You may or may not agree with our methods or you may have your own way to train a dog. But for those that have never done it before and have no info then maybe this will help. Its not perfect but it works for us and the 6 dogs we have trained so far and this will be the process for the new puppies we just got.
Most tracking dogs can track anything. Hogs, Deer, Kids. what ever. Its the process. not the animal we worry about. I want a tracking dog not a deer tracker.
Our best advise is to start out small. 5 - 10 mins. and not every day. When the dog knows its going to track it must be excited about it and be something it wants to do. Not something it has to do.
First of all you must have a good repore with your dog. If it aims to please you it will do its best to find the end prize,game, or reward just to please you. We have started with puppies and also grown dogs. The attention span of a puppy is alot less so keep that in mind. And always be aware of the temp, dogs can get over heated just like we can. I always carry water for them even when we are live tracking deer or pigs.
Second. its all about the end game. The prize at the end. Whether your tracking deer or hogs or what ever. When the dog finds the item you must make it feel like it won the lottery. If your practicing and the dog does not find the prize led him or her to it so they know there is a reward at the end. We use ground deer meat, deer ears, pepperoni sticks, what ever it is try to match the reward with the smell your tracking. If your teaching it to track your 6 year old kid. have the child at the end to be the prize.
Start out small 10-20 yards. work up to 40-50 with maybe a turn. then 100 yards with a couple turns. but start small if the dog does not learn there is an end game it will not want to play next time. Use a lazer to point out where the blood or smell is. They need help finding the scent at first. ALWAYS use the same command something not common to your real world. Such as SMELL or SNIFF.
We always wear the same thing and use the same collar and equipment when we train so the dog knows it training time. But you have to do that in the fleild for live tracking as well. IE an orange vest or hat. We have a tracking bag. and now when we put the tracking bag in the truck they know its time to go tracking.
Some dogs use wind to track some use ground scent. If you have two dogs and one does it one way and one the other you got a good tracking team.
Do some night training excerizes. they make great dog lights that fit on their collars. Because you have a 50/50 chance of tracking at night on a live hunt. Then as they get better lay a sent out at night and wait til morning to track it. Give them the same senerios that they would get in the field on a live track. Even test them in the rain.
Some dogs are better on a leash some are better off. If you track off lease besure you have control of the dog and can bring it back to you if it gets too far. We use a whistle. They make some great GPS collar systems but they cost.
Also when your laying the scent use a pair of rubber boots that you can wash. Make sure you take them off when you go out with your dog. Or they will be tracking your scent.
Hope that helps.
Most tracking dogs can track anything. Hogs, Deer, Kids. what ever. Its the process. not the animal we worry about. I want a tracking dog not a deer tracker.
Our best advise is to start out small. 5 - 10 mins. and not every day. When the dog knows its going to track it must be excited about it and be something it wants to do. Not something it has to do.
First of all you must have a good repore with your dog. If it aims to please you it will do its best to find the end prize,game, or reward just to please you. We have started with puppies and also grown dogs. The attention span of a puppy is alot less so keep that in mind. And always be aware of the temp, dogs can get over heated just like we can. I always carry water for them even when we are live tracking deer or pigs.
Second. its all about the end game. The prize at the end. Whether your tracking deer or hogs or what ever. When the dog finds the item you must make it feel like it won the lottery. If your practicing and the dog does not find the prize led him or her to it so they know there is a reward at the end. We use ground deer meat, deer ears, pepperoni sticks, what ever it is try to match the reward with the smell your tracking. If your teaching it to track your 6 year old kid. have the child at the end to be the prize.
Start out small 10-20 yards. work up to 40-50 with maybe a turn. then 100 yards with a couple turns. but start small if the dog does not learn there is an end game it will not want to play next time. Use a lazer to point out where the blood or smell is. They need help finding the scent at first. ALWAYS use the same command something not common to your real world. Such as SMELL or SNIFF.
We always wear the same thing and use the same collar and equipment when we train so the dog knows it training time. But you have to do that in the fleild for live tracking as well. IE an orange vest or hat. We have a tracking bag. and now when we put the tracking bag in the truck they know its time to go tracking.
Some dogs use wind to track some use ground scent. If you have two dogs and one does it one way and one the other you got a good tracking team.
Do some night training excerizes. they make great dog lights that fit on their collars. Because you have a 50/50 chance of tracking at night on a live hunt. Then as they get better lay a sent out at night and wait til morning to track it. Give them the same senerios that they would get in the field on a live track. Even test them in the rain.
Some dogs are better on a leash some are better off. If you track off lease besure you have control of the dog and can bring it back to you if it gets too far. We use a whistle. They make some great GPS collar systems but they cost.
Also when your laying the scent use a pair of rubber boots that you can wash. Make sure you take them off when you go out with your dog. Or they will be tracking your scent.
Hope that helps.
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