Urban Tracking Seminar day 2

Cross your fingers - I think I have figured out how to get all the video's downloaded from the camera, converted to a single MP4 file (instead of the 4 files as it comes out of the camera), then converted to a .wmv file so I can edit it in Windows Movie Maker.  If this works, it just means I'll have to plan ahead so the conversions happen when I'm doing something else.  Cross your fingers.

August 28, Day 2 - On Sunday morning we met at the Barkley Village cinema for an urban tracking session.  Since we have been having problems with Gimme rushing across the gaps and then looking for the track on the other side (which will be no help when we get to moment-of-truth turns), I asked Sil on Saturday what I should do.  He suggested putting treats down in the gaps to get her nose down. 

Knowing how she will "go visual" in an instant, I knew I couldn't use white cheese against dark pavement.  So I bought a package of beef jerky and cut it into small squares the night before.  It was really kinda funny - as many things are with my girl.  As I cut it up, I gave her the occasional piece.  Then I decided to take the package out to the car right then, so I wouldn't forget in the morning.  Gimme was laying on the bed watching me.  As I picked up the package, her ears perked up.  Then when I started to open the door, clearly taking the jerky with me, her mouth dropped open in a classic look of astonishment.  I really wish I had a picture.

Island Hopping with jerky treats in the gaps video - I didn't think about it at the time, but in the video, you can see Gimme was a bit distracted right at the start.  She got into the game and did well from there to the end.  At the last gap, she assumed it would go straight across and then had to back track and find the scent.  I did notice most of the time she'd eat the first 2 of 3 treats which were laid down spaced across the gap and then just bypass the last treat to get to the curb.  So in the future, we'll just lay a treat at ¼ and ½.  No sense overfeeding the crows.

Sports field with intentional contamination video - The plan for the afternoon was to do intentional contamination tracks on sports fields.  Since Gimme had done the start and corner contamination before, I wanted to do it again, expecting her to ace it.  Boyoh was I wrong. 

She started well, stopped to pee and then got to the first article without a problem. From there she struggled.  The first contamination was at the start, but she didn't have a problem with it.  The next was right after the mid-leg article on the first leg.  I could see the corner flag, so I knew what was contamination and what wasn't.  When I wouldn't go with her she came up, laid down in the soft grass and said, "I quit".  I tickled the grass a bit to encourage her interest and then she started out again.  She struggled with the "slice" contamination at the first corner, but finally got through it and happily found the next mid-leg article.  She had more difficulty with the next "sliced" corner, but with encouragement got through it and on to the next article.  She actually did quite well with the third "bisected" corner and enjoyed another article find.  You can see then she is less enthusiastic about going on.  I encouraged her to keep going and she finally worked out the fourth corner, again "bisected".  She seemed to be doing well, but then got sucked in by the contamination leading her to the big tree.  Then there was some pee-mail.  She did decide to get back on the track and soon came upon the final article.

She is normally much more focused than this and had very little trouble with intentional contamination at corners when we did this exercise a few months ago, so I chalked it up to her hormonal condition.  I've been trying to understand why her tracking is affected during this false pregnancy, when she's never had a problem with any nose-oriented behavior before.  After thinking about it, I think its because we ran out of the flower essence remedies and I delayed getting them made up.  I have the recipes and make them myself, but sterilizing the bottles is a big convoluted process for me.  Normally I start the false pregnancy remedy about a month after her season ends, but I didn't this time, plus she wasn't getting her two other remedies for several weeks.  The false pregnancy remedy helps within a week, but one of the others takes 3-4 weeks to see results.  So I think her being off it too long contributed to the difficulty she was having, especially since it seemed to be a focus issue.  I'm going to buy a baby bottle sterilizer to I don't delay again.

Often we have to find ways to intensify scent so we can make a learning task easier for the dog without "help" or "hints" coming directly from us.  There are four main ways to intensify scent, they are:

• Scent in a bottle - soaking handler's used t-shirt (not having been washed with bleach) in water (well water) , then putting it in a sprayer and spraying it on the ground as the track is laid.
• Hydration - spraying plain water (from a well) on the ground as the track is laid.
• Sandals or bare feet - leaves more scent than feet in shoes.
• Hand swipes - swiping the hand on the ground (preferred) or a raised surface can be a help as well.

Since Gimme struggled and was frustrated with her last track of the day, I decided her track the next day needed to be simple, uncontaminated and relatively young.

