Sometimes painful but always necessary....

In order to train effectively we have to set the dog up to demonstrate what they do or don't know about a particular exercise. This does not mean that we set the dog up to fail but we need to take an honest look at the dog's understanding of the exercise.  This allows them to improve - because it allows us to determine what assumptions they are making about the exercise. It also allows us to determine how important certain tools are in their success - sometimes the things that they are relying on to succeed are not the things we want them to use. Take scent work for example - we only want the dog to use his nose to be successful - we dont want him using his eyes or reading the handler or being restrained or guided by the leash or line.

Another benefit of looking at training this way is that it allows me to tweak my training and teaching. That is the point where I am with training my tracking dogs right now. Steel and I were supposed to attempt his Variable Surface Tracking test in Kentucky this past weekend. Unfortunately due to car trouble and logistics I wasn't able to get him there. The next test likely won't be until October or November. At first I was very disappointed as I had put a lot of time and work into his training and we were ready. He narrowly missed passing in May and likely would have if it had been just a little bit cooler.  VST trials are also hard to get into - who knows how well I will fare in the entry lottery this fall....

However missing the test was unavoidable - so now I have plenty of time to play with my tracking without the pressure of an impending test! So I am working on allowing the dogs to show me how well they understand their tasks and working on improving their training - partly for my benefit but mostly for the benefit of my students and their dogs.

Here is a short clip of Amber showing me what she understands about tracking. I have placed gloves about every 20 feet along the track. The articles have a high value to her and serve as reinforcements along the track. As she progresses I will continue to space them further and further apart. This was her first road crossing so I put two pieces of hotdog in the roadway - I want to shape a behavior of her staying attentive to the pavement, not just rushing across it to get back onto the grass. Note that this is NOT SchH tracking - she more likely will do AKC tracking but my main concern is improving tracking training for police and search&rescue dogs.

The reason that Amber is showing me what she knows is because she is working on a flexi lead for the first time (as opposed to a tracking line). During this track I worked hard to keep her from getting to the end of the flexi, the only spot where she hits the end is at 8:48 when she is trying to figure out the road crossing. It was interesting to watch where the scent would take her without my reading her and providing handling input based upon her behavior. I always tells my students to let the track teach the dog and my goal this summer is to find better ways to help them do that!

Still trying to figure out how writing this blog can fit in with my traveling and training schedule. It seems like the more I am training the less I write about training....Right now I am helping my boss teach a two week advanced detection trainer's course to a group at the FBI Academy. Awesome funny hardworking guys - why is it that the people who are so elite that they should have big egos don't? The dogs are great too - because this is a more advanced class they are able to do some things that we don't usually do in the regular classes.

A very cool Belgian Malinois receiving his reward over the source of explosives odor.

Distinguished older gentleman and war veteran....

Calix taking his job of teaching very seriously....

He can still move pretty fast for an old man....

More driving than training....

Very little dog training or teaching going on lately and a whole lot of driving and waiting for car repairs to be completed. On the way east the radiator and various other things went on the geriatric vehicle I was driving  (not my own thank god). Four days of downtime for that. Then on the way from Vermont back to Maryland the AC went. An additional day of downtime waiting for that to be fixed and then I am off to Virginia.

While driving through PA I was listening to "wait wait don't tell me" on NPR - hysterically funny, not only are the people exceptionally funny but they are so quick witted. Even if I could come up with something half as funny no way could I come up with it so quickly. Anyway, they happened to be talking to the author John Irving. I can't say that I have read too much of what he has written but I do know that it qualifies as "literature" as opposed to just everyday fiction. He had some really cool comments about the writing process and I, of course, was amazed at how his comments apply to dog training.

He always knows the last line of the book right from the start. He stated that sometimes he didn't know it was the last line but that it always turned out to be the last line. As he grew more experienced he learned to better recognize the last line. He stated that he just needed to come up with the correct language to get to the last line. He also stated that the process needed to go slowly - he used to use a typewriter until he was repairing them too much and then he started writing long hand.

