BY FRAN JEWELL
Many of you have been following the training I have been doing with my youngest dog, Kalidor.
Kalidor is now 20 months old. It seems he should be a mature dog by now. He looks so grown up and has such nice manners, but the reality is, he is still a puppy.
Since Kalidor was 9 weeks old we have been learning tracking people for competition. It was the end of November 2014 when he came to Idaho and we started training. Then our training was interrupted by winter and my knee replacement. We didn’t really start back until almost summer. Another winter came and we did some tracking in the snow!
This year we finally made it to the AKC tracking certification he had to have to enter a tracking test. He passed with flying colors in some very tough conditions. I was THRILLED!
Last weekend we went to the Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Area in Montana for Kalidor’s first tracking test. The weather was perfection. It was a cold night, about 36 degrees F., so there was dew on the long wild grasses. Not a cloud in the sky. Light, light wind gently moved the tracking field vegetation. I felt so confident considering Kalidor earned his certification in 30-mile-per-hour winds and light rain a month before.
Kalidor quickly met the judges and dragged me with enthusiasm to the start of his track. In seconds, he indicated the start article (a cotton sock) by lying down. He was on it. The sock had the scent of the person that laid the track he was to follow. He filled his nostrils with that rich aroma he cherished. I commanded “sook,” or “search,” in German, his tracking command. Off he went like a locomotive. No hesitation. He was confident and sure. I thought to myself, “Trust your dog. He’s got it!”
We took four corners with ease and certainty. On the fourth of five legs, he took a strong right with a very clear indication to me that the track turned toward the hillside. I reminded myself again to trust him. Then he started to cast, or circle, to find the track. I knew he had lost the scent. The judge’s whistle blew to let us know he was off track and had failed! DANG!!!! Had we made it back to the place he had turned off, he could have saved the day. But instead Kalidor thought he might follow the yellow brick road to the pot of gold at the end of some rainbow!!!
The gracious judges let us continue to the end to find the glove even though it would not count toward a title. In usual style, Kalidor once again found the scent and followed it flawlessly to the end! <sigh>
We have probably spent 75 hours on training specifically for tracking. In the moment that really counted, Kalidor had a puppy brain that was distracted. Honestly, I will say I was not disappointed. What Kalidor did do was fantastic. I was so proud of him! But I had to realize that, yes, even at almost 2 years old, he is still a puppy. Most dogs don’t really mature until they are about 3.
What is important for all of us dog owners to realize is that puppies can accomplish AMAZING things. I had two puppies, Brinx and Baewulf, that could sit, down, come to their names, “watch” and “leave it” when they were 5 WEEKS OLD!
Puppies have an enormous capacity to learn and become so enjoyable at VERY young ages. We still have to have forgiveness and patience and be consistent in training because even though they look mature, they are not, until a much later age, when desired behaviors become much more predictable and reliable.
Fran Jewell is an Idaho Press Club award-winning columnist, IAABC-certified dog behavior consultant, NADOI-certified instructor #1096 and the owner of Positive Puppy Dog Training, LLC, in Sun Valley. For more information, visit www.positivepuppy.com or call (208) 578-1565.