Will Learning to track with Aiko!
Posted By Sandy Wilson on June 25, 2009
My son Will is anxiously awaiting to keep a puppy from the “D” litter. In the past, he has wanted to keep a pup, but we just couldn’t keep one more dog. So this time, we are going to let Will keep a puppy. Will is only 11 years old, but really loves the dogs and likes to teach them tricks and obedience. He has decided that he would like to learn some tracking so he can teach his young pup tracking too.
I think this is a super great idea to teach puppies since it is totally motivational and it’s natural for dogs to smell different scents. It’s also great fun for kids to teach dogs fun things they enjoy. My kids have been raised with dogs since they were born and training dogs to do little tricks or obedience is just part of life for them. So tracking will be new to them and so much fun with a new puppy.
Will learning to track with Aiko - doing a nice nose down track.
I decided it best for Will to learn with a more experienced dog, so I would take him out with our Aiko (4 years old now), who loves to track. Aiko is a good dog for Will to learn with because he loves children, but also is very high drive and loves to work, so I know he wouldn’t be put off by having someone else working him. Aiko seems to just know who is at the end of his leash and is so good with the kids. He is also a very forgiving dog!
So we had a plan. Firstly, I showed Will how to lay a track. We set up a little marker post to mark our starting point. I had him put down a scent pad first for Aiko, then he laid a simple straight line track with one corner for Aiko to follow his footsteps and Will dispersed food here in there in his footsteps to reinforce Aiko following his scent. At the end of the track, we had a nice jackpot of biscuits awaiting Aiko for his reward. It’s not how I would start a puppy, but Aiko has been tracking for a bit now and needs little food to be motivated to track, but this would give Will a good idea of what goes on when a track is laid for learning purposes and how to teach a dog to follow footsteps.
Will - sets up marker post and starts laying his track for Aiko.
Aiko loves to track, but has always followed my scent, so this would be interesting to see how Aiko would do following another person’s scent. Some dogs are funny about being handled by other people and are sensitive to that. We brought Aiko over to a field, across from our farm, where we laid the track and when we reached the scent pad, Will said, “Such” meaning seek or trail. “Such” is used as a command in schutzhund tracking to tell the dog to search and start the track. Right away, Aiko took his time really sniffing the scent pad. I could tell he detected that it was a different smell from mine since he could smell both my foots steps and Will’s on the way over when we had first laid the track. But he quickly figured it out and was on his way to follow Will’s track.
Will starting Aiko on the track - Aiko is nose down from the start!
Will following along and letting out the line.
Will letting Aiko sniff out a turn - he just went over a cross track.
Will praising and petting Aiko at the end of the track - Aiko hits the jackpot.
I think Will is doing a great job and learning so much – Will and Aiko are making a nice team together! He is learning positive motivation training and is so good with the dogs. It’s all about working together – I just love seeing this pair – it kinda brings tears to my eyes because I am just proud of my son and Aiko for being such a good boy!
I ordered Will a few books and so we will read them also, but for now, just play and work Aiko a bit so they get the idea and some basic tracking concepts down keeping the motivation of tracking going. I want them to enjoy tracking and also feel like they are working the dogs themselves. It excites them to see just what a dog can do if asked to follow a scent.
I just want to give Donna Brinkworth of Spiritdance a special thanks for all her tips and motivation to track. I am enjoying this new journey! She has inspired me and my son! And certainly, she has been giving me some wonderful insight in to tracking and training ideas for me to work my dogs. Thank you Donna!
More on tracking progress later. . .
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