Heidi gets some long awaited incentive.

Yesterday evening we went to a friends small piece of ground, where they constantly have problems with invading Muntjac. I normally go there quite a few times throughout the year and make contact with some of them, but this this year despite going on quite a few sorties, have not seen any of the perpetrators. However yesterday proved fruitful, and as one came sneaking out of a very large bramble patch on the boundary I squeezed of a round from my faithful old rifle. The wee beastie was only around 100m away and went down like a sack of potatoes. This was a good and bad thing, it is my instinct to place the shot for an instant kill, but having Heidi in the truck ready and waiting, I could have done with the animal running on for some distance, but at least animal met a humane end. I should point out that I would normally love to have Heidi with me whilst stalking, but as the weather was around -2 degrees C, I thought it kinder to leave her in the warmth of the vehicle.
A few minutes after taking the shot I headed back to the truck and drove a good way back to the place where the shot had been taken from. It was getting dark now so I put Heidi on her normal lead and walked to some 50m from the dead Munty. She then sat while I changed her lead for her tracking collar and leash, and we then headed closer to where the deer had first shown itself. Heidi showed a great deal of interest in the fresh scent of the deer so I told her to 'track on', which she did with great gusto, her head was glued to the floor as she almost pulled me over with her keenness to get to the Muntjac, which she did with no problem. Once she got to the animal she was very pleased with her find, giving it a close inspection, licking the entry hole, and savouring a few drop of blood that was laying under the carcass. I tried to get her to speak, but she wasn't interested at this stage. After giving her heaps of praise I dragged the dead animal back up the hill to the truck, with Heidi mouthing and tugging at the carcass as we went. Once at the vehicle we could shed some light on what we were doing, and I managed to get Heidi wound up enough to start speaking, albeit with some reservation but at least she was doing the job. She now did not want to be pulled away from her new find, which made getting her back in the truck a bit of fun but we got there in the end.
Upon reaching our larder back at home, which was only a 5 minute drive, I got the beastie hung up and gralloched, which gave me the opportunity to collect some valuable blood. The small liver I sliced into chunks for future training rewards, but gave Heidi a piece straight away which seemed to be very appreciated. It was then Heidi's dinner time, so along with her food she also was given a couple more bits of the fresh liver, I'm sure she thought she had died and gone to heaven! Once she had eaten she climbed into her bed, where I completed her day by giving her one of the Muntys cleaves to chew on. This was now a very happy dog having received a great big dose if incentive for her work, and I am sure its just the sort of thing she was in need of.

BMH society of GB Training & Test Day

November the 21st saw Heidi and myself attend the BMH society of GB Training & Test Day at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire, organised by Pete Garraway of the BMH society. The day consisted of an introduction and lecutre on blood tracking, from tracking test judge Andreas Guhl. This was a very informative and interesting talk, which also included a section on tracking dog equipment from Kit at www.muntjactrading.com

After this we were taken outside into the icy wind, where Andreas gave us a practical demonstration of how to lay a training track for our dogs using a liver drag on open ground. After which we were split into teams of two, and were able to lay down tracks for each others dogs to practice on, which I am very pleased to say, Heidi was able to complete with no problems.

Photo courtesy of Suzanne Hall http//:deertrackerupdates.blogspot.com

After a hot lunch in the college canteen we returned to the car park where we were then split into two groups, each of which was accompanied by a judge, witnesses and assistants, and sent of to the location of our the Schweisshund Aptitude Test, which had been laid earlier in the morning before our arrival. Full details of the test can be found here: www.bavarianmountainhoundsociety.org.uk/Images/Aptitude%20Test%20v2.pdf

We each waited nervously for our turn, and soon enough it was time for me and Heidi. The judge, in our case was Andreas Guhl who showed us our starting point and then it was up to us! Although being a basic test, I really felt the pressure, as this was the first time we had be on a track laid by somebody else, and not knowing exactly where it went. Anyway I kitted Heidi up with her tracking outfit, showed her and examined the impact point, told her to 'track on', and away she went steadily but confident. I was desperately looking for signs of blood etc, but couldn't find a great deal, mainly because I was watching Heidi perhaps a little too much. Doing this test made me realise just how much more you have to work as a team, and work at a pace that lets you notice the tell tale signs left behind, if nothing else so you can back your dog up if things dont go quite right.

Luckily for me Heidi seemed to know what she was doing and followed the line perfectly, picking up and dealing with the obligatory turn in the track with no problem, eventually working her way to the find, which in this instance was a Roe head. At this point you cannot imagine my relief that everything went okay and I passed this on to Heidi giving her masses of praise and reward. We then walked back to the rest of the group with the judge and helpers who kindly praised Heidi's work and gave us a few pointers for the future. Its always good to hear from those more experienced than yourself, you can learn so much. After a short drive back to the classroom, we refuelled with a hot coffee and biscuits, were given our results which in our case was a pass,followed by a debrief on the days events.

Photo courtesy of Suzanne Hall http://deertrackersupdates.blogspot.com

All in all a terrific day. Anyone with a tracking dog should have a go. Its not expensive and there is no need to worry about being embarrased if things go wrong, these people are there to help you and your dog. It has given the both of us inspiration to continue with our training and look forward to taking the Schweisshund Test Level 1 in the future.

A Word Of Caution On Basic Discipline Training

Over the last few weeks I have given Heidi a deliberate rest from tracking training so as not to bore her with the same routine. During this time I thought it would be a good idea to re-enforce some basic discipline training, namely walking to heel.
Now don't get me wrong, she naturally wants to walk with me, but not what I call a proper heel position, and it is one thing that I am really fussy about, especially as I want her to stalk with me.
Every time we went for a walk, she had to walk to heel. To achieve this we used all the normal methods of heel training as previously in her early life which worked well, and when off the lead should she creep ahead, would receive a verbal reminder, and a light flick with the lead. The end result was perfect, and a very obedient dog, just what I wanted.
Now, we had her BMH society of GB aptitude test coming up soon, so a week before we went out for a practice track, which was set on a frosty morning, in a wood, and left around six hours to age. This would normally be no problem for her, so when we got close to the impact point on went her tracking collar and lead, then slowly approached the strike area, where she had a sniff around, then proceeded to go off in the right direction for two meters, and stopped, looking round at me! I gently encouraged her and on we went just a few meters at a time, and it was pretty much like this all the way to the end. Halfway round I realised what was wrong? Oh no, I had got her walking to heel, and that where she thought she must be even when tracking. I was gutted, especially with the test coming up.
The following week we went for some very long walks, and I clipped the SportDOG training lead to her. Initially again she would not leave me, and would be very cautious when she felt the weight of the lead dragging or got even slightly caught on grass. Taking my old terrier Corrie with us on the first day gave her more confidence to leave my side, and eventually after about three days we got back to a confident Heidi, even pulling me along! Needless to say I never used the Heel word once!
As they say, just be careful what you wish for as it may come true.