Training Tracking Dogs
28 Sep 2009
Hunters and police are most likely to be training tracking dogs, but more and more regular dog owners are enjoying tracking competitions with their dogs. Schutzhund dog clubs and some kennel clubs hold tracking competitions for club members. It isn’t difficult to train your own dog tracking right at home. Among other things, you can train your dog to track your kids, in case you want to find them in a hurry. Dogs are gifted by Mother nature with an amazing sense of smell, so with the right training they can find almost anything.
To get started with training tracking to your dog, just use the following four steps.
- You want to start by picking out your dog’s most favorite toy. It is not important whether it is a ball or a chew toy. The first step is to teach your pet word association. The toy should be in plain sight in the same room with you both at this point. If he loves his ball, then you will repeat the word ball as you play with him. The repetition of the word ball will soon get your dog to word associate and learn what the word ball means. Soon, just by saying ball, your dog should start looking to find his ball for a play session. Give him lots of praise and a reward treat for finding his ball. This positive reinforcement training will get you the fastest results. You want to keep repeating this game until your dog has shown he has really made the connection with the word and the favorite toy.
- For the next step of training tracking you will now put the ball into a different room. Tell your dog the word ball, and he should immediately start trying to find his ball. Since the ball is in another room now, he can’t see it-but he will start sniffing for it. He should start searching for his ball by following his nose. You should follow him and be there to give him a bunch of praise as soon as he does find the toy. Just keep repeating this step until your dog is expert at quickly locating his toy. By giving him lots of reinforcement you are giving him additional motivation to quickly find his ball. Hide the toy in different locations until you see that your dog has the ability to find the toy easily no matter where you have hidden it.
- Since your dog is now an expert at finding his toy, he is ready to move on up to the next level of tracking training. To start, you want to clean his toy well enough to eliminate any lingering scents that are on it. Take the clean ball and wrap it up in an item of clothing that your child has already worn, like a t-shirt or a sock-so that the ball can absorb the odors of your son or daughter. After leaving the clothing wrapped around the ball for awhile, resume the tracking game with your dog as before. Your dog will now find his favorite ball by keying in on the scent of your child.
- You are now ready for the next step of the tracking dog training. All of you will have fun with this part. Rather than hide his ball, have your son or daughter hide in a different room. Give your dog the command to find his toy-he will now be looking for your child’s scent. Stay close to him so that you can give him plenty of praise and rewards the moment he finds your child. Make the searching fun for your dog, and he will always be eager to play, and find whatever you need him to. To improve your dog’s tracking abilities, ask your child to hide further away, until your dog can find him over some distance.
Soon you will be able to send your dog out to fetch your child home to do some homework or eat dinner. Give the tracking training a try out with your dog-you’ll find it is a fun game to play with your dog. If you find that you and your dog really enjoy the tracking, there are Kennel Clubs, and Schutzhund Clubs that hold tracking competitions.
I hope you enjoyed this article on tracking dog training. For other free helpful articles about dog obedience training and solving your dog’s behavior problems, please visit: www.BehaveDoggy.com.
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