TRAINING YOUR DOG: Stress and our dogs

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by Carolyn Fuhrer

Today there is more and more focus on how stress affects our health. These same concepts also apply to our dogs. We as humans can use stress reduction techniques such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and other relaxation techniques. For our pets, there are many products on the market ranging from drugs to aromatherapy, to videos they can watch while we are gone. But there is more we can do.

In order to help our pets with stress, we need to look at what might be causing stress. Stress has been defined as any event that requires the organism to adapt or change. The more adaptive or resilient the organism is, the better it can handle stress.

Through our training and guidance of our dogs through their daily lives, we are looking to achieve a state of mental, physical and emotional balance. An animal’s potential for wellness depends upon how well he can respond to stress at any given time. An animal that cannot respond well to stressors loses his emotional, physical and mental balance and can endanger his wellness.

Animals must have ample time to recover after responding to a stressful challenge. If stress is too prolonged, they lose more energy than they can recoup.

This can lead to cell or tissue damage, a build up of free radicals and other by-products, and the animal will be weaker the next time he has to cope with stress.

Prolonged and persistent chronic stress can be expressed through behavior issues, gastrointestinal disturbances, weight loss, problems with other organs or glands, and inflammatory responses which can further damage health.

So – how can we help our dogs? Insecurity about place in the pack or family is a primal source of anxiety. I believe that clarity and consistency in training and life situations are the foundation to reducing stress in our dogs. Overstimulation is another factor we should try and control. In a natural state, dogs spend a great deal of time seeping or resting. When they engage in activity, even enjoyable activity such as agility, a run in the woods, play – stress levels increase to meet the needs of the activity and dogs should have time to rest and recover. Consistency – knowing what is required and expected in life – helps them feel more secure and can help lower stress.

Some people confuse stress and drive. Frantic behavior is NOT drive. Drive requires focus that can be channeled. Out of control behavior is NOT drive. A dog that is frantic cannot learn.

If their basic life needs are met – water, food, shelter – nothing can stress a dog more than inconsistent demands, lack of structure and therefore lack of a feeling of safety. An owner must realize that a stressed animal cannot learn and must work to reduce stress through clarity in training and expectations to help the dog become available to find a structure in life that will work for them.

Want to learn more about stress and your dog?

Come to the April meeting of the Mid Coast Kennel Club of Maine on Thursday, April 12, at the Thompson Community Center, 51 S Union Rd, Union, Maine. A panel will be discussing stress and taking questions – the presentation will be from 5:30 until 6:30, followed by the MCKC monthly meeting.

A small donation to the Mid Coast Kennel Club is suggested. For more information, call Kathy at 207-691-2332.

This column sponsored by North Star Dog Training, in Somerville, 549-4613.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 100 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

TRAINING YOUR DOG: Obedience – the foundation of all we do with our dogs

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TRAINING YOUR DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

AKC defines its obedience program as trials set up to demonstrate the dog’s ability to follow specified routines in the obedience ring to emphasize the usefulness of the dog as a companion to humans; and it is essential that the dog demonstrate willingness and enjoyment while it is working, and that handling be smooth and natural without harsh commands.

In other words – the dog and handler enjoy working together. If you have ever seen beautiful heeling, you understand the wonderful flow of energy between the dog and handler. If you have ever seen bright, crisp signals and recalls, then you understand the focus and understanding between the team that comes from the heart.

Obedience is the foundation that enables our dogs to do all the wonderful things they do with us and for us. Obedience enables our dogs to be search and rescue dogs, herding dogs, therapy dogs, assistance dogs, agility dogs, freestyle dogs, and on and on.

Without obedience as a foundation, dogs could not participate in these activities. They need to be able to ignore distractions, make good choices, work under pressure, follow directions and have focus and attention. This is what obedience teaches and this is not a bad thing. All pet dogs could use these skills – it could even save their lives at some point.

There seems to be some feeling that commands are bad. Actually, in reality we give our dogs commands all the time, such as “wait” when we open the door to let them out; “sit and wait” when we go to put their food bowls down; “come” when we need them to join us. Whether you want to call them cues, requests or signals, is a question of semantics. We still expect some compliance and good manners when we ask something of our pets. This is not bad. Correction seems to be another difficult term – correction is simply a way of showing how something should be done. It does not imply pain or harshness mentally or physically. To anyone who has a poor opinion of obedience my guess is that they have never attended a good obedience class.

