Private and Semi-Private coaching starts in June!

Good morning everyone!

I am offering private and semi-private tracking lessons for field and urban tracking. These are starting in June and are by appointment. Coaching will take place on evenings and weekends in the Olds - Red Deer area with occasional trips to Calgary or Edmonton. Maximum of 3 people per session - sessions are 1-3 hours and are tailored to your needs and goals. My mission is to inspire people to make their dog the best it can be, and to encourage a positive training method that leads to a passion for this wonderful sport.

For information and references please contact me at spiritdance@shaw.ca. Basic fee is $60 per lesson for 1.5 hours. Over this time will be charged by the hour upon agreement. Lessons are appropriate for beginners or for experienced trackers wishing to build skills to improve performance.

Visit me on Facebook! Search for Getting on Track

Background and Qualifications:

- CKC Tracking Judge - all levels (field and urban) as of June, 2013
- Home of Tracking Champion Alta-Pete Jet TDX UTDX Border Collie
- Titles on three breeds (German Shepherds, Rough Collies and Border Collies)
- Train all breeds, with successful students since 1995 from all Groups, in CKC, AKC and ASCA tracking
- Have been instructing and giving tracking seminars since 1995 across Canada and in the US.
- Author of articles about tracking, herding, competition and breed specialty topics for magazines including Dogs in Canada, Dog World, Dog Sport and breed specialty magazines in Canada, the US and the UK and currently writing a book about tracking
- Actively compete in CKC tracking tests with my current dogs
- My tracking titles presently include 8 TDs, 5 TDXs, 2 UTDs and 1 UTDX - Tracking Champion
- Formerly participated in CKC conformation and obedience, so am familiar with the goals and backgrounds of CKC competitors
- Numerous CD, CDX, TT, therapy dog and all breed herding titles; in conformation I handled my collies and GSDs to numerous CH titles, plus specialty wins and multiple group placements, including my GSD Robin who had multiple Group 1 wins and a BIS, owner handled, even to 3 group wins and a BIS as a Veteran, plus she had a TDX :)
- Since moving to Alberta (from Thunder Bay, Ontario) have participated in IPO, and am currently receiving private tracking lessons from ret'd RCMP trainer
- As a life long student, am learning the art of stockdog handling with my Border Collies. I had sheep for 10 years in Thunder Bay. My Rough Collie Shaman was the #1 collie in CKC herding in 2007 from the intermediate classes. Now I'm learning to handle my Border Collies and am a member of the Alberta Stockdog Association.

Training Non-Veg turns, on Veg

Training Non-Veg turns, on Veg: How many people out there are working on their hard surface work now that the snow is gone! (for those of us who get snow...)

 

On the video, linked below, you can actually see Jet sniff in the new direction as she stands still, just past her non-veg turn

I've been going through some old video and it makes me think of things I'd like t...o share here. A couple of years ago I decided to retrain Jet (my little tracking CH) to be more focused on the primary track for hard surface work. To do this, I went back to veg and built the behavior I wanted on veg first using footstep tracking.

I was able to catch on video a moment when she overshot a veg turn by two steps, then backed herself up to be on the turn. This is very much how you see a Schutzhund dog track. Jet carried this over to non-veg turns. Then she added her own twist to it, and stopped at the moment she lost track scent, standing very still and checking the air before making her decision.

In these three videos (links are all below) you can see the veg turn, a similar 'back up' on an aged hard surface turn (4.5 hours, in a huge parking lot), and then, her own twist on a 3.5 hour old track. As noted in my post on what I've learned from competitive runners, I have a strong belief in constantly going back to veg to reinforce and motivate my advanced dogs.

I am sure I put in two years of training on Jet before trying for her UTDX but it was all worth it!

http://youtu.be/Wk1vBkWv5kI - non-veg turn where Jet backs up after passing the corner by only steps (how dogs do this is still a wonderful mystery to me, but I know they can do it - this was nowhere near an edge for fringing).

http://youtu.be/D6OvuR2mg14 - veg track where I first saw her behavior change from lots of quartering and fringing to being footstep focused which I think helps hard surface work a lot

http://youtu.be/xVuSGpa48sY - Jet's own twist, stopping and assessing when she has scent loss

Unique May Tracking Seminar is full - 2 audit spots remain

Hi everyone and thank you for the response to the May Tracking Seminar: Performance Improvement in Tracking.



Dan and Ali on a 3 hour old track (I took this photo). Ali is an IPO National CH

I am so excited to present this seminar - I have never seen anything like it offered before. Trackers will be working in sessions with a retired RCMP member who is a renowned dog trainer - Jean Blondin, winner of the Police Nationals one year. They will also have a session with Dan Waters, who is an IPO Nationals winner and WUSV competitor. Then everyone will have one session with me (humble CKC trainer and judge) where I will talk about preparing for competition, and put everyone through a blind track / turn (whatever they are ready for).