Urban Tracking Seminar day 1

I apologize for the delay getting back to blogging.  Since I got the new camera, I've had all sorts of difficulty getting the video's off it and into a format I could use.  I'm still working on resolving these issues, but do have a few videos and pictures available.









We went to Bellingham on Friday, August 26th and here are some pictures I took of Gimme with the "baby".  The first one I call, "Like Mother, like Daughter."  Clearly she is still very much into her false pregnancy.

August 27, Day 1 - I didn't get a lot of notes during this seminar, much of what was covered I heard last year, so I mostly listened and reassimilated.  When the new book, Modern Enthusiastic Training by Sil Sanders, is available, be sure you get a copy.  If you've not done much tracking, start at the beginning and work through it, teaching your dog urban and field at the same time.  If you've been doing mostly field tracking and want to introduce urban tracking, start with Part 3.  Of course if you live in an area where field tracking is not an option, by the time its published Modern Enthusiastic Training will include a section for those who only want to focus on urban tracking.

As handler you must learn to recognize your dog's change-of-behavior, which will happen when the dog recognizes the scent has changed.  Early on in our tracking endeavors I spent a lot of time watching for Gimme's head to come up as her change-of-behavior.  It seemed like we were both always over-running the corners.  At one of the last seminars of last year I finally realized Gimme's change-of-behavior is actually to curl to one side or the other (not a head-up).  The common change-of-behavior indications are:  head-up, curl to either side, stop and/or detailing.  I could have gotten much further as a handler if I'd learned this earlier.

When searching and your dog is circling you, make your pivot about 30-45º ahead of your dog.  Be sure to pivot in 90º increments as this will make it easier for you to stay oriented in the field.  If you just keep turning ahead of your dog, you may lose the line you were on before the search began.

We had a distraction exercise which proved quite interesting.  Sil set up flags, and there were 6 handlers with dogs and 6 tracklayers.  The tracklayers laid the track (solid line) and then on the way back to the start contaminated its sister track (dashed line).  There was a start article, articles mid-leg and an end article.  All six tracks were run simultaneously.  Each track had color-coded start, corner and end flag.  The dogs were never close to each other.

Gimme and I had the blue track and pink was our sister track.  Sil knows Gimme is reactive, so he always puts us on an end.  Gimme did great with her track, really motoring along, up to the mid-leg article on the second leg.  As I cued her to "track-on", she looked up and saw the other dogs. 

I don't think she noticed pink track dog, but she surely saw the 4 dogs working on the orange, green, red and black tracks.  She was just stuck for a bit and didn't know what to do.  I had to help her get refocused and then she was able to finish her track.  I know they weren't too close for her to handle, I think she was just surprised by seeing them. 

In hindsight, I think I should have cued her "whazzat" (Control Unleashed, Look-at-That game).  Now I'm thinking this might be a good exercise to plan at some point, where Nadine and I set up a well marked track and while Gimme and I are working it, Nadine with one of her crew will appear at a predetermined place to be a dog distraction.  Plus I will have to get it in my head to remember "whazzat" for those times when we have naturally occurring dog distractions at Flaming Geyser.

In the afternoon I did the break-out tracklaying exercise with Patty.  Some of us met at a separate park and laid tracks.  We placed small markers on our corners (I used some of my golf tees) as we drew our diagram.  Some people don't draw, preferring to write a discription of what their sight markers are.  Then we gathered and talked for awhile, before being sent out to find our corner markers.  This is the third time I've done this exercise and I'm happy to say as I finished my count, I was within a foot of each corner marker and the end marker.  I remember the first time I only found the start marker, which was really disappointing.  Last time I found them all, but they were bigger markers than my little golf tees.

From there I went to watch some of the other showcase tracks.  Each dog gets two showcase tracks, along with the other exercises.  Gimme's showcase tracks were on Sunday and Monday.  You'll hear all about those in subsequent blogs.

Helfers NW Seminar, part 4

The last part of the seminar talked about training.  Fred has a four step approach to each training experience to ensure the dog has a successful and positive experience.

