So, I have bought a couple of books on training a dog to track (Try Tracking! and Scenting on the Wind), and I am not quite getting it I don't think. Scenting on the Wind ended up being a little more advanced than I think I was ready for, and I am about halfway through Try Tracking!.
Basically, what I'm understanding is you start with a short track and use flags to mark your trail. You are the track, using your feet to shuffle, stomp, and step out a scent trail.
Here's what I am trying to accomplish.
I hunt, and I am wanting to teach a dog to follow a blood trail. I use a lot of scent elimination products to do away with human odor, because that's an important part of hunting. Please don't turn this into an anti-hunting rant. Keep your personal opinions to yourself. I'm not just going out there shooting everything in sight and keeping only the head. I try to use as much of the animal as possible so nothing is wasted. So don't judge me.
Anyway...I don't want to create a dog that is dependent on my scent to follow a trail. For the job he/she will need to do, the trail he/she will have to follow will have very very little if ANY human scent on it at all, so I don't want the dog to think that a trail lacking in human scent is not one to follow. But, how do you lay a trail completely devoid of human scent?
Also, can a dog learn to follow more than one scent, or is it best to teach them to follow one scent so you know that's what they are following?
So let me see if I have this right.
Short trail, about 30-40 steps(according to Try Tracking!), lots of scent and close together(in my case, lots of drops of blood and not spaced out). Lots of treats on the ground to keep them interested. Jackpot at the end. The trail needs to be really fresh--an hour old????
Then, short trail, less scent or longer trail with the same amount of scent?
And when do you make it harder? Do you spend a couple days or a week at the easiest one as described above? Do you increase the criteria with length of trail first, or amount of scent, or age of the trail? It seems like if you decreased the scent and increased the length of the trail and aged the trail at the same time it'd be too much; am I wrong?
Do the dogs immediately start sniffing because it's a new smell? If I were doing this with Mudflap she probably wouldn't even notice; her sense of smell is awful.
I'm going to re-read Try Tracking! after I finish it. I'm just kind of confused. Any help is appreciated.
Basically, what I'm understanding is you start with a short track and use flags to mark your trail. You are the track, using your feet to shuffle, stomp, and step out a scent trail.
Here's what I am trying to accomplish.
I hunt, and I am wanting to teach a dog to follow a blood trail. I use a lot of scent elimination products to do away with human odor, because that's an important part of hunting. Please don't turn this into an anti-hunting rant. Keep your personal opinions to yourself. I'm not just going out there shooting everything in sight and keeping only the head. I try to use as much of the animal as possible so nothing is wasted. So don't judge me.
Anyway...I don't want to create a dog that is dependent on my scent to follow a trail. For the job he/she will need to do, the trail he/she will have to follow will have very very little if ANY human scent on it at all, so I don't want the dog to think that a trail lacking in human scent is not one to follow. But, how do you lay a trail completely devoid of human scent?
Also, can a dog learn to follow more than one scent, or is it best to teach them to follow one scent so you know that's what they are following?
So let me see if I have this right.
Short trail, about 30-40 steps(according to Try Tracking!), lots of scent and close together(in my case, lots of drops of blood and not spaced out). Lots of treats on the ground to keep them interested. Jackpot at the end. The trail needs to be really fresh--an hour old????
Then, short trail, less scent or longer trail with the same amount of scent?
And when do you make it harder? Do you spend a couple days or a week at the easiest one as described above? Do you increase the criteria with length of trail first, or amount of scent, or age of the trail? It seems like if you decreased the scent and increased the length of the trail and aged the trail at the same time it'd be too much; am I wrong?
Do the dogs immediately start sniffing because it's a new smell? If I were doing this with Mudflap she probably wouldn't even notice; her sense of smell is awful.
I'm going to re-read Try Tracking! after I finish it. I'm just kind of confused. Any help is appreciated.