In a good class there is fun, excitement, laughter, challenges and lots and lots of rewards in many shapes and forms. Dogs are never – and I repeat – never corrected in any way for something they do not understand. This would be self-defeating for all involved. How could we create a willing, joyful, trustful partner if this was a method we employed? Are there poor obedience teachers out there? I’m sure there are, just as there are bad doctors and poor attorneys.

Positive training is not an entity in and of itself, but simply a way to teach obedience. Positive training and obedience training should not be an antithesis. Positive methods are employed to teach dogs obedience and life skills, and most successful obedience instructors use positive methods. There are also people out there claiming to use only positive methods and are not very good at it because they do not understand how to teach.

Even improper use of “clicker training” can cause terrible mental stress to a dog that is overwhelmed by the improper criteria.

So, let’s hope 2018 will be a year to bring more mutual respect to all those in the dog world and for how we choose to spend quality time with our dogs. We all basically share the same goals to enjoy living with our dogs and enjoy special activities with them.

A dog with an obedience foundation is a joy to live with and actually gets a lot more freedom than an uncontrolled dog. It is irresponsible to allow an uncontrolled dog total freedom. All dogs need an obedience foundation.

I am very proud of all of my students and the relationship they have developed and built upon through obedience. Not sure? Find a good obedience class to watch and talk with the students and learn how much it could do for you and your dog.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 100 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

Obedience training never ends

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOGTRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

It is generally accepted that a skill that is not maintained will gradually diminish. It doesn’t matter if you are referring to a performance dog or a pet dog. If obedience skills that a dog has been taught are not practiced and a consistent requirement of performance adhered to, these skills will gradually diminish in accuracy and reliability.

We hope to have our dogs for a long time; somewhere between 10-15 years. During that time many things in our lives may change. People come in and out of our lives, we may move, get another pet, get a new job, take up a new hobby. So many things can affect our lives in 10-15 years. New situations, strange situations or stressful situations may cause your well-behaved dog to test the limitations of the rules. Don’t be surprised or upset. Simply realize your dog is asking a question, which is: do the same rules of behavior apply in this new situation?

As a good owner/leader, you need to be clear, patient and consistent with your answers.

Do not let simple skills slide because you feel they are not as important as the dog gets older. The dog will begin to perceive lack of leadership and this may lead to more and more problems, resulting in a very anxious dog.

Always requiring sensible behavior and good manners will give the dog a routine in which they can find safety and security.

There are many fun ways to maintain and enhance skills learned in puppy or obedience classes. Work towards a Canine Good Citizen title or a Therapy Dog certification. Join a beginners’ agility class where following basic commands such as “wait” and “come” are important foundation skills. Join an obedience rally class and brush up on skills and learn some new ones.

If you know you are going to experience a major change in your life or your household, see if you can plan on spending some quality time with your dog to reinforce those basic commands. It will make any transition easier.

Just as with humans, dogs will live a longer and happier life when they are less stressed and have activities they can enjoy and where they can use their minds as well as their physical skills.

Playgroups and longs walks are a great form of exercise, but don’t neglect your dog’s mind. Learning new skills together or reinforcing and enjoying old ones can many times rejuvenate an older dog and also help calm a young, energetic dog. Working one on one with your dog will deepen your understanding of one another and broaden your communication skills with another species.

So, why not give your dog and yourself a treat and join a class in agility, rally or obedience to learn some new skills and reinforce old ones. See you in class!

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 100 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

PERFORMANCE DOG: Tracking opportunities in Maine

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOGTRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

While indoor scent work is popular with many people and fun for dogs, if you have never had the opportunity to track in a real situation with your dog, you don’t know how much you are missing.

Just a few weeks ago at the end of October the Mid Coast Kennel Club of Maine put on a wonderful two-day tracking event. On Saturday, there were four TDU (Tracking Dog Urban) tests in Augusta and five TD (Tracking Dog) tests in the Somerville area. On Sunday, there were three TDX (Tracking Dog Excellent) tests in Somerville. Six dogs earned titles right here in Maine – three TD and three TDX.

Tracking is an excellent sport to watch and Mid Coast Kennel Club makes spectator participation a high priority. The spectators – called the “gallery” in tracking tests – are allowed to follow along the entire track and watch the action. There is a person in charge of the gallery and this person takes cues from the judges as to when the gallery can advance so as not to distract the dog. It is exciting to watch the dog solve various scent problems along the track and also an excellent way to learn more about tracking.