• Develop a Plan - You get greater consistency if you have a plan, short, medium and long range.  Still, be prepared to be flexible when things don't go according to plan.
• Conduct a Safety Check - Check all areas/equipment/etc for hazards to both dog and person.  
• Each environment has a potential to contain hazards, usually sharp or protruding objects.  Also watch for things that could tip over.  Remember vehicles could be dripping unsafe fluids, such as antifreeze.
• Also be aware that you don't put hides in places that will cause the dog discomfort, such as on a hot metal surface they might touch with the nose.
• Check the Environment - Check for air flow throughout the environment, air conditioning, temperature, distractions... which all combine to tell you what to do to make sure the search/training is successful.
• Air is always moving, even in interiors - kitchen & bathroom vents, doorways, windows, a/c, sun shining through windows, duct work, even switch plates and electrical outlets.  Know the wind direction and strength so you can estimate how the odor will flow around buildings and other items during exteriors and how it will flow under and around vehicles.  Whenever possible start from the downwind side - even if that means quickly passing straight through the search area to get there, though be prepared to follow the dog's lead.
• Temperature affects how much scent molecules disperse, humidity levels and how much water your dog needs before and after searches.
• Distractions are everywhere and not just for the dog - verbal and physical from other people, food, other animals, and new environments.  Handlers can be distracted by their own dog and forget to cover all the things they identified in their plan.
• Have a Plan "B" - Fred says that training and testing are two distinctly different things.  Always have a plan so that your training challenges don't unintentionally turn into testing.  Always end on with success.

 Make sure your training plan covers all the contingencies you can think of, such as:

• hot vs. cold
• dry conditions vs. humidity
• different floor/ground surfaces
• food distractions
• use of heat from a wall heater to convect air up to curtains (like in a hotel room)
• in the rain and snow
• high wind, low wind and no wind
• buried source odor
• low quantities of odor, normal and super saturated odor
• on and off leash
• be aware of even tiny amounts of scent transfer
• NOTE:  I often see this in practices where I try to stick a tin somewhere and it doesn't attach, so I place it elsewhere.  Still even though the odor/oil is safely contained in the tin, the dogs ALWAYS pay extra attention to those spots.
• odor may be intensified when placed in a patch of sunlight
• odor pools in cool spots

Distractions in Training - always know the answers to the following:

• What are you trying to accomplish?
• Are you trying to fool the dog? 
• Are you setting up challenge proofing?
• Are you conducting a test?
• Are you teaching the dog to work unfamiliar smells?
• ESSENTIAL - Are you training or are you testing?

Change of Behavior - Your job is to be able to tell when the dog is IN or OUT of odor.  You must learn to identify what your dog's "tells" are for when he is in odor.  There will be some change of behavior (COB).  The COB occurs when the dog first gets in the area of odor, but is distinctly different from his detailing behavior to get to source.  Some are readily observable, such as snap backs (don't we all love those easy ones).  Some body language indications include: tail flag, tail wagging faster, tail stiffening, body stiffening, change in body carriage/posture, change in mouth (closed vs open).  Know your own dog. 

Handler Error - is defined as "verbal or physical communication by the handler which when interpreted by the canine will lead it to manipulate or not detect the odors for which it was trained".  He gave numerous examples, including but not limited to:

• over detailing - guiding the dog too much so it learns to become handler dependent and only sniffs where the handler indicates
• handler belief creates subtle handler behavior that "sells" the dog
• insistence on working to a pattern and ignoring the dog's vote
• failure to work the pattern 
• cuing the dog
• poor detailing/guiding skills
• unable to read the dog properly
• little to no search pattern
• belief that the dog should do all the work
• poor leash handling skills
• lack of knowledge of odor movement
• handler doesn't hold dog accountable
• preconceived idea that odor is or is not present
• preconceived idea that odor is or is not in a specific place in search area

REMEMBER ALWAYS - the dog is the EXPERT. 

Helfers NW Seminar, part 3

First a little update on our project to moderate Gimme's paw indicator.  I have been working on it away from nosework - focusing on clearly defining the desired "paw" behavior... using the nearest paw, place it on the object (one paw only) and hold it there.  We are having to weed out Gimme's creative embellishments.  I just came home from NW practice with Mary and Susan and they both commented that Gimme's paw indicator is a noticeably lighter touch.  So the training is already affecting her indicator and we are nowhere near pairing it to the indicator cue and/or working with odor.  How cool is that?

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Scent discrimination describes a dogs ability to match one odor from the overall scent picture he's presented with to the one he's looking for.  Dogs have a far superior ability in this respect.  If you were trying to find the source of an icky smell in your house, you'd go sniffing all around moving your whole nose from place to place to try and find where the smell is stronger.  Dogs can actually tell which way the odor is stronger based on the difference in concentration of scent molecules between one nostril and the other... the difference in location might only be one-quarter inch, but they can tell.  Dogs can control the little flaps at the side of their nostrils to let in more or less air.

