Puppy Training: a formula for success
A few general rules for training (Brady’s pet peeves)...
1. Limit distractions in the beginning!
2. Mark your tracks WELL
3. Age before distance
4. Have A PLAN! Move ahead in an orderly fashion
5. Don’t underestimate your puppy/don’t overestimate your puppy
6. 90 degree turns build accuracy
7. Make tracking the most fun thing your dog gets to do. Do not skimp at the end!
8. Don’t put blood on your hooves (for scent shoe/stick tracks)
9. Don’t put blood on your turns (for scent shoe/stick tracks)
10. Your dog isn’t there to have a conversation
The progression:
Learning the game
Line sense, line sense, line sense!
Working corners and turns (checks)/building accuracy
Tracking aged scent
Track stamina
The formula:
Day 1-2; Use a hoof on a string or liver on a string to get the dog fired up. Most dogs will become excited, and try to chase the object, or try to eat the liver. Drag the object on the ground so that your dog can smell it as well as see it. When the dog is appropriately excited about finding the object, put the dog away, and run your first drag. Early drags should be short, 30 yards or less. I usually add a short turn right at the end. Run your dog on the line while it is fresh. Plenty of praise, food reward, and drive building at the end. Don’t skimp! Repeat this step at least 3 times on days 1 and 2. You may lengthen the line slightly and age it up to30-60 minutes if the pup is doing really well. If you are using liver drags, put them in the freezer. You won’t use them again on this dog.
Day 3-7; Assuming that your dog is now very excited, and successful on the fresh drags, you will now begin aging tracks in a step-wise progression...30 minutes, 60 minutes, 2 hours. I like to do 1-2 short tracks a day here to solidify the game. Drags may be 50-150 yards in length, depending upon the dog. Don’t move ahead until your dog is showing good progress on the current level.
Weeks 2-4; Your dog should understand the game quite well now. He isn’t perfect, but is showing plenty of drive to get to the reward. If not, you have motivation work to do at the end of the track. You will now begin aging tracks in a SYSTEMATIC fashion. Do not jump ahead 2 or 3 steps, even if you think you have the next tracking prodigy. Skipping steps could very well lead to a dog that becomes a “searcher” rather than a “tracker.” I like to age in these general increments; 2 hours, 4 hours, 6-8 hours, 10-12 hours (overnight), 18 hours, 24 hours. I typically like to see the dog have at least 2 good tracks at each level before progressing. Ideally, tracks are laid every 1-2 days. Tracks should be between 150-300 yards on average. You can begin transitioning into areas with more distractions during this time period if your dog appears ready.
Once your dog is mastering overnight tracks (generally between weeks 2-4), you are ready to move onto hoof shoes (stick). Most dogs will struggle a little bit at this transition, and I like to use a fairly regular trickle of blood to bridge the gap. Depending on the ability and drive of the dog, I usually go back to 2-4 hour old tracks when transitioning. You will move through the same age transition with the hooves as you did the drags. Track length can be maintained between 150-300 yards.
Begin lengthening out intervals between blood drops. In the beginning it may help to mark short intervals without blood (10-20 yards), to see how the dog reacts. If the dog moves through without any issues, you can begin to lessen your use of blood.
Weeks 8-12; Your dog should be confidently running overnight hoof tracks, quite possibly 24 hour old hoof tracks. Now you should begin extending out your tracks 400-1000 yards, and work on developing your plan to overcome obstacles that may present themselves on real tracks; backtracks, hard surface crossings, water crossings, high scent distraction areas, etc. By the end of week 12, you should be well on your way towards becoming a fledgling tracking team. I recommend having someone else lay blind tracks for you. They can mark them for you on a GPS in the event that you lose the trail completely. If season is upon you, then get your dog on some deer! You will quickly find out where your shortcoming lie!