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20-02-2021, 22:36 #11
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- Aug 2010
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- Port Elizabeth
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- 55
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Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
Wow ! you have just hit onto my B/collie, she will track or take me to a dead animal, but was just totally uninterested in a wounded animal.
I have told the guys many times that if she is not interested it means its bleeding, but has not and is not going to fall down soon, like a jaw shot or a gut shot animal.
YES THEY DO KNOW< WITH OUT DOUBT> FACT
Now how do you train the hound to follow wounded animals?
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20-02-2021, 23:01 #12
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- Aug 2009
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- George - Western Cape
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- 2,183
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20-02-2021, 23:36 #13
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- Aug 2010
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- Port Elizabeth
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- 11,588
Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
*********************
Generally do not have any outside fortitude before 10, and Irish is better.
You will one day hear Cody describe a scene or animal in a hunt, you will "see" his words, the kid describes stuff you know, but never knew you knew.
The old farm worker Swartland said recently of Cody "yerra Treeman die kind sien dinge"
Old Swartland, what a real man.
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21-02-2021, 15:07 #14
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- Dec 2015
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- Eastern Cape
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- 1,034
Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
I attend a one day crash course at the Military Dog Unit at Potch.
Humans and animals is large and high off the ground. Your shoes/feet mixed with the smell of the soil and is also covered in soil. So there is smell at ground level, but much less than you think. A human sweat places like armpits, elbows, behind knees, stomach and groin is high of the ground. The same for animals, feet is covered in soil and body odors is high. The wind blows this smell downwind up to 50 m and the smell attached to the lower branches, leaves and long grass.
So when the dog tracks it will start low to familiarizes with the smell, once it locks on, it will raise its head and run the spoor smelling the smell that is high and stronger than the smell on the ground itself. In reality the dog can run parallel to the physical spoor, down wind up to 50 m were the smell is the strongest. If there is only low grass like on a rugby field or sand dune, chances are that the top smell will be blown away because there is no vegetation to attached to and the dog will have to settle for the low smell,
So if the dog tracks downwind and parallel to the spoor, don"t worry, as long as it get its target. If the spoor is lost, the handler must take the dog back to the last known spot where the smell was confirmed.
During a demo a troop run in the veld randomly. Interestingly in the bushy areas the dog run about 5 m next to the spoor and in open spaces with only long grass the dog runs about 30 m downwind. Hope this info helps to understand why your dog doesn't track always on the physical spoor itself most of the times.
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21-02-2021, 15:23 #15
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- Aug 2010
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- Port Elizabeth
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Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
Very much appreciated Zuku, all this stuff also helps me understand some of the google results.
I am certain once I have the key to this way of thinking I will learn to think dog.
There is a strong rationale behind what they do, I just need to click.
We taking a bottle to the coastal thicket in a hour to lay a trail for her to track, trying to do it once a week at least.
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21-02-2021, 15:25 #16
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- Jun 2012
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- 13,531
Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
Once again. I think it's important to not confuse ground scent and air scent of the target animal, it's also important to be able to recognise how the dog acts in the presence of both. Another thing I've noticed that aids dogs in their ability to work scent, is barometric pressure. Dogs seem to be able to locate scent better when pressure is lower.
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21-02-2021, 16:23 #17
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- Aug 2010
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- Port Elizabeth
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Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
And us folk that can smell well well find that dry air is better for smelling. Low air pressure does not seem to assist humans in smelling finer smells I have wondered about this.
Springer, you keep on saying things that lead to "please explain" - it's important to not confuse ground scent and air scent of the target animal
In what sense, why? and how would I do this?
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21-02-2021, 16:29 #18
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- May 2016
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- port elizabeth
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- 60
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- 2,509
Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
Think of what Zuku said and it all makes scents [pun intended]
Now you gonna go to the thick stuff and lay a blood spoor for the dog....You are physically gonna walk a route pouring out bits of blood.
Bet you 10 scents [pun intended] that the dog will air scent you to the end and not ground scent the blood.
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21-02-2021, 16:46 #19
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- Jun 2012
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Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
Simply put: Ground scent is any scent on the ground left by the animal which can be recognised and followed by the dog - this can be foot scent or any other traces of the animal, such as blood, faeces, urine etc - ground scent can be followed downwind.
Air scent is exactly what it suggests, scent that is carried on the air, this is usually scent of the animal itself. The dog will respond to these in different ways - as has already been mentioned (I think by Pre) the dog will lift its head and turn into an air scent once located and depending on the wind conditions there is a wider or narrower scent cone that the dog will manage. A dog running a cheek wind searching for scent will turn (sometimes rapidly) on locating air scent and bore into the wind to locate the source.
It should be said, that dogs learn differently and act differently while learning, so it's important to have a clear understanding of what the dog is doing and how it reacts to different scenarios. Anticipation is your greatest ally in training a dog in the field, and to be able to anticipate you need to be able to read the dog. In most instances, dogs learn fieldcraft like humans do - by exposure, it's a pretty simple formula more exposure = more confidence. You can't teach them field craft on a rugby field.
The important things to have in place to develop a dog in the field are: (1) "Stop" (immediately), and (2) "come here" (immediately) - once those two things are in place and you are able to recognise what your dog is doing in the presence of game, the dog will teach you - like kids, dogs develop, and it's important to remember it's a partnership, so keep your side of the deal up. But the two factors mentioned will ensure that your dog doesn't get killed while it's learning.
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21-02-2021, 17:10 #20
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- Dec 2015
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- Eastern Cape
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Re: How do tracking dogs track - what did you see.
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