I haven't posted in a while. Nimrod and I have been tracking 2-3 times a week. I don't use the same field two times in a row. Nimrod is tracking with a FD every ten steps. When we run a 200 yard, two or three turn track I see very few distraction or extinction behaviors. When we run a 300 yard, two or three turn track I see a lot of those distraction behaviors. I'm not sure whether to keep the tracks at 200 yards and increasing the spacing of the FDs or keep the FDs at ten steps and gradually increase the length of the track. I will try to upload video soon. I've put Nimrod on a long line and his tracking improved instantly but I'm having trouble managing my phone and the long line. I got a go pro mini with a chest and head mount. The battery keeps overheating, but I'll keep working on the video piece.
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July 6
Nimrod and I ran tracks on the 18th and 20th. On the 18th I laid a hundred-yard one R 90-degree turn track with FD every step and a bag drag. Nimrod had been successful twice on the one step FD pattern, but I elected to keep the one step FD pattern because we were in a heavily used park. I anticipated the ice-cream truck, the soccer game and loose dogs. The hoarse being put through jumps was a surprise but ok. My track was about half laid when a man in pickup pulled into the nearest parking lot. He eyed me, let his miniature Australian Shepard out of the cab, pulled a large remote controlled vehicle from the bed of the truck. He zoomed the vehicle back and forth across our track and his dog gave chase. I thought about asking him to move to the vacant half of the field, but something about his posture made me think he wanted a confrontation. I didn't have enough food to lay another track. The dog got tired of chasing the vehicle and man and dog moved off the field. I put the harnes...
When he lets go of the environment, he tracks pretty well. It doesnt matter what verbal cue you use—it won’t make him track. And once you’ve used it a couple of times, and he hasn’t tracked, it’s lost whatever meaning it might have had. So let’s just stop using our communication tool (voice) with a non verbal animal!
ReplyDeleteI’d suggest you watch Anne’s track with Mila from last weekend, and possibly follow Buster the bloodhound. Go back a look at Buster’s earlier videos (before snow). Mila is the Black Russian Terrier.
Here’s your goal: Keep Nimrod working the track no matter what. He’s distracted by the environment? Toss food onto the track—silently. While he’s eating…toss another piece out. And keep tossing until you see him ‘tuning out’ the environment and staying on the track. The first thing he has to learn is that it’s safe to put his head down and concentrate on smells. As I recall, Airedale’s are kinda guardy, so let’s accept that, and teach him it’s ok to leave the world in your hands. And do this with as few words (ideally none) as possible—let your actions (tossing food) teach him. And try as hard as you can to throw the second, third, forth etc pieces WHILE HE IS EATING the prior piece—so he doesn’t see you tossing the food.
Does that make sense?