The TD (Tracking Dog) test takes place in a big field with basically uniform cover; the terrain can be hilly. The TDX (Tracking Dog Excellent) test takes place in a rural area. It can involve changes in cover, corn fields, woods, road crossing, small streams and rugged terrain. But this is not all tracking has to offer. The TDU (Tracking Dog Urban) test takes place in business parks, schools and college campuses. The test must be designed so any handler and dog can negotiate the test. The test can involve stairs. In this test, the handler must be 10 feet behind the dog on lead. The track starts on a vegetated surface. A small flag indicates the start with a scent article left by the tracklayer and a 30-yard flag indicates direction of the track. The team of dog and handler must follow the path the tracklayer walked and find an intermediate article dropped by the person and an article at the end of the track. The track must be 400 – 450 yards long and 10 percent – 30 percent of the track must cross non-vegetated surfaces such as sidewalks, small parking lots, roads, etc. It can go up ramps or stairs, along buildings, and must have three to five turns. The dog and handler work as a team. You may talk to your dog, rescent your dog, take a break and water your dog – the dog must follow the track and find the articles that were dropped. The handler must understand the dog’s indication of track or loss of track and encourage and help accordingly.

TDU is considered an entry level test. If you obtain a TDU, you are eligible for a much more difficult test – a VST. Here, dogs track again in an urban setting, but must negotiate turns on pavement, find three articles on the track and go a distance of 600-800 yards with four to seven turns. This track is three to five hours old (a TDU is 30 minutes to two hours old). Dogs in both these urban tests work in real life situations where they must negotiate traffic, parking lots, construction, people, children, playgrounds, and other real distractions that may occur in an urban setting. These tests are real, exciting and challenging and take place in actual real life environment – they require an excellent relationship based on teamwork, understanding and patience. Get real – get tracking!

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 100 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 10 TDX Titles and two Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

AKC announces Junior Rally showcase launch

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOGTRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

The American Kennel Club (AKC) the world’s largest purebred dog registry and leading advocate for dogs, has announced the launch of Junior Showcase events meant to promote and increase youth participation in the sports of agility, obedience and rally.

The Mid Coast Kennel Club of Maine is planning to hold a Junior Rally Showcase at their Obedience/Rally Show on Saturday and Sunday, April 13 and 14, 2018. This show is held at Mt. Ararat High School, in Topsham. To be eligible for a Junior Showcase event, the handler must be under 18 years of age the day of the trial. The Junior Showcase is open to all breeds including dogs listed with the AKC Canine Partners. All dogs must be eligible for the classes in which they are entered.

The purpose of a Junior Showcase is to provide a low stress mentoring environment with comradery in a relaxed atmosphere to assist the junior handler to achieve their goals.

Junior handlers entered in Junior Showcase events will be permitted to have a mentor walk with them during the exhibitor walk through times.

Mid Coast Kennel Club will be offering a Junior Showcase in Rally Novice A and B.

Rally trials are a sport and all participants should be guided by the principals of good sportsmanship both in and out of the ring.

Rally trials demonstrate the dog has been trained to behave in the home, in public places and in the presence of other dogs in a manner that will reflect credit on the sport of rally at all times and under all conditions.

All contestants in a class are required to perform the same signs in substantially the same way so that the relative quality of the various performances may be compared and scored. The judge tells the handler to begin, and the dog and handler proceed at a brisk pace through a course, designed by the rally judge, of designated signs. Each of these signs provides instructions regarding the next skill that is to be performed. The dog and handler move continuously throughout the course with the dog under control at the handler’s left side. There is a clear sense of teamwork between the dog and handler both during and between the numbered signs.

Rally provides an excellent introduction to AKC Companion Events for new dogs and handlers and can provide a challenging opportunity for competitors in other events to strengthen their skills. AKC Rally is a companion sport to AKC Obedience. Both require teamwork between dog and handler along with similar performance skills.

In the Rally Novice classes all signs are judged with the dog on leash. Rally Novice A & B have 10-15 signs (Start and Finish not included) with a minimum of three and a maximum of five stationary exercises.

Mid Coast Kennel Club of Maine holds Rally practice Monday nights at 5:30 at North Star Dog Training School in Somerville. Juniors pay $5.00 per class and Adults pay $10 with all proceeds to the Mid Coast Kennel Club.

