Nikon tracking

He's got wonderful focus on the job. :)

Thanks Jackie.  I've not been pleased with the overall picture lately and this is so new for me I'm having trouble figuring out what we're doing wrong.  I wouldn't say the focus isn't there, but the overall intensity is just not where I would like it to be (and not where it has been in the past).  Luckily he put on a great show today.  Nose could have been deeper (in SchH we like the shnoz plastered to the ground!) but it was quite wet and the track did not age at all, so with that much scent I can't fault him for the head being up a little and his nose was muddy at the end so that's a good sign.  We've been having issues with corners so I did not do any today, just a large curve.

I know what you mean about the intensity as far as what was seen on this vid.  He seemed methodical and very much "on the job" but not intense in his body language.  I'm not a good judge though because I have zero experience with Sch tracking.  Do you have a vid of a Sch dog tracking that shows what you are working toward?   Just curiousity on my part, so don't spend time finding one if you don't have one handy.

I tried to find a good video but couldn't.  It's hard to describe.  I've been doing some handling of my trainer's older SchH3 dog and handled him tracking on Sunday.  It's just....different.  Part of it is the dog's age and experience though, I can't rag on Nikon because he's only been tracking for less than a year, and the truth is he could probably go out tomorrow and pass a SchH1 track.  I had an AKC tracker watch him track and she didn't see what the problem was.

I'm starting him on article tracks.  This will give him more of a motivation to track.  He is a thinker.  Some dogs track with calm intensity because it is genetic.  Nikon doesn't have those genes.  He has food drive but that's not really why he tracks (I have noticed zero marked difference in his behavior when I track him hungry vs. full, kibble vs. venison loin steak).  He understands how to track and he does it well, the problem is that the Schutzhund style of tracking is more of an obedience exercise.  Nikon tracks more naturally - he will cast a bit if there is wind, his nose comes up if it's damp and there's an overload of scent.  Those things aren't wrong, they just aren't correct, if that makes sense.  By training him that articles are these great things that mean a ton of food and praise comes from me, he will have more of a reason to keep the nose down deep and be more consistent regardless of environmental conditions.

 Such a difference between SchH and AKC tracking! I thought he looked very good! You could definitely see him find each foot print, cool! I am not sure what the goal is in SchH, in regards to the intensity level should be. Personally with Logan on AKC tracking I like to have him pull hard, it's how I read that he's on the track.  When he's casting, or not sure there is much less, what I'd term, intensity in his forward motion.  But, that's how I read him.  When he knows where he's going it's like a freight train on the end of the lead.  Granted the goals are very different as to the end result, from what limited knowledge I have in the differences between the two.

Very good, I thought! :)

If you do find a good SchH tracking vid, I'd like to see it too! :)

Liesje

Those things aren't wrong, they just aren't correct, if that makes sense.

It actually does make sense to me. :)  Just like most dog "sports" there is a right and a wrong way to get to the same destination. lol 

Pulling is OK but the dog should be calm and focused.  Ideally the head is rhythmically moving side to side, literally checking every footstep, nose deep.  Because of how the tracks are laid, there's a lot of scent, so if there's a strong wind coming from my right, the dog will naturally cast slightly left on that leg.  Not to be mistaken with hectic zig-zagging (when the dog is accurate and on the track, but casting from the wind, he's basically just tracking up one side of the track).  The nose is supposed to be buried but naturally will come up a bit on a damp track where the scent is basically overwhelming for the dog.  No spinning, no air scenting, corners must be tight and precise.  The dog is not only tracking your scent but the crushed vegetation, so if my track crosses a tire track Nikon will take a sniff to the right and left to see if that's the "food" track and then come back to mine and continue.

This is a pretty good pace, IMO.  The dog is focused without being hectic and loaded, straight on the track, corners tight, article indication is calm and correct.  Wallace is very talented and does tracking seminars.  He's tracking the dog off lead in this video (perfectly acceptable for SchH as long as you are 30' back).  This is an FH track so it is very old, has cross tracks, distraction, variable surface, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV7retd4WQU

JackieG

Liesje

Those things aren't wrong, they just aren't correct, if that makes sense.

 

It actually does make sense to me. :)  Just like most dog "sports" there is a right and a wrong way to get to the same destination. lol 

It happens a lot in SchH.  For example, the bite on the sleeve must be centered, calm (no chewing or re-biting), and full (not frontal).  In Dog Sport or Personal Protection, even police work, do you think they really care exactly how/where the dog bites? lol  A lot of what they want is somewhat arbitrary.  It shows that you have done the correct foundation work and training.  Some of it does relate to temperament (a nervous dog will avoid the center of the sleeve and be chewy) but some of it is just plain nit-picky.  In recent years it has become as much about how the dog is trained than how well it's temperament suits the work.  An awesome trainer can put SchH titles on a nervebag dog and a crappy trainer can flunk a genetic diamond.

 That's really interesting. he must be the most meticulous tracker I've ever seen. I'm used to watching dogs (bloodhounds mostly) go from 0 to 90 mph on a scent, then back to 0 again when they lose it (say at a turn), then 90, etc. Even when I was doing tracking with Lily, she'd go pretty fast, until she lost it then stop, then go fast, etc. Nikon is so methodical.

Methodical is a great word for it.  He is the opposite, if he loses the track at a corner he gets quite hectic, the behavior instantly changes.  Once he is back on the track it is methodical again.  You would see the same from a dog trained to track with compulsion, where the track and the articles are "safe" (Nikon is not trained that way).  You can't tell in the video but he is getting verbal corrections and praise and encouragement from me as well as slight corrections and cues on the line.