# A little light entertainment



## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

I´m not clever enough to teach this dog



__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2572052652834172


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Me either.

There was one on a Scent Work course I took Georgia on a year or so ago. You could tell that she was a full time job for her owner to keep her mind occupied. The British police trialled them for a while but found them too difficult to manage. They are super bright.


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

I thought they had one or two specifically for people tracking?


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

They do, Ted. In fact this lady, on my course, used her dog for people tracking in a voluntary capacity. She came on the same course as me, which was to teach our dogs the same techniques as drug sniffer dogs, in order to give the dog other skills that could be used in confined spaces. She travelled with her job and spent a lot of time in hotel rooms with the dog. She taught it scent work so that she could keep its mind busy when arriving in the hotel room. The dog was a nightmare to handle. Rather her than me.

I have thought of volunteering for Lowland Search And Rescue in my area. You first have to be a "Misper" and hide up in the woods, or wherever, for the dogs to learn to find you. Due to our winters in Spain I did not do it and now Covid has called a halt


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

Never did any tracking as such but covered most other disciplines as a hobby.
The only one I backed out of was Police dog training in Germany.....they were just a bit too aggressive for me and Cavel.:surprise:


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

I did the scent work courses under Pam Mackinnon who worked for Customs and Excise in the dog unit. She has set up Talking Dogs Scentwork and now has several qualified people offering classes around the country under her Talking Dogs banner. 
At first the dog works in a controlled indoor environment but can gradually move on to such things as car searches and places like railway yards and sports stadiums which can be hired, by her, for the purpose. The dogs love it and it creates a lovely bond between dog and owner. The handler does not know where the "hide" might be and so guides the dog to places in a methodical pattern so that the whole area gets covered.

My dog searches, on command, for articles scented with catnip but others, that are not toy orientated, may search for cheese. I had an amazing experience not too long ago while walking along our road. I had, a week or two previously, lost a glove. It could have been anywhere on our dog walk over farmland and tracks. As we walked our lane my dog suddenly dived into a deep puddle covered with leaves and brought out a glove. I claimed it to take home and wash to see if it would match my remaining glove. Once washed it turned out to be my missing glove! She had scented it under water and a layer of smelly wet leaves!

Those German dogs are something else, I agree!


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