A Bit of Dog Training

Hunters and police are most likely to be training tracking dogs, but more and more regular dog owners are enjoying tracking competitions with their dogs. You may have a dog club or a Schutzhund training club in your area that holds tracking competitions for members. You can teach your dog  how to track right there at home, just for fun. Some people even train their dogs to track their children’s scent, just in case you need to find them in  a hurry. Dogs are gifted by Mother nature with an amazing sense of smell, so with the right training they can find almost anything.

Here are 4 steps you can use to get started with his tracking.

• To get going, first pick out your dog’s very favorite toy. It is not important if it is a ball or a chew toy-so long as he just loves to play with it. The first step is to teach your pet word association. Make sure the toy is visible and in the same room with you. If he loves his ball, then you will repeat the word ball as you play with him. By repeating the word over and over while playing your dog will soon understand that word. Soon, just by saying ball, your dog should start looking to find his ball for a play session. When he brings you his ball, give him tons of praise and a reward. Using a lot of positive reinforcement when he gets the job done right makes the training go much quicker. You want to keep repeating this game until your dog has shown he has really made the connection with the word and the favorite toy.

• The following step of the tracking training is to put the ball into another room. You should say ball (for example), and he should start looking around for the ball. Because the ball is now in a different room he won’t be able to see it, but he should start sniffing around for it.  He should next start following his nose, and solve the problem of where the ball went. Make sure to follow your dog closely enough to give him rewards of praise and a treat as soon as he finds his ball. Keep repeating this exercise until your dog is an expert at finding his ball. By giving him lots of reinforcement you are giving him additional motivation to quickly find his ball. You should vary the places you hide the ball, until your dog can easily and quickly follow his nose to the target.

• Once your dog is an expert at finding the toy, you are ready for the next step of the training. To get started, wash all the old scents off of his favorite ball or toy. Once the ball is cleaned, wrap the ball with a used item of your son or daughter’s clothing (t-shirts or socks should work fine) and let the smell get planted on the toy. Let the ball acquire the odor of the clothing, and then play the ball game with your pet. Now, your dog learns to find his favorite ball by following the new scent-your child’s.

• You are now ready for the next step of the tracking dog training. This part is fun. Instead of hiding his ball, ask your son or daughter to hide in a different room. Tell  your dog to search for his ball-as he sniffs for his ball, he is actually sniffing around  looking for your child’s scent. You want to be right there the moment he finds your child to give him praise and a reward. Make the searching fun for your dog, and he will always be eager to play, and find whatever you need him to. You should continue the training by having your child hide out further away to test your dog’s ability to track over distances.

With this simple tracking training it won’t be long before you can send your dog after your child if they are late for dinner, or need to do some homework. Give the tracking training a try out with your dog-you’ll find it is a fun game to play with your dog. In case your dog is a standout at tracking, there are tracking competitions at some kennel clubs.

I hope you enjoyed this article on tracking dog training. For other free helpful articles about dog obedience training and solving your dog’s behavior problems, please visit: www.BehaveDoggy.com.

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