BAIT IN A BOTTLE - by Gary Patterson In the very beginning of tracking, nothing plays such an important role as bait. It is the one tool the trainer can use to initially create focus and concentration. Over time, the manipulation of the dog through proper baiting often dictates what the dogs performance will be years down the road. But what happens if, for very practical reasons, bait cant be used or the dog shows no great interest in food on the track? Often in warmer climates, insect infestation prevents use of bait as it will be covered with stinging insects within a few minutes of dropping it on the track. In other cases, a dogs stress level or lack of interest in food results in bait not working properly. Then there is the issue of hard surface tracking with more advanced tracking dogs. The idea of dropping bait on hard pan dirt or asphalt becomes too easy for the dog and lends little to impregnating the surface with the track scent. A common tool in the past was the drag and in many of these examples, it worked better than bait. With a drag, the trainer would fill a piece of pantyhose or cheesecloth with some juicy meat, tie a cord around the end of the cloth and drag the cloth bag behind him while laying the track. The food would then be placed in a sealed container at the end of the track. While a crude device, it did and does work, but the issue is: is there a better way? Several years ago, I worked with some K9 trainers who showed me how they used a spray bottle in training dogs. They would put a sweat soaked T-shirt in some water and allow it to soak over night. The water was then put into a garden sprayer and, as the trainer laid the track, he would spray the path of the track with the water. This method made a lot of sense for police work as it started out with pure man scent and was very controllable; the whole step of using bait was skipped. While this method worked very well for training trailing dogs from the very beginning, the whole idea appealed to me as a method that could be used in sport tracking training just as well. Even though greater precision is required in sport tracking, it seemed that it could be used just as effectively for sport tracking with some modifications. In addition, it had the potential of getting around some of the problems that I posed earlier. I can use it instead of a drag where there are problems with insects or distractions to the dog with bait. Unlike the drag, it is more precise as I can aim the nozzle directly at in part of the track I want to emphasize, such as a corner or change of cover. By varying the concentration of the liquid, I can control the strength or weakness of the scent. Any scent can be created. Unlike the drag, the concentrate can become more diluted over time, putting the dog purely into primary track scent. It is a great device for more advanced tracking where, like in police work, dogs are required to track over hard surfaces. Making the liquid is easy. I make up a batch of powdered chicken or beef bouillon with hot distilled water that is fairly concentrated. The batch is large enough to last for several sessions. When I get ready to track, I mix the concentrate with an equal amount of distilled water and put about a quart of the diluted mixture in a one-gallon garden sprayer. Use only distilled or non-treated water (i.e. well water) as chlorine can kill bacteria in the water. While laying the track, I set the nozzle of the sprayer to a straight stream and squirt it on the trench or foot stepped track. What are the advantages of this technique? If you have a dog that doesnt like food, try using something other than food odor to excite the dog. I have soaked rubber balls or sweaty clothing in the water. In one case with a bomb dog, I even used a very mild mixture of nitrates (gun powder) in the water. There is no limit to what can be done as long as it runs no risk of damaging the dogs olfactory system. As training progresses, the mixture can be diluted increasingly so that little is left but pure track scent. One of our goals in beginning tracking is to teach the dog to track for the bait scent. The idea is that as the dog learns to associate the track with bait, it will also learn the ground scent left by the track layer. Over time, the dog learns to key on the ground scent to find ever decreasing amounts of bait. Eventually the bait disappears and the dog ends up working only the ground scent. The spray bottle lends itself to this process by allowing the trainer to dilute the mixture more and more so that little bait scent remains. It is a natural progression. With more advanced hard surface tracking, the issue is often how to motivate the dog when on difficult hard surfaces such as packed bare ground or pavement. With the more difficult cover, the dog often loses confidence and starts to increasingly cast for changes in direction. By putting a few squirts of liquid on a corner or change of cover, the dogs energy and confidence is renewed with a better result. While I still prefer using bait with beginning dogs, when the conditions allow, the spray bottle can become indispensable in many situations or with dogs that dont work bait very well. In more advanced tracking, the technique is invaluable.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 05:52:51 +0000
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