Here Jean follows Dan  on an urban track one day when we trained together in March

The participants are 99% CKC trackers. I had this idea because I have been so fortunate to track and train with both of these amazing men. Tracking is their passion too. As a 20 year CKC tracker with multiple titles on multiple breeds including a recent TCH - I am dumbfounded at how much more there is to learn once you not only step outside of the box, but throw the box away!

Since there is a waitlist for this seminar, I hope we will be able to offer it again.

I ONLY WISH I could be in the sessions with Jean and Dan, to hear what they say to the participants! I am sure I will hear later, as we continue our lessons into the summer.

The seminar is on the long weekend. If you wish an audit spot (if you are a beginner, it would be suitable), please email me at spiritdance@shaw.ca

Cheers and happy tracking!

Join Your Tracking Coach on Facebook!

I get so many questions and messages via Facebook that I have decided to start a Facebook Page where EVERYONE can interact and join in!

Please join!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Your-Tracking-Coach/240449809317716?ref=hl

I will keep the blog going, but it is so much easier, and way more fun to interact with everyone much more quickly on Facebook.

I hope to see you there!

Donna

Hero Dogs of the Blitz - great Remembrance Day story and something to learn for all of us

Please visit my personal blog for this amazing story of the Magnificent Seven, hero dogs of the Blitz. The story tells of seven dogs who saved lives. Their backgrounds, the variety of breeds, and the stories of how these dogs used their ability to detect scent are just amazing. The dogs work with joy and with ease. Something for all of us to think about.

As well, it is worth thinking about the freedom we have to enjoy our dog sports, and give thanks to the dogs and veterans, plus those actively serving today.

Here is a link to see this blogpost with my thoughts
http://blackthornworkingdogs.blogspot.ca/2012/11/hero-dogs-of-wwii-blitz-wonderful.html

And a direct link to the story online
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1278928/Hero-dogs-saved-hundreds-Blitz-honoured.html

First snow track of the season with Ben

This afternoon I did a snow track with one-year old Ben. He works really hard on a bike path, you can hear him sniffing on this hard-packed surface. Sorry about the filming there - I shortened his line to help him. At one point he goes and sniffs footsteps and dismisses them. They are not mine. I also kept a tight line to prevent him from taking them. My hands were freezing at this point but it was FUN!!! We get such a great visual as handlers in the snow which helps our handling and teaches us to read our dogs. Dogs still use their noses as you can see. I strategically left a piece of bait after each 'cross track' to reward his correct choice.

We need to work on Ben's distractions. Jet (his mother) was the same at this age. Border Collies are very visual and aware of motion around them. Jet would stop to watch birds flying overhead. She eventually got more focus for tracking though I still see her keeping track of things out of the corner of her eye!

I usually don't use stakes. I put them on this track because I didn't know how many people would walk on this field when I was gone, and didn't want to mix my footsteps up with someone else's. Where there were footsteps, I was careful to intersect them at a 90 degree angle and not 'walk along them" or intersect them on a diagonal. I wanted the choice to be as clear as possible for Ben.

A fun thing to do with a more advanced dog would be to deliberately walk along someone else's footsteps and then depart from them. and watch your dog choose which track to commit to following.

Scent rises from moist snow as bacteria is trapped in the layers of snow. It is similar to tracking on vegetation with the bonus that we can see it. If it is cold or hard packed it would be more like hard-surface tracking. I never track when it is too cold. On windy days, you can clearly see how the winds or swirling scent affect the dog, when you see where you walked, and observe how they behave on the track.

I also like how you can improve your own line handling when you see the corner more clearly.
Why not try it? (if you get snow where you live....)

Post Tracking Fun

I had to collect the flags, so let Jet and Ted out for a little play. Here, Ted finds a treat Ben missed.

 

Below, Jet finds the track and takes off...

 

Ted was very impressed with the Boomerang at the end!

 

I think that playing is very motivational and positive for the dogs. Ben is not food crazy, so there was very little food on his track. Running it again with his pack reinforces the joy of tracking for Ben, who actually learned to track by following Jet's tracks after she ran them, when he was a puppy.

Tracking Meet-up and Seminar November 10

There will be a one-day tracking clinic at Olds College to kick off monthly winter classes in Alberta.

It will begin at 10:30 AM and go until roughly 4 PM. Cost is only $60. At the clinic we will develop a schedule of dates to meet monthly for ongoing tracking handling and training progress assistance.

Contact me privately if you are interested! (I already have a good list). If you have already let me know, no need to contact me again!

If you have attended a clinic already this year, the goal will be to assess where you are at, and what you can work on next!

spiritdance@shaw.ca