Handler Training Tips

Training an Air Scenting dog is mostly a matter of training yourself. Most Search Dog handlers seem to believe they are training their dog. In actuality, YOU are the one that needs to learn! In the process of training, you should know 80% of the time where your "victim" is hidden. Once your dog is focused on finding a human, he is going to "make the find". That's not the problem, the problem is the handler. The dog learns what to do right off the bat. The handler needs way more "nose time" than the dog! Why? Because the handler needs to learn what happens in certain types of wind, on various types of terrain, in all kinds of weather, and with all kinds of hidden people and/or articles. He needs to learn how to watch the cues or signs of travel, what the dog does when it first hits, what happens when the scent hits a "barrier" ... so many many variables enter into the picture.

This type of learning is for YOU, not your dog, and can be done on a short search as well as a long one. Furthermore, "short and sweet" searches will build up the dog's desisre and drive. Finding people is FUN for the dog, and keeps up the interest. "Nose time" can be built up gradually, interspersing your short searches with a longer one every fourth or fifth search works well, and gradually build up the acreage you are searching until you hit the 80 acre mark and at least a six hour scenario.This can be accomplished without so much strain on your "victim" if you simply begin your search farther away, and radio your "victim" to enter the wind pattern two or three hours after you are into the search.

Trusting your dog is important. Even more important is trusting the person you are hiding out. Kids can be real bad for this activity as far as your training goes. They think it is fun to "fool" you and hide somewhere else. This is NOT GOOD unless you do indeed trust your dog, for you might have the tendency to disbelieve what your dog is telling you and try to call him off scent because you believe your victim is hidden in a different location. So it is important that you tell your "victim" to go exactly where you say, since you are training yourself and you need to watch what the dog does when he hits and you need to learn what is happening with the wind conditions etc. Dogs know what they are doing. Dogs DO find, so in the end, trust your dog!

Watch a great video here about training obedience. It makes you want to get out there and TRAIN, doesn't it?

Puppy Biting

Puppy biting can be real problem in families who have young children. Firstly, most puppies consider children to be just like "other puppies". Because of this, puppies play with children just they way they would play with other puppies, and using their tiny needle sharp teeth is part of their playing. The puppy in the photo is still a PUPPY, just six months old. It is especially important that big dog puppies be trained early.

When a new puppy arrives in a household with children, it is the responsibility of the adult human to supervise. Certain rules should be set. Children should not be wandering around with cookies and food. Teaching them to sit down at the table when they eat is the best solution to this problem. Older children should be taught not hold their hands up in the air in front of the puppies noses or above the head of the dog, this often will only cause the puppy to jump up and this compounds the problem even further. Older children can be taught the "scruff of the neck" technique discussed in this article. Younger children should be supervised. the puppy can be taught NOT to bother the clothing and nip at the legs and feet of small children but this can only happen if you are there to supervise. When puppies do go after toddlers, it is your responsibility to discipline the puppy.

Many people put the puppy into a crate. This is not a form of discipline and is completely ineffective, except for the fact that it does remove the puppy from the tempation. Puppies are not children. "Time out" is not a concept in their canine world. You should simply give them a firm NO! and a scruff grab. Using a distractor is a good idea also. By far the best discipline to use with a puppy is the same discipline that the dog mother would use. This requires that you do set yourself up as the leader of the dog when it enters your household. I will continue to discuss more about this in my next post.

Meanwhile, it would be a great idea to check out PUPPY WISHES and seriously consider using these services. They are a wonderful resource. Often obedience classes are simply not feasible what with the constraints of time and the cost of gas and distances to travel to get to a class. Having your own personal in home training is the key and is an excellent solution.