The most interesting and relevant comment was his rather defensive statement, after he had described the writing process a bit that he didn't mean to make it sound so "joyless". A goal can be slow, orderly and methodical - yet still be fun and have joy.

In other news - my repetitive automotive issues have allowed me the opportunity to visit with my good friends, who also happen to have bred and sold me Calix. Plus I have got to explore a bit of Maryland which is one of my favorite states. It is like Vermont with the edges softened a bit. Very historical too. You can drive around and see the history. This battlefield site is just down the road.

The name of the battle....

Why it was important....

I happened to be driving along and saw this farm in the distance. All I could picture was some scene from the Civil War. Then I saw the historical markers....

I am not a big history buff in that I enjoy reading or studying about history. I DO however find it very cool to be in spots where cool stuff happened. Like the Alamo when I lived near San Antonio (however the thrill started to diminish after about the 5th time I had to take someone there to see it).

Near info about the battle field (complete with "you are here" labels) was a small extremely old stone wall. You could almost see soldiers still hiding behind it.

REALLY good friends....

Good friends will let you and your 5 dogs stop over and spend the night at their house on your way to Vermont...

Good friends will let you leave a 12' long dog trailer in their driveway.....

Good friends will let you stay over several extra days when your vehicle dies and it needs emergency repairs....

Good friends will feed you and loan you their car and let you do your laundry....

But REALLY REALLY good friends will also provide you with a litter of 6 week old puppies to play with.....

West Virginia Seminar

I just finished helping with a detection seminar hosted by Logan Haus Kennels in West Virginia. SAR and law enforcement handlers from TN, WV, FL, NH, NY and a few other places. It was a really great class with some excellent dogs. Although our training program is unique and highly effective one of the most important parts of the process is selecting the right dog.  I feel bad when people desperately want to succeed with a certain dog but the dog just can't give them anymore than it has - it's a difficult thing to hear but we have to be fair to both the handler and the dog and give them an honest opinion.

Steel, Calix and Amber got to take their turns doing detection work. Steel in particular delighted in showing everyone his unique style of being the detection dog/class clown.  The seminar was held on the fairgrounds for the West Virginia State Fair and offered some excellent opportunities to track. I had not realized how much the weather had been slowing Steel down until we tracked here in WV in temps in the 50's. I could barely hold on, he did some excellent work. Jill got to play obedience and is making great progress in learning her utility scent discrimination exercises. I have slacked off a bit recently with her heeling and I noticed a difference. Her heeling is a work in progress - she understands the concept well but is still developing the body control and core strength to do it properly and I need to get in a short session or two each day. She LOVES to heel so she won't complain either!

Here is a video of a very nice malinois at the seminar learning not to trust his eyes and ears to help him get his reward. His handler is learning that if we sit back and are patient the dog will teach himself the lessons that we want him to learn!

Tomorrow I am headed back through the tunnels under the mountains to see some german shepherd puppies!!!

A very brief report about the Rottweiler National Specialty

1. Steel came extremely close to passing the AKC Variable Surface Tracking test. For those of you who don't know - it is wicked hard. The rest of the dogs in the class were much older than Steel. We drew the last track of the day and it was a VERY hot day. 86F (dont ask me what that is in degrees C, that is one metric measurement I could never grasp). He overshot his hard surface 90 degree turn and made the turn on the grass. This makes sense if you are a dog and are following scent in the most effective manner however it did not meet the criteria for the test. On a cooler day I think we would have done great so I was happy. I was also relieved to see that what we had been practicing was at least as hard if not harder than the real test.

2. Jilly Bean was an obedience star and earned her Novice obedience title in three trials with a fourth, third and second place. I was of course delighted with her performance but more importantly she was also really fun to show and we had a great time.

Here she is with her pile of ribbons:

 The two of us (with Jill showing us what a mistake it is to use a toy to make her look at the camera)

And a few pics from in the ring (thanks Carol)



We had such a great time seeing old friends as well as meeting some people who I have "known" for years but never met in person!!