Comparing scenting capability between dogs and humans.  Dogs have 25 to 60 times more scent receptors (depending on breed) than humans.  The dog's devotes 40 times more of its brain to scenting than humans do.  The area inside the nose that is devoted to turbinates is 60 times larger for a dog.  Dogs can detect smells at 100 million times lower concentration than a human.  Add to those physiological differences the way a dog's nose can move and process scent and the difference goes up as much as a dog being able to smell a million times better than you and I.  Fred talked about a dog he'd trained that could find a gas pipeline leak, that was buried 20 feet underground and when analyzed by a mechanical sniffer at source was only 2 parts per million!  That sounds amazing enough, but we now have evidence that dogs can detect odor in parts per TRILLION!

Different environmental conditions affect how odor molecules behave.  You need to take these into account to train all the different conditions and remember they may increase or decrease the setup time.

• Temperature - Warmth expands the scent cone and causes the release of more molecules.  Cold causes a reduction in the release of odor molecules.
• Organic vs. Synthetic - Generally organic sources respond more to warmth, with some notable exceptions (such as ether).
• Buried Sources - Soil conditions affect the release of odor.  The ground is warmer than the air in the early evening, so more is released, but once it reaches the surface it stays close to the ground and may attach to dew or other moisture.
• Air Movement - Strong breeze creates a narrower, but longer scent cone.  Slight breezes create shorter and wider scent cones.  Air movement can channel odor, such as through cracks in the body or under a vehicle to the other side.  Air conditioning units move air, as do heaters and fans.
• Air conditioners also dry the air reducing a dog's scenting ability - remember that need for moisture.  So a dog kept in a running vehicle with the a/c running will have less capability as their noses dry out, unless the handler takes care to rehydrate the dogs nose.
• Quality and Quantity of Source - Higher concentration source will clearly put out more odor molecules.  Don't assume that its easier to find source with a higher quantity of odor.  Dogs have to learn to work through a super saturation of odor, just as they do for a miniscule amount.
• Packaging and Concealment - Be sure to vary the type of packaging you use.
• Humidity - High humidity means more molecules in the air and low humidity means less.
• Moisture - More moisture means more odor, lower moisture means less odor.
• OPTIMAL is Moderate Temperature and High Humidity... we are so blessed here in Washington state to have ideal scenting conditions most of the time.

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During our practice today I buried an odor container in the ground - about six inches under.  I arrived early to bury it so it had about 90 minutes setup time.  There was a light rain, so plenty of moisture and humidity.  It was evening, so the ground was warmer than the ambient air temperature.  Birch is an organic source and there were 4 q-tips in a very open plastic package.

All three dogs found it quickly.  Tucker was faster than Gimme, but he's more methodical and slower.  Gimme blew by it numerous times.  Grafton found it, paired with cheese, plus the ground had been disturbed by both Tucker and Gimme, releasing lots of odors and causing him to focus on the area sooner.

More to come...

Helfers NW Seminar, part 2

Our dogs have a wonderful ability to identify and discriminate different odors.  While humans smell in fruit salad style (all smells lumped together), dogs smell and recognize each smell individually even though they are presented together.

The other analogy he shared was that of entering a flower shop.  Humans walk in and are overwhelmed by sweetness, a combination of all the flowers there.  As we decide to buy one kind, such as roses, we hold it up to our nose to focus on that one flower.  A dog would smell each of the flowers individually, as well as leaves, plastic basins, wood of the door, linoleum, the shop owner's clothes... and everything else that is present.  If searching for one particular odor, dogs can focus and separate that one out of the potpourri.

This reminded me of something I had learned about watching/listening to an orchestra or band with singers.  As humans, we mostly listen to the music and voices as a whole.  What some people don't realize, is that if you focus your visual attention on one singer or one instrument, you will hear that singer or instrument over the rest of the performers.  Likewise most people can pick one voice out of a melange of voices and background noise to listen to that person (this ability is lost with hearing aids).

