Leicestershire Schutzhund Club tracking training day 13th December 2009

We almost got away without it raining! With our first trial in May, I asked Henrietta to come and spend the day with us to help improve our tracking. Our dogs were making good progress and were tracking well but we knew we could improve by gaining a better understanding of the thinking behind tracking. We were all excited about the prospect of a tracking training day and we all met at our club house at 09.30. Henrietta arrived bang on time and over a cup of tea we made our introductions and planned the day. We moved on to one of our tracking fields and laid our tracks as normal so we could get an accurate critique. The tracks were left for 20 to 30 minutes and then the dogs were tracked and Henrietta walked with each handler and explained why the dog was changing speed, why the intensity could be better, why the dog overshot corners and how to get the dog to pay more attention to the track. We rested our dogs and then laid another track using the tips we had been given and saw the results straight away. Even with a very hectic female, Henrietta had very useful tips to change the dogs approach to the track.

We returned to the club house for lunch and carried on afterwards at the training ground focusing on teaching article indication and improving the dog's position on the track.

The day was very informative and Henrietta is a very good teacher with a good mix of fact, technique and fun which helps with the speed of learning. We all appreciate her help and are delighted she has accepted our invitation to return for a further tracking day later next year.

By: Steven Havers

For more information contact the club on information@leicestershireschutzhundclub.co.uk or visit the website at
http://www.leicestershireschutzhundclub.co.uk