SaberTails

IWinter2015

www.pbgv.org

11

howPaulUrbangothispack
started.Paul’ssayingfor
novicedogsis,“Exposure,
exposure,exposure!”It
workedforhim!

Onceonthefield,your

doghastounderstandhowto
usehisnoseandsearchfor
scent.We’resopronetotell
ourdogs,“Nosniff!”andget
afterthemiftheychasea
squirrel.CharAllmannsays,
“Letyourdogsniffandtrail
thewildlifeinyourback
yard.”Don’tcorrectyourdog
ifhefindsasquirrelorrabbit
trailinyouryardandstarts
voicing—praisehimand
lethimknowwhatagood
dogheis!

BruceToenjessays,“Take

yourdogforawalk.”Finda
greenwayoropenfieldwhere
wildlifeispresentandwalk
yourdogonalongline.Let
himrangearoundyouand
usehisnosetofindscent.

Ifyourdogshowsinterestinfollowingatrail,encourage
him.Trytodothisinallkindsofconditions—hot/cold,
wet/dry.Youcanalsogetyourdogtolearntosearchanduse
hisnosebytakingclassesinNoseWork,acaninesportwhere
thedogsearchestofindaspecificscentandthengivean
alerttothehandler.Hidefood(likefreeze-driedrabbit
parts!)inthehouseandplay“FindIt”withyourdog.
Teachingtrackingcanalsobeahelpfulexerciseforhunting.
Basically,anythingwherethedogisencouragedtousehis
noseandsearchwillhelpinthehuntfield.

It’simportanttohaveaprettygoodrecallwhenyoutake

yourdogintothefield.Notonlydoesteachingarecallhelp
tobuildyourrelationshipwithyourdog,italsohelpsto
keepyourdogcheckinginwithyouonthehuntfield.
Youdon’thavetohaveaperfectrecalltostarthunting,
butitsurehelpstohaveitasyouprogress.Forspecificson
teachingtherecall,tryLeslieNielsen’sReallyReliableRecall,
availableasane-bookoraDVD,andPamelaDennison’s
TrainingtheWhistleRecallDVD,bothavailablefromwww.
dogwise.com.AlsogoodisPippaMattinson’sTotalRecall:
PerfectResponseTrainingforPuppiesandAdultDogs,available
fromwww.amazon.com.Again,ifyoudon’thaveaperfect
recall,don’tworry.Huntinggroundsarefenced,and
otherhandlerswillhelpyoucatchupyourdogifyou
arehavingtrouble.

Ifyoudon’thaveaccesstoarabbitpen,youcanstilluse

freeze-driedrabbitfeetandearsastreatsandtomakeadrag
(availablefromwww.northcoastpets.com).Youcanget
bunny“scentinabottle”tolivenitupalittleandcreate

trailsforyourdogtofollowintheyard(availablefrom
www.gundogsupply.com).Dragalinebetweenacoupleof
surveyorflagsandplacesmalltreatseverycoupleoffeet
alongtheway—exactlylikebasictracking,butusingthe
bunnyscentinsteadofhumanscent.

Continuedonpage31

Don’tcorrectyourdogifhefindsasquirrelorrabbittrailinyouryard

andstartsvoicing—praisehimandlethimknowwhatagooddogheis!