Not sure? Come and watch one Monday night!

For more information, e-mail Kathy Duhnoski at kduhnoski@myfairpoint.net. Or call Kathy at 691-2332.

And to learn more about Rally, go the AKC website at www.akc.org Rally Regulations

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

Agility: Are manners and obedience necessary?

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Training Your Performance Dog

by Carolyn Fuhrer

YES, YES, YES! I can’t tell you how many times we receive a call from a frustrated pet owner who says, “My dog is out of control and has a lot of energy. I think agility would be good for him.” Wrong! In order for the dog and handler to enjoy doing agility, the dog and handler need to have a connection that they have established through basic pet training.

Dogs must understand how to work for what they want, pay attention to the handler and understand the basic commands of come, sit and wait, come along with me and know when they can go (a release).  If a dog has basic good pet manners (which all dogs should have whether they do agility or not) and understand how to get “paid” by their owners, then they are on their way to becoming excellent agility candidates. Dogs must understand how to work for what they want, pay attention to the handler and understand the basic commands of come, sit and wait, come along with me and know when they can go (a release).  If a dog has basic good pet manners (which all dogs should have whether they do agility or not) and understand how to get “paid” by their owners, then they are on their way to becoming excellent agility candidates.

Many people see agility as simply an outlet for energy when actually it is a fast-paced journey through many obstacles in which the dog is cued and instructed by the handler in how to negotiate the course.  It is a fast-paced teamwork sport that needs to done safely.

Sometimes in learning agility you may need to hold your dog by the collar for motivation, perhaps to steady him, or to define a position. Your dog should have no aversion to you taking his collar. You should be able to hold your dog by the collar without him being upset or frightened. Sometimes you might also need this for safety. This can be taught as a “touch” game with a clicker so that the dog will willingly “give” his collar to your out-stretched hand. Your dog should not be afraid of your space nor should he be attempting to control the space.

Any dog that will have the privilege of being free needs to understand and respond when his handler says “come”. Anything less than this is really unsafe. Perhaps “come” is one of the best things we can teach our dogs. Name recognition (which should be taught in puppy class) should bring your dog’s attention to you and the word “come” should physically bring the dog to you. These two skills name recognition and “come” — should be reinforced through– out your dog’s life. Someday they may even save his life.

Sitting and waiting to be released is a necessary skill to start the course so you can give your dog proper direction and help him safely negotiate the course. Running alongside you and taking direction without tripping you, biting you or running away to visit or jump the ring boundaries because of distraction is also a necessary skill. While it is nowhere near as precise as heeling in obedience, the agility dog needs to go with you and respond to your movement without interfering with you.

Taking the time to teach basic manners and basic obedience skills will give you a dog that is ready to explore and enjoy the challenges of agility. As an added bonus, you also get a well behaved pet to live with.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

“Dogs being dogs” is not the answer

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE  DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

Recently, I was at an event where a dog who was walking with its owner was subject to a blindsided attack by another dog. Luckily, the owner saw it coming and pulled her dog away and luckily, too, the other dog was on a leash and the owner managed to hold onto it so no physical harm occurred. But what about the feelings of the dog who was attacked? No apology was offered and the excuse was “dogs will be dogs” and “he was just snarking.”

If you own and exhibit dogs at any level or just want to walk in the park, this type of behavior and attitude by the owner is not acceptable. Since when are owners not responsible for the behavior of their dogs?

Dogs do what we allow them to do and if we are aware that our dogs have issues with certain situations we, as responsible owners, should not put them in this situation. If we must move through an area where our dog cannot handle the environment, we must find a way to manage the situation and keep our dog under control, such as a head halter, no pull harness, etc. Dogs who lunge and go after other dogs should not be afforded opportunities for this kind of behavior and certainly owners should not excuse this behavior. If your dog is reactive, realize that you have a problem and get some help. A dog in this state of mind is not a happy dog. The greatest gift you can give your dog is the ability to be calm and exhibit self control and confidence in stressful situations, and if you are going to take your dog to public situations where there are other dogs, You are responsible for your dog’s behavior. Do not make excuses – “oh, he’s a rescue.” “He was abused.” “He doesn’t like black dogs,” etc. You are responsible to help your dog negotiate difficult situations by teaching your dog what behaviors are acceptable. Lunging after other dogs is not acceptable.

