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A question for those who track with their dogs


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Okay, maybe 2 questions :) Of all the dogs I've had, Flint has the most extraordinary nose it seems. It is always on the ground.

 

Since I can't feasibly start any stock training with him until next spring, I want to start teaching him to track (I have an excellent trainer in the area) and I took a few tracking sessions with Jazz - who loved tracking but never got to work stock.

 

1. Will teaching him to track have any negative impact on his future stock training?

 

2. Will teaching him to track encourage or discourage a desire to follow wildlife (deer, in particular)

 

Thanks for your input...post-3503-079471500 1350689386_thumb.jpg

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I started K9 Nosework with Loki this summer because he had just finally finished physical therapy for his shoulder injury last fall. Loki fell in love with it and he's having a blast. He's had a couple of herding lessons since he started and he immediately goes to work without any hesitation. He understands the difference between the two activities. K9 Nosework is a game involving his nose while herding is a job involving his mind and soul. Don't worry, Flint shouldn't have any problems understanding the difference between the two. I hope you guys have a lot of fun in scentwork. :)

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About your wildlife question, when teaching tracking you're teaching the dog to ignore other scents and focus on the given scent, so no it should not encourage going after wildlife.

 

I also don't think it'll affect herding ability at all - you're working with two different instincts.

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I think if anything it will help improve his focus. Just make sure he knows when its time to 'track' and when its time to 'work'.

 

Meg has the bad habit of stopping to sniff the ground and/or the equipment during agility. We did some nosework games at home and that actually helped decrease her on-course sniff time. I think it probably just gave her a more appropriate time and place to do what she likes so she didn't feel the need to on the agility course.

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I can't answer the stock training question but I track and my dogs have no seemed to have a problem with sniffing out wildlife or other things inappropriately on hikes or doing other stuff. For one, we track with a harness, a line clipped to a certain spot and a flag. So when we are tracking we are tracking. For another, it really improves a working relationship and when you do that I think your dog will pay better attention to you overall.

 

Its addictive, and I am not the kind of person who ever thought I would enjoy schlepping about in the wet grass early in the morning!

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I agree with the responses that say tracking should not 'sidetrack' (pun intended) the herding instinct or training. First, you are not usually asking your dog to follow a deer (or other wildlife) scent. Instead, your dog will be following a human scent (usually). Also, when I took tracking lessons, my instructor encouraged us to use the tracking harness specifically for tracking training only so that the dog would know it was supposed to work (track) when wearing it, and if not wearing it, it wasn't required to formally track (although, of course, you can not prevent them from sniffing the ground at their pleasure).

 

Clarification please: from what I have read about Nosework, it is more of an air scenting exercise, or is there a component of it that involves laying a track for the dog to follow?

 

Jovi

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