one occassion..we are not using dogs,but when searching for lost hikers etc..riding out with people that have first aid/wilderness experience in search of usually lost hiker/child something of that sort. I have seen them use dogs open tracking..baying dogs..usually bloodhound/walker hound/red bone/or those sort of dogs..do they scent and track-yes..do they do it like anything else I have seen no..their handlers -some use long tracking leads and harness-look like horse long lines to me-usually 20-30 feet..and ride asure footed horse or mule..or they free track..but these dogs are not searching for a criminal or anything that would willing cause harm, they are searching for the lost are injured in the woods/mountains..very different from law enforement/traditional SAR/and-or schutzhund or sport tracking
it is intersting to watch though
nicole

Hey, where out of Georgia did those free tracking/ horse mounted tracked work out of?
We had supposedly the largest tracking group of SAR folks in the state work with us when I was a SchH club member in the Greater Atlanta area and they didn't use those tactics.
Just wondering...