We, as responsible dog owners, must start to speak out about owners who are not responsible. Each year we lose more places that dogs are allowed because of incidents of aggression or threatening behavior towards humans or other dogs.

For the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test a dog must accept petting from a friendly stranger and must exhibit polite behavior when meeting a person with another dog.

Having these skills allows you to take your dog out in public and should be part of every dog’s education.

Dogs do what we allow them to do and we want them to trust us. Our dogs should not be subjected to dogs who are allowed to lunge at them or dogs who aggressively lunge when you pass by a crate or a car at a respectable distance, just as we should not feel unsafe walking down a street. Dogs have the right to feel secure when traveling with you under control. Dogs who lunge aggressively are not acting appropriately and it is time we address these behaviors and take responsibility for our dog’s behavior.

If your dog is not ready for a stimulating environment, you need to do more work – for your dog’s sake and out of respect for your fellow dog owners.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her col-umn by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

In competition, how important is the judge?

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

When you enter an event with your dog, you are actually asking the judge to evaluate your performance according to the standards of the venue. Some people would say if my dog can do everything, it really doesn’t matter who the judge is. This is not necessarily so. The less experienced you are, the more influence a judge may have on your performance.

An obedience judge is responsible for ring set ups – where the exercises will take place and the heeling pattern. Set ups close to the ring entrance, recalls towards the ring entrance, set ups with a lot of distractions behind the dog, can all complicate simple exercises. While you should practice with distractions before you show, a good judge will do their best to make the ring dog and handler friendly.

The efficiency and energy of the judge also sets a tone that you and your dog react to – basically, if you are comfortable, your dog will be comfortable. While judges should expect you to take your performance seriously and to know the rules and ring procedure, it is important to never lose your sense of humor. Things happen; and remember, there is always another show.

Good judges work hard to make the best of the situations they are given. Rally judges design the course using the signs and guidelines appropriate to the level. Some like courses with lots of sits and fronts. Other judges prefer flowing, open courses. Some look more at precision while others focus more on teamwork. Both courses can be legal, but reflect a different style.

In agility, the judge’s skill at design is also very important because they actually design the course. While, of course there are guidelines to designing a course, a judge’s influence in course design, i.e. angle of approach, tight turns, how the course flows – can all influence your dog’s performance. Some judges are influenced by the type of dog they are running and what kind of course they like, so sometimes you may get a course that is friendlier to big dogs or one that is friendlier to little dogs. Again, both can be legal courses but may favor one size dog over another. Some judges like lots of obstacle discrimination, some like pinwheels or serpentines. Some like a spiraling, tight course and others like a loopy, flowing course. Again, the more experienced your dog, the less this will concern you. Try and learn from the type of courses you have trouble running.

In tracking, the judges’ knowledge of scent theory and how dogs work and what will help the dog and what can hinder the dog along the way is extremely important.

In tracking, each new day is another experience depending upon terrain and weather conditions. Since tracking is an outdoor sport and subject to varying conditions, tracking judges must consider many factors when plotting a track. What looks good on paper may not transfer well to a field. Tracking judges must be willing to go that extra mile to make things work.

Judges, in my experience, on the whole are very dedicated and want to see dogs and handlers succeed. They work hard and put in a long day. But as in any other slice of life, some become complacent and settle in and don’t put forth much effort.

If, in your trialing experiences, you are not happy with a judge – be polite and chalk it up to experience. Seek out other experiences with other judges. You can enjoy showing and good judges are out there. Please make sure you tell the clubs when you really like a judge. Clubs work hard to put on shows and it means a lot to know they made good choices in choosing judges.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including two Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

Dogs must choose and want to give us attention and focus

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

Focus, Attention, Engagement, Cooperation. Focus. Attention. Engagement. Cooperation. We hear these words all the time, but what does it all mean? How do we obtain it and how do we keep it?

In the beginning stages of training, we use food or toys first as lures and eventually as rewards to pay our dogs for performing certain tasks. This approach works very well with most dogs. Problems arise if you want to progress beyond the venues where you can use food as a lure or carry food with you and reward with it. If your performance is based upon your dog believing that food is present and will be forthcoming for certain behaviors, you will be limited as to how much you can achieve.

Dogs must choose and want to give us attention and focus and be willing to join us and cooperate with us because it is a good deal and an enjoyable experience.

