COMPONENT TRAINING FOR TDX
By Ed Presnall
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About this ebook
Excellence in Tracking through Component Training
Successful competitive tracking requires the development of a large number of skills on the part of both the dog and the handler. A dog comes equipped with fabulous scenting abilities but must learn to follow a track in many types of weather, over a variety of surfaces, while encountering all sorts of distractions. A handler must learn how to read his dog, know when to stop and let his dog get back on track, and keep his dog motivated. Author Ed Presnall has developed his Component Training™ method to help a tracking team break down the dozens of challenges they will face in training in order to achieve the coveted Tracking Dog Excellent title.
You will learn:
• To watch for “something different,” the subtle clues your dog gives you while tracking, so you can react in a way to help your dog.
• All of the rules and regulations you need to know in order to compete in TDX.
• Specific training plans for start, obstacle and transition components you will encounter in TDX.
• To not be the “dope on a rope,” but rather an active partner with your dog while tracking.
• What to expect when encountering different types of ground cover and weather.
Praise for Component Training for TDX
Ed’s book brings the owner up to speed and gives you homework that will keep your dog interested AND learning AND still making it fun for both of you! I have watched more people cause their failure in a test so that I agree with Ed that 95% of the dogs failing a tracking test, do so due to the handler. With this book, you can increase your chances of passing significantly!
Mary Thompson, AKC Tracking Judge
The success I have enjoyed in tracking with my Dalmatians is directly attributable to the wealth of knowledge I have taken from Ed Presnall’s seminars and training manuals. He is the undisputed source of solid information and effective technique.
Linda McSherry, CT CH Patch Mt’s About Time Am/Can, CPC, CGC,CD, RE, OA, NAJ, VCD1
Ed Presnall
Author Ed Presnall is the author of Mastering Variable Surface Tracking: The Component Training Approach and 8 other books, creator of the Component Training method, founder of Component Training Camps, The Ultimate Tracking Experience and a tracking judge for all levels. He lives with his dogs in Albion. Michigan.
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COMPONENT TRAINING FOR TDX - Ed Presnall
Component Training for TDX
Component Training for TDX
Ed Presnall
Dogwise Publishing
A Division of Direct Book Service, Inc.
403 S. Mission Street, Wenatchee, Washington 98801
1-509-663-9115, 1-800-776-2665
©2011 Ed Presnall
Cover photo by Jeremy Kezer Photography
All others photos by Ed Presnall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.
Limits of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty:
The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising out of, the furnishing, performance, or use of the instructions and suggestions contained in this book.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN: 978-1-61781-060-2
Printed in the U.S.A.
Component Training for TDX
Ed Presnall
Also by Ed Presnall:
Novice Nosework
Track Laying 101
Mastering Variable Surface Tracking: The Component Training Approach
Component Training, A Companion Guide for VST
The Clumber Spaniel Handbook
Component Training for Variable Surface Tracking
Things are only impossible until they’re not …
Jean-Luc Picard
Acknowledgements
For Debbie, Mary, Michele, and Gretchen
The ladies that work so hard to keep me on track.
And to all of the handlers and dogs who attended Component Training™ workshops and camps and made this book possible, a heartfelt thank you.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
Introduction
Why I Track
Great Reasons to Track
Different Sports for Different Folks
Who Can Compete?
Too Young or Too Old?
Its Tracking, Not Obedience
What are Components?
Why Component Training™ Works
Longer vs. Shorter
Complexity Over Distance
Making Sense of Sense
That Amazing Nose
Blended and Displaced Scent
Concentrating the Scent
Mistakes Aid Learning
Teaching the Handler
Handler Positioning
The Talking Dog – Body Language
Keep ‘em Guessing And Motivated
Keys to Success
Tracking Pace
Why Dogs Fail
What to Expect
Different Dogs, Different Styles
Games People Play
Training Tools and Techniques
Article Indication
Food on the Track
Lead Handling and Communication
Being an Active Part of the Team
Something’s Different
DATs What’s Happening
Talking to the Dog
Dogs Learn From Their Mistakes
A Shout for Help
Time Flies, Track Age Really Helps
Random Tracking For Motivation
Make the Most Out of Your Practice
Speed Kills
A Time to Compromise
Tracklaying Skills
Tracking is Hard Work
Regional Differences
Cover
Regional Cover
Seasons
Weather
Overview of the Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX) Title
The Article Game™
Routines
The Components
TDX Component Types
Start Components
Transition Components
Obstacle Components
Are You Really Ready?
Test Day
That Passing Feeling
Drats, Try Again
Vendors and Information
Glossary
About the Author
Author’s Note
Thousands of handlers have attended workshops geared around Component Training™ and now with this book you can also view, read about and practice the various components that make up a typical Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX) track. This book is written with the intent of helping you become a successful handler and accomplishing your goal of achieving a TDX title.
It is assumed that you and your dog have progressed through beginning tracking and are near the stage of certification or have already earned your TD title. If not, I recommend reading either or both my Novice Nosework and Track Laying 101 books. An understanding of basic tracking principals and the implementation of a training program is required to work through these components at the TDX level.
This book has been divided into three major sections. The first section consists of an introduction to tracking, who can participate, and why it is beneficial to both you and your dog. The second section introduces the theory behind Component Training™ and the tracking concepts and techniques you will need to become familiar with to compete at a high level. The third section provides details about using Component Training™ specifically at the TDX level. I believe both dogs and humans learn best by focusing on one component at a time, so I have written this book following that guideline with a large number of short and concise chapters.
To help you better visualize each component, I have used multiple photographs whenever available to graphically display the components. When implementing components, you will need to visualize these components being plotted in your geographical area and modify the components to fit your training area.
