Now the time has come to make the dog go directly to the track or fetch and bring on the track. That is: if he is capable of doing so besides the tracking! Never teach the dog appeal during tracking! How I teach my dogs how to fetch and bring is another story, and has nothing to do with this one.
At the IPO tracking we are set for a choice either to: PICK UP or POINT OUT. Pointing out can be done standing, sitting or lying down. In contrast to what a lot of people think, picking up does NOT mean bringing back the object! He is allowed to pick it up, remain standing, sit down or even lie down, although lying down will get him into conflict with the surveyor. The dog is also allowed to bring the object, by taking it into its mouth standing in front of its owner, or using the KNPV way by sitting at foot, next to its owner with the object in its mouth. This last method has my preference because this way the owner can directly go to the spot were the object was placed, after the dog has brought the object. After this the dog can continue the tracking.
Many of you will not agree with me on this subject and will say that the dog must fetch and bring correctly, according to the rules of the IPO, but that is not what is meant with the words PICKING UP, it CAN be done in this way!
When the dog has reached the age of 12 months, I will teach him to refuse food. This also means he is no longer allowed to eat the treats that are put on the track! A good tracker dog refuses offered and found food because of possible attempts of poisoning or deception! I do reward him myself, but only by giving him food out of my hands. During this time he has to learn not to go after temptation tracks I put down, just after the intersection and out of the wind, an object for which he is rewarded after bringing this object. The same is done at the start when the dog does not directly takes his nose down. I hide the object in the high grass or bury it, the dog must not be able to track it by vision! I also start taking objects next to the track or burying them, according to the KNPV rules.
I personally make the temptation tracks, usually about half an hour before starting the tracking, when the track has already been there for some hours. The advantage in this is that I can correct the dog since I exactly know where the temptations are.
To keep up the interests and to keep the nose sharp I use search- and find games every day. For example: I send my wife into the woods with a key or something similar and make her hide this at a large distance, or bury it or hang it in a tree or branch. After she has come back via a detour, I send my dog freely into the woods to search for the object. It is very slick to place the object only some tens of metres away and after this go into the woods. It is guaranteed the dog will miss the object since his very big drive to go forward into the woods. They will only learn from this!
Another detail is that I talk to my dog during tracking. If I see he is passing an object I say to him: hey, you are forgetting something! The dog then turns around and picks up the object. So what if I loose some points with this object, and with Tracker Dog nothing! What more I know about these tactics, I will not tell!
As last comment I would like to have my say regarding the methods of testing during IPO.
A good tracker dog looses points because of sitting down lopsided during the pointing of the object.
A good tracker dog looses points over looking back to its owner during pointing out.
A good tracker dog looses points over the fact that his nose is pointed upwards during the simple parts of a track.
A good tracker dog looses points when his speed is irregular.
A fetching dog looses points when he does not do it exactly according to the rules in dep. B, or when he is somewhat slow due to the warm weather or because he is tired.
A good tracker dog looses points over the fact that he is convincing himself at an angle or a temptation track.
Etcetera, etcetera. I am really sick of this ! This has nothing whatsoever to do with tracking! Let the dog be a dog and do not turn it into a programmed robot!
Jacques