Focus and attention to you can be enhanced in every day life with your dog. Every time your dog looks at you or chooses to engage with you, acknowledge their attention and enjoy them. Work on building your relationship with your dog wanting to give you attention, not your pursuing the dog to get their attention.

Consider whether your dog is stressed, anxious or fearful of the environment or is the stress coming from you? Or perhaps some of each. Is the environment overwhelming to your dog because your dog is extremely curious and has not developed the ability to concentrate on a single task but just flits from one environmental distraction to another. Your dog’s breed and temperament will influence whether they are stressed or wary of the environment or want to engage with every smell, sight or noise they encounter. Some dogs are more introverts where others are extroverts. You need to understand and work with the dog you have.

Some dogs need quite a bit of emotional support, whereas others are quite independent. You need to understand your dog’s emotional make up when you plan a training session.

Sometimes your dog’s inability to focus has nothing to do with the dog or environment. It has to do with poor training. Poor training and lack of clarity in training will cause a dog to be confused, anxious, frustrated or just shut down or leave.

Training, when done correctly, should strengthen your relationship and training should be an enjoyable, rewarding session for both dog and handler. The dog understands you will be fair and clear in your teaching and therefore will be willing to try and solve problems and enjoy putting forth effort. The handler in turn will be patient, fair and supportive of the dog’s efforts. The more you build your relationship, the more your dog will focus on the tasks and engage with you because work is fun for both of you!

Remember, every time you set up a training session, go to a class, a show and go or a trial, you set an emotional tone for the event. If these experiences are not pleasant and confidence-building for your dog and enhancing to your overall relationship, you will be undermining the foundation of trust you need to have with your dog. No amount of food can substitute for poor training.

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.

Tracking: Tracking with a purpose

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TRAINING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOG

by Carolyn Fuhrer

A tracking dog needs to understand their job. We as trainers need to define the job. In other words, we need to really give a good detailed job description. What is it you want your dog to do?

A tracking dog must follow the basic path the tracklayer walked. A tracking dog cannot cut out entire “legs” of the track and get to the end as a Search and Rescue dog might do. They must follow track scent, not air scent in order to be successful. We as handlers must understand and teach the task. Tracking is not nose work and nose work is not tracking. Yes, both require scenting skills, but applied in a different way.

If a dog is successful at nose work by air scenting, they may resort to this technique if the “track” scent is difficult to find or contaminated, or the environmental conditions are difficult. Air scenting has paid off in the past, so they may default to this “successful” behavior when confronted with a problem. This is where training must be clear to the tracking dog. We do not want them to follow air scent. We want them to follow track scent. This is why letting a tracking dog fringe and wander on the track is not giving a clear job description of what the dog needs to do. A successful tracking dog must focus and then maintain their focus on the track scent. At the beginner level they must do this for 450-500 yards and make 3 to 5 turns (corners) along the way. So, our purpose in beginning tracking is to keep the dog on the actual track, discourage fringing and air scenting and make track scent valuable. Tracks should be designed so dogs are successful and are motivated to keep their heads down. In other words, following track scent pays very well.

Another common problem is distractions or “crittering” along the track. Dogs must be taught to ignore distractions and to follow the track. A “leave it” command is very necessary for a tracking dog. Sometimes it is even a safety issue. Teach “leave it” away from the track so you have this command on hand when you need it. There are many positive ways to teach “leave it” and it should be understood by all dogs. Telling your dog you must leave something is not a bad thing; it could even save their life. So teach “leave it.”

Another very important concept we must incorporate into our training program is reducing the help we give our dog on the track and creating a confident dog who will make correct decisions on the track. In the beginning stages we help a lot to get the dog to understand the job and be well rewarded for doing the job. We must gradually reduce our help and let the dog take over. This many times requires a great deal of patience and being quiet so as not to verbally push the dog. A relaxed body posture will help the dog realize there is no pressure, and it will allow the dog to work.

Make your training sessions meaningful. Before you go out and just lay a track, think about the purpose of the track and what aspect of tracking you are trying to teach.

Happy tracking!

Carolyn Fuhrer has earned over 90 AKC titles with her Golden Retrievers, including 2 Champion Tracker titles. Carolyn is the owner of North Star Dog Training School in Somerville, Maine. She has been teaching people to understand their dogs for over 25 years. You can contact her with questions, suggestions and ideas for her column by e-mailing carolyn@dogsatnorthstar.com.