Nikon tracking video

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Nikon tracking video

Posted : 9/5/2010 8:22:35 PM

We haven't been able to track together as a club because our club moved and our new field is too small for tracking (Nikon's tracks alone would take the entire facility) so today I had DH record a track for my TD to watch and give advice. Turn off the sound b/c it's windy! Feel free to critique. IMO the pros are that he got every turn and every article (and these are very sharp 90 degree turns), he stayed focus and on track with no bait except a few pieces on the turns mainly to indicate to me where the turn is (he leaves the majority of it behind), he is not hectic and nor is he pulling like a freight train like he used to. The cons are that at the beginning he lifts his head twice and overall he could have his nose deeper. In his defense this is a very *easy* track (very damp grass, the track had not aged other than the amount of time it took to lay it), and the cross tracks were not that much of a challenge, so no practical need for the dog's nose to be buried. For us this is more of a medium length training track. I would like to go longer but I used the exact same field a few days ago and was trying to track around my old track. Right now we are working on me getting farther away from the dog, starting to trust him more with turns and articles so that I don't inadvertently train body cues or excess line handling. In trial I need to be at the end of that 33' line (any time you start or continue after an article, the handler holds the line at 15', then lets the dog pull the line until you hit the end and then you start walking).

http://vimeo.com/14724199

BEVOLASVEGAS

Posted : 9/15/2010 10:16:04 PM

In my novice opinion, VERY NICE!!

I'm so impressed by how composed he is on the track. He's not forging. He's not over excited. He's just calm & methodical about his work. WOW. His turns look nice, & his indications are, imo, fantastic. (I'm so used to seeing a dobe flying back down the line towards me with the article in her mouth, that I *almost* forgot what nice indications look like.)

If you are ever interested in cleaning up some issues with a dobergirl, feel free to let me know. I will happily provide you with a challenge....

Liesje

Posted : 9/16/2010 7:37:52 AM

Thanks, Amanda.

LOL, I considered actually having him retrieve articles because apparently you can indicate or retrieve or whatever you want, but I've personally never seen it done in competition in person or on video, so we stuck with the platz indication since that's what everyone else in our club uses. He used to platz a little crooked but now he's nice and straight (and only in a stylized sport like SchH does that even matter, I was talking to a K9 cop and he couldn't believe all the ridiculously impractical stuff we have to teach in our tracking!).

My main issue with Nikon is keeping his head down. AKC people watch him and thing I'm crazy but ideally that nose is literally making it's own scuff mark down the track. It's not that he lacks focus or is distracted but sometimes the tracks are easy for him and it shows. If it is wet or the grass is really nice (both the case here), there is a lot of scent, the dog has no real reason to keep the nose deep, he can track just fine. We've tried all sorts of things, like lots of food, not very much food, compulsion, etc and now we're basically trying to trick him with articles. He has a problem from me if he misses an article so he's got to keep his nose deep enough to find them all. His tracking has very much improved since we took food off the track and only use articles. He's got something to look for, a job to do.