We’ve had all kinds of exciting things happen over the last 3 weeks.
Last weekend we went to a tracking workshop presented by someone who owns some of Griffin’s relatives. Her dogs have been very successful in AKC tracking (following the scent of a person over varied terrain). Her presentation was very good and it was exciting to see so many people attend and ask really great questions.
I am not crazy about tracking -I like more active training than setting up puzzles for dogs to solve, but I can see how this will be very beneficial to my dogs. Scent related activities tend to be something my dogs are weak at (indicating it’s me…more than lack of capabilities of the dog/s) and this will give us a structured way to work through this. My dogs have been started in tracking training with a different method and I really should follow through and hope I have the motivation to make it happen!
The presentation was very good at indicating what the final goals are and then outlining the training to get there. It’s both fairly simple (start with a short distance. Gradually increase. Gradually add in variation) but also complex (humidity, moisture, temperature, hills will all influence what happens). I do think it’s important for us to try new/different things to be sure I keep having experiences as a learner and to see other kinds of activities.
Here’s a video of our friend doing tracking training about 8 years ago! Bailey lies down when she finds the ‘articles’ I dropped when I made the track.