Everything gives off molecules and in order for that thing to be smelled, the molecules must make it to the nose.  Molecules come in three types:

• lightweight - move in the air
• volatile - evaporate easily
• soluble - broken down by moisture

Moisture and heat are necessary for scent to be processed.  Moisture from the mucous membranes combines with warmth, is passed over two types of turbinates (bony ridges covered in mucous that control air movement) and then information from the olfactory cells (receptors) pass information to the olfactory lobe of the brain.  The vomeronasal organ is located in the roof of the mouth and has basic scenting ability.  This is why your dog sometimes appears to be "tasting" smells.

As I mentioned yesterday, dogs process air in two ways, directly through the olfactory structures for scenting or in a curved path for simple breathing.  Dogs actually have the ability to re-process air through the olfactory structures!  Dogs often sniff more forcefully when they are focusing to find an odor and you can sometimes hear the difference.  There are times that I can really hear Gimme make a huffing noise as she is searching, which sounds like a tiny cough to me.

Fred told us that scent memory is the strongest memory of all for dogs.  This likely explains why imprinting a scent associated with feelings of calm and safety is so powerful.  Gimme and I both sleep on large flat sachets of lavender, so I'll have that available as a scent cue for her to feel calm and safe in challenging environments.  I asked about the practice of some handlers to re-scent a dog while tracking and he believes its completely unnecessary. 

He also cautioned against the practice of some trainers to whack their dogs across the nose with the leash or cuff them on the side of the head by hand.  The olfactory structures are located in the top part of the nose and any blows can damage those structures.

We watched a LOT of videos of dogs doing scent work (mostly from his time as a police canine trainer).  Fred told us to watch the dogs' mouth and note when it is open and when it is closed.  A dog with an open mouth is still taking in some scent information through the vomeronasal organ, but when they sense a smell that interests them, they will close the mouth (or partially close it) and start using the nose.  Some of the videos were shown at regular speed and again at half speed.  Once I understood about the importance of whether the mouth was open or closed, It was fascinating to see it in action. 

In tracking and nosework, we are mostly behind our dogs and not able to really see this.  One advantage to nosework is that we can move alongside or around the dog to take advantage of seeing the working end more clearly. This is an obvious clue as to when a dog is scanning versus when they've started detailing.

Our dogs are looking for a scent picture... that is "the combination of odors which are present that a detector dog identifies as a trained odor."  He touched on the importance of making sure that we use many different types of odor containers in training, so we don't unintentionally teach our dogs that they are searching for birch+plastic or anise+tin.  We need to vary the container so the dog understands its birch, anise or clove that is the odor picture they are looking for.

More to come...

Helfers NW Seminar

Yesterday I went to a seminar by Fred Helfers; it was great.  Before retirement, Fred was a police detection dog trainer, training all kinds of detection skills, including bomb, drug, fire accelerant, insect, and pipeline gas.  Now he's retired and naturally couldn't get totally out of dogs, so is teaching nosework and giving seminars.  My brain is still reeling from all the things I learned.  I will write more about the seminar this week. 

Still I wanted to share something.  I am reading "Cracker!", a novel, by Cynthia Kadohata.  There are two passages that struck me.  First:

"She lifted her nose to the air and breathed deeply, the way she did when she wanted to know what was going on.  This was different from the way she took in air when she was just breathing.  All she knew was that the air went someplace different when she was just breathing versus when she was trying to figure out a scent."

Interestingly this is one of the things I learned yesterday.  Dogs have the ability to direct the flow of air through their nasal chambers into different areas.  When a dog is sniffing scents, the air flows directly through olfactory sensors, sending information directly to the olfactory center of the brain.  When a dog is simply breathing, the air is detoured around the olfactory sensors.  

Fred told us there are only four species that can do this and of those, only canines are "useful" in this respect.  I find it interesting that an author who has written no other books featuring a dog would know something so specialized about how dogs process scents.  In fact, until yesterday, I would have considered this passage as just flowery prose.

Rick snapped back, 'People see what they want.  Dogs see what they see.'  That was a line Rick heard Cody use sometimes.  Humans saw in wholes, not in pieces.  They saw a total picture, colored by what they believed.  Dogs used their senses to 'see' all the details, uncolored by expectations and beliefs."

I am also reading "Animals in Translation", by Temple Grandin, this passage is spot on with her observations. Hers is a fascinating book that delves into how animals perceive the world around them, written from the perspective of someone who has autism.  Temple has become very influential in food producing industries and she designs facilities used worldwide for humane handling of livestock.  Her ability to "see" their world the way the animals do is instrumental in her success.

I recommend both books:
"Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam" and
"Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior".