Friday, March 20, 2009

Castro Valley, Ca - This track was 48 hours old. Time was around 7 PM. Clear and cold. No rain over the last couple of days. Sunny and warm during those days. Neighborhood is suburban with 80% sidewalks, medium car and light foot traffic. Some small mom/pop stores along the way. Some churches on blvd. No map.

I have been practicing letting him go along a way even if I know he is going in the wrong direction. I want him to figure out when he is along the same way. A couple of times he went the wrong way, and I let him go about a half a block, and he was still full tilt that the scent was there even after checking him a couple of times. I found this odd. I figured that either the scent was there and had blown, or he was following the Cocker Spaniel that had just walked before us. Either way, after half a block down, I stopped him and said "Wrong" which he is very sensitive too. I have been reading a VST training book and the current section is about "magic words" to give along the track to ask or guide the dog. I am working on getting those words that are meaningful to him. After a couple of minutes of standing there and figuring out what to do, he turned and walked behind me and went back to the corner where we turned and continued down the correct way. I think it was the Cocker Spaniel that he was keying in on, and I have also noticed that in the beginning of tracks, he is more distracted. He definitely becomes more focused as we move along the track.

After that first time, he got all the turns and street crossings dead on! I was thrilled. Another thing tried was to gently guide him to a stop at various parts of the track to have him confirm if he is on the right track and going in the right direction. The VST book says to ask something at this point for either to confirm they are in the right direction and give a sign like pushing harder in the harness. I thought about saying something like "Tell Me" to let him know I am asking him if he is sure about his direction. Another "magic word" would be if you know/think he has overshot the turn because he indicating loss of scent, and to tell him to go back to the last place he knows where the scent is. I thought of "go back." I haven't tried that yet, but that would also come in handy.

On some of the intersections, even if I thought he was going in the right direction, I would have him "check" the other corners to practice the indication of no scent and then have him go back to the place where he had it. On each of the intersections he went back to the correct direction.

He was pretty strong on the last leg, but there was grass and weeds and a dirt trail all along and he seemed pretty firm on that.

As we approached the article at the end, he was pulling me toward it even though it was hidden behind a set of stairs. He got his treat bag and rawhide bone.

I was pretty happy with that track, except for the beginning, but there seems to be a routine of the beginning, so I know now more to keep asking him and questioning him more in the beginning until I see he is more focused.