Search Dog Logs

I decided to start my search dog log right with THIS search dog ( I have trained four before this one!) so I am trying to keep my "diary" up to date. Since I love to write blogs, I thought...well, why not put some of my entries right into the blog? And preserve them for posterity, so tospeak...so here goes:

(I have already started this dog out, she is well on the way to getting ready to certify.) Her name is Phoenix, a.k.a."Feeny",she is a Newfoundland, not quite two. Just 22 months to be exact. I intend to certify her, if all goes well, in late October, but she still has a lot of learning to get under the belt.

The latest episode of trainng took place two days ago. The "subject" was a stranger that Phoenix had not previously met. The area was a large rolling alfalfa field, temperature maybe around 78 degrees, late afternoon, little to no breeze, what breeze there was was from the east.

I had a friend set out my subject for me so I wouldnt know where she was. I intended to grid Phoenix over the area (approximately 20 acres) but when I checked the wind and the rolling hills it appeared to me that a terrain search along the ridges and the east sides of the slopes would be of the most benefit...

I specifically wanted to get two things out of the search: some extended "nose time" for my dog, and I wanted her to do a correct "refind" for me when she found. Therefore I instructed the "victim" to remain quiet and unresponsive when Feeny found her, and to tell her "go to mom" if necessary, as I wanted her to return to me and take me in when she had found.

The actual search went well, Phoenix found the subject hidden in the far northern edge of the property in a valley between two ridges, I had brought her along the top of one ridge and as she swept down the hill off the ridge she looped around and went in to the subject. The indication was obvious, head up and tail wagging. She DID return to me but I had to call to her first. She did run up to me and leap right up in front of me, then ran back with me to the subject, where she recived her rewards: tons of praise and a cookie.

As for the nose time, it still needs to be much longer but she did one really spectacular thing, of which I was very proud. She had discovered a baby rabbit nest in the alfalfa JUST before I was putting her search collar on her..sher pushed her nose into the grasses and snuffled and they SQUEAKED at her, she was of course terribly excited about this...but she DID leave it and she DIDNT go back to it when I released her for the search. For Feeny, that was a BIG thing!

So....all in all.....things went pretty well.

Till the next "log" entry: keep your nose in the wind!

It's not that I havent been training, it's just that time flies by so fast! U PROMISE I'll keep up on this one now! So let's see....what's been happening lately? Well, Feeny has been learning cadavaer and boy does she love it. Seems to really "dig" that smell. I have been working on getting her to "demand" when she wants something of me, she needs to either "wuff" (a low bark)or slap me with her paw...so when she eats, when she wants out, when she wants more water in her bowl, whatever,....she has to let me know.

This technique (making her let me know) IS leading up to somethin. A GOOD recognizable alert when we are doing water searches. It's fine on land, cuz a newf hardly ever even gets out of sight ... but on water searches I need to have a really strong indication so she will let me know when she is scenting cadaver. So, with cadaver work, I get that nose down close to the item, I reward, bigtime praising and her favorite treat, animal crackers.

No I don't use "box training." Until I see the logical reasoning behind pairing the scent of food AND the scent of cadaver both in the same spot..... well, I am just not sure it would work. And with what I have done in the past, imprinting on cadaver with clicker training and then progessing to hides outside, inside and all around the town...I think I'll just stick with what I have done.

Enough for now, it's late, I've been working all day....so off to bed and more SOON I promise!

Phoenix and I attended obedience last night. It so happens that this is her THIRD obedience class. However one of the first ones she took was a total waste of time and money, so guess you cant count that! And let's face it, Feeny is pretty wired, for a newfy, the more obedience the better for this dog! Obedience classes are part of the total training..therefore I will be keeping a log of this activity as we go along. Actually this third class is the one where it seems as if some of this training is finally taking effect!

One of the greatest exercises that we do in the obedience class, one which will be very helpful for Phoenix on a "call -out" (search mission) is the one where all the dogs and handlers line up in a row, and then we heel each dog one at a time up and down through the row, making a figure eight pattern in between the dogs and handlers. The dogs who are not walking must remain on a sit-stay and not pay a lot of attention to the dog that is going by, and the dog that is walking must stay at "heel" position and also not pay a lot of attention to the dogs that are sitting. This requires both the handler who is in place and the handler who is moving to pay attention to their dogs and to correct mistakes quickly. Phoenix (a.k.a. Feeny) does pretty well on this exercise, except she always tries to reach over and sniff the itty bitty dogs as they go by, I think she thinks they might be a squeak toy!

The other thing that we do in obedience class is the long sit/stay. Here again this is a useful exercise for any dog to learn but especially for a search dog. She needs to be able to remain where I tell her to, without bouncing around and being a general distraction to others. At a "call-out" there are often times when we are discussing options and making decisions concerning searches and getting ready to go out, it is imperative that the dog remain quietly by my side or nearby while I am in the process of getting the information together...it is also useful if a dog/handler team makes a find, the dog should remain over at the side on a stay without disturbing the rest of the scenario.

Next week we are going to be working on a command which will "stop" the dog before it crosses the street. I have already started this with Feeny, she is learning the "wait" command so that if/when she is out in a field or area, she will stop on command at a distance from me and WAIT, in case there are vehicles entering the area or in case there are any other hazards. The way that I teach this is a bit different from the obedience class, for I teach this first as an off leash exercise....I will heel the dog alongside of me, then quite suddenly, during the "heeling" I will put my hand right down smack in front of her nose, tell her to "WAIT" in a commanding tone, and continue to walk straight ahead, dropping the leash and leaving the dog. Usually this only needs to happen a couple of times....if the dog moves of course I go back and put her in the same spot and start over again. It isnt long until she realizes that when I tell her to "wait" she is to stop and remain pretty much in the same general area. I am not telling her to "stay", so if she moves a bit it is no big deal. But I can transfer this to times when she is off, away from me, say fifty feet or so, and I want her to wait for me while I catch up, yet I don't want her going off of her search pattern. This has worked well for me in the past with other search dogs....I think it will work with Feeny too.

I am just now trying to figure out these "hubs" and I think what I will be doing is separate hubs every week or so with more of the training logs...so as to not have one huge long "letter" that will make it difficult for readers to kep abreast of the training..

Gotta run now...keep your nose in the wind