Dog pens
So we have a straight leg track that is maybe 10 yards long with 10 to 15 articles on it. dog pens Cute-puppies. The handler holds his dog on a short leash (his hand is about 2 to 3 feet behind the head of the dog). The dog must be used to the handler being this close during tracking. This is something that should have been done during normal tracking training. dog pens Skinny puppy. Then as the dog approaches an article the handler gives a DOWN command. If things are correct the dog will drop. The handler then calms the dog with his voice and a calm stroke along the back. dog pens Designer-dog-carriers. He may even give the dog a smalltreat (but this is a judgment call - if it distracts the dog then he should not do it) After the dog settles in the DOWN, it is given the command to track again and will not have to go far before it gets another article. This kind of training is the best way for me to train articles. Longer tracks with turns can be used when the dog is going DOWN on articles without a voice command or a pop on the leash. To TopQUESTION:What is your opinion of using a TOY at the end of a track to motivate a dog in tracking training?ANSWER:Training with a toy can work for some dogs, but not all. The only dogs it will work for are dogs that are 100% ball crazy. To try and train a dog that is only has a level 3 or 4 (when level 10 is the most ball crazy dog that there is) is a mistake. It is also a mistake to try and train a level 7 dog using a toy if you are using the toy along with compulsion in obedience work. I will guarantee you that if you have an obedience training session in which you are using a lot of corrections (compulsion) in conjunction with a toy at the end of the training - the dog will not have the drive to track the next day. This is especially true if this dog knows that the only reasonfor tracking is the toy. With dogs like this it is always better to use food at the end of the track. The food does not need to be during the track, it only needs to be in a bowl at the end of the track. Dogs need to understand that if they track they get their food for the day. If they do not track, then the handler takes the dog off the track.
Dog pens
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