There’s a fine line….

Usually my blog posts are well thought out….I‘m writing this one as I think about it, so it might be clear as mud…..

There comes a point in tracking where a lot of the rules we have tried lived by start to become blurry. It varies as to when this happens, in general it’s when the dog is pretty much ready for certification, or has started TDX training. As you all know, I’m firm in my belief that dogs are best trained with you as the tracklayer, knowing and marking precisely where the track is. And, as training progresses, we want the dog to take a bit more responsibility for taking you (dog moves, then you move), down the track. And then, the dog, for whatever reason, starts to loose confidence in himself. Things have been going beautifully, and suddenly the dog is standing and staring, or lying down, or casting for no apparent reason—all often after he has clearly indicated the direction of the track. And so, now we have to change our priorities. Our primary goal becomes to keep the dog moving, be it on, close to, or in the general direction, of the track. Because WE were the tracklayer, we can gently step sideways and forwards to slip the dog towards the scent, always trying (SILENTLY—no chatting at them) to get them on the track without interrupting the flow.

It’s important we are careful to be silent and subtle in our efforts—at no time should the dog think we are directing them back to the track, rather we are positioning them to find it, and hopefully find a food drop or article. As they find the scent, and then the reinforcer, they are learning, and hopefully gaining confidence.

When you are doing this, stay close to the dog, 10 feet will be the greatest distance you allow (and I’m usually at 3-6 feet when at this stage). Don’t ask for a pull, but rather reinforce accurate effort with your forward motion. The end result, if you let the dog keep moving on/close to the track, is that you will usually get the dog who will insist you follow…..because he’s been allowed to be correct without conflict so many times that he owns the behavior and can insist.

Yes, there have been times I’ve told you to wait while your dog figures it out, and many of you are at that stage right now—we have to let them learn to look, find, and take the scent. That requires letting them think and work out the problem. But the dogs I’m referring to above already have those skills….it’s the skill of taking you down the track that they have to learn—they need to learn when they go, you will obediently follow. If, you follow easily and silently (follow like a cat behind your dog), and they become more dedicated to the track, and more forward and fluid in their movement, you will know you are on the correct training strategy.

No dog who stops working has ever passed a test. So if your dog quits (stands still, lays down, jumps on you , whines etc), the single most important thing you can do is to get them moving again. Change your path to the track after you get movement, and for the love of god….be quiet. If you make noise, you are calling the dog’s attention to the issue….and then reinforcing it with forward motion. Reinforce his voluntary movement with your (cued by him) movement. Again….you know where the track is….so just take a step, and another, and another, down the track without speaking or pointing. Keep the leash short, and try to position yourself slightly behind him (at the shoulder is fine).

Maybe at some level, this is when we have to leave our “I’m a dog trainer” behind….and let our dogs become people trainers. In the end, we can’t control the dog on the track. Once we have taught the foundation skills, the next step is teaching the dog that he can train us to follow him. In order to do that, we must, in fact, follow.

Hope this wasn’t as muddy as it feels. This is a hard concept to learn, and a hard one to teach.

THANK YOU ALL FOR AN AMAZING CLASS AND SESSION. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed these two classes, and look forward to seeing you all in January.