Another winter training line for Remi

Here’s another very instructive video illustrating the education of a talented young dog handled by Justin Richins, a big game outfitter in Utah. Justin himself is still in his first year of tracking, but like Remi he has a passion for tracking and natural talent for  working with his partner.

Justin’s approach in winter training is innovative. There is a wintering area for mule deer where he lives, and a major highway, roads and a railroad run through it. The toll of road-killed deer is  heavy. Justin finds a recently killed deer, removes the hind hoofs and  attaches them to his tracking shoes. For this training session he hiked down the road about a mile and then laid a track with the deer’s interdigital scent (from those hoofs), and with deer blood back to the deer carcass. This is a long track for a puppy’s training exercise, but Remi never loses his enthusiasm.

For Remi the toughest aspect of this training exercise is the abundance of healthy deer in plain  sight. When Remi sees or smells the deer, his natural instinct is to go for them. He is still in the process of learning that a healthy deer is of no more interest than a cow. Justin does an excellent  job of refocusing Remi on the old, cold training line without harsh reprimands. This is the most important single aspect of training.

Training for natural tracking is not a matter of command and obey, as in retriever training. When Remi gets off the scent line, note that Justin asks him, with a questioning tone of voice, “Is that right?” Remi reflects and responds. The tracking dog must feel free to use his own judgment. In natural tracking the dog will usually be the only one who knows where the scent line is.