Introduction
Anyone who has watched late-night movies has seen the Hollywood depiction of an escaped convict being pursued by a dog with his gasping handler being dragged along behind. As the convict crosses fields, sloshes through swamps, hurdles fences and negotiates briars and woods, the tireless dog pursues. Eventually, Hollywood deems that the convict must jump into a creek and slog upstream in order to lose his pursuers, ignoring the fact that water and moisture collect scent molecules and actually make it easier for the dog to follow the trail.
Clicking the channel, we watch in amazement as a Police K-9 team searches for evidence after a bank robbery. Finding a dropped glove, the dog leads his handler on a search of the area, culminating in the capture of the criminal. On another station we see dogs working with the US Customs Service searching for illegal drugs as ships are offloaded on a city dock. Moments later, the scene changes to dogs sniffing cars as they cross the country’s border. Intrigued, we watch as the station displays information on a terrier that, with a snuffle, uses his nose to identify cancerous cells on patients in a doctor’s office.
Walking through an airport we might see a Beagle, working for the Department of Agriculture, jumping on and off the baggage carrousel checking luggage for illegally imported fruits and vegetables, while in another part of the airport a Labrador searches for explosives.
In September 2001, many of us were introduced to search teams who journeyed from their homes across the country to New York, Washington and the Pennsylvania countryside to search for survivors. Many of those teams were the same anonymous searchers who on a monthly basis are called to find lost children, geriatric patients who walk away from nursing homes, lost campers, hunters or picnickers. Over the years, we have become accustomed to seeing photos or video of local or national Police K9 teams "tracking" down criminals, searching for bombs or illegal drugs, and Search and Rescue dogs locating victims lost in the wilderness or searching rubble piles attempting to locate survivors. Each of these activities, whether simulated by Hollywood or performed live, alone or in front of a national audience, is an advanced form of tracking involving specific training methods and a bond between the dog and handler.
The American Kennel Club defines the purpose of a tracking test is "to demonstrate the dog’s ability to recognize and follow human scent, a skill that is useful in the service of mankind."
Tracking offered by licensing organizations such as the AKC and others requires our dogs to modify their natural hunting and tracking skills to comply with a man-made set of regulations. Your dog’s nose is capable of identifying the location of the articles on your TDX track while standing at the start; however, to pass the test, he must still negotiate the track as plotted by the judges.
The regulations further state, "tracking, by nature, is a vigorous, noncompetitive outdoor sport." If you are like most dog owners, any time you spend with your dog is enjoyable. Tracking is a sport that will allow you to spend time with your dog, work together to reach specific goals and operate as a working team. When you start training your dog in tracking, you can expect to walk hundreds of yards in the beginning and what may seem like miles as your training progresses. This amount of walking will help keep both you and your dog in shape and is an excellent conditioning program to begin with that older dog to keep him or her fit and trim.
"Tracking is a team sport in the truest sense. In true team effort, a handler working as a team with his or her dog exhibits a real understanding of the dog’s motivation and commitment to the task at hand. The handler is able to read his or her dog and communicate with it to accomplish their goal."
To many, this camaraderie with our dog is the most enjoyable part of tracking. Working with a dog to become a "team" and knowing when to follow or when to help because you trust the actions of your dog should be your goal. Teamwork will assure you reach your goal.
The fundamental features of a tracking test are the dog’s ability to follow a track laid by a person under a variety of conditions on moderate terrain and find articles dropped by that person. Tracking is a non-competitive outdoor sport where the dog and handler follow the specific scent trail made by a tracklayer. The dog detects and follows a unique combination of smells, a cornucopia of emissions, from people, plants, ground cover and the environment.
Included within this unique scent combination is the tracklayer’s body scent, traces of soap or other toiletries, the scent of their clothes and the smell of the vegetation crushed underfoot. Each person has a unique scent pattern that our dogs can easily follow.
"Tracking Tests should demonstrate willingness and enjoyment by the dog in his work." There are few things in life more enjoyable than watching a dog who truly loves his job. In tracking, we have the unique opportunity to both participate and see our dog’s enthusiasm while he overcomes the challenges along the scent trail. Once you have started this journey, your life and that of your dog will change forever. The mere sight of a harness makes my dogs whine, spin, wag their tail and bark in anticipation of the tracking game. Tracking is a game that should always end with the dog and the handler having fun.
Why I Track
Snapping on the harness, I attach the long lead and watch in amazement as my partner drops his muzzle to the ground and starts slowly moving along an unseen line. He is following a scent so faint that no human could recognize it, yet he leads on. With admiration of the ability of my working friend, I follow along behind. Ready to assist as a part of the team, sometimes questioning or offering a cooling drink, but always assuring my partner that he and only he knows the way.
Later, perhaps after only a few yards in the beginning, or hundreds of yards as we progress toward our goal, my dog indicates a special treasure he has found on the journey, an old glove, sock or a wallet. Congratulating my dog, I accept the treasure he has found. Unsnapping his harness and returning the line to his collar, we enjoy our walk through the field, back to our car and awaiting friends.
Before I leave, I sit and think about the track we just completed. If I am in a class or training with others, we all sit and discuss our tracks. The discussion, or at least my reflection on the track if I am training alone, is one of the most important parts of tracking. I can determine the part of the track that was hardest for the handler and which part was hardest for the dog. This knowledge allows me to plan our next outing and know exactly which components need additional work.
Watching another student work a dog allows me the opportunity to see that Component Training™ works and assist with problems as they occur.
Preparing another team to meet the challenge and reach for their goals or judging teams