Yesterday’s training was awesome. Our trainer sent us a message telling us where the training problem was set up and what our search perimeters were. This problem was a self confirm problem. There was no trainer watching over our shoulders to tell us if our dog missed anything or to tell us to reward our dog. I love this type of training. Rogue found the first aid without any problems. He was about 10 feet away when he responded but the aid was about 8 feet high so the corner that he responded in was close enough for me. He did have a very weak change on a plastic bin but I didn’t believe him because he didn’t have a change on the bin the first time he walked it. I found out later that the dog that ran the problem before did respond on that bin and his handler took everything out of the bin trying to find the aid. This is major distracter for a dog and I think Rogue did a good job. Yes he responded but he didn’t have his normal change so by reading my dog I knew there was nothing there. Rogue pulled me into a small room that had a small kitchenette and a bathroom. Rogue was all over the cabinets in the kitchenette and responded on the middle cabinet. I was sure that I would find something when I opened the cabinet door but I was wrong. It was empty. When I opened the door Rogue had almost his entire body in the cabinet sniffing the back wall. I had to pull him just to check and see if I missed anything. There was nothing there but Rogue was sure that there was. We continued on with our search and made our way into the bathroom. Rogue did a good scan but he missed a couple of areas so I had to present the toilet paper hold, the soap dispenser, and the small hatch in the wall that allows the plumber access to the pipes of the bathroom. As soon as Rogue’s nose hit the hatch his tail started wagging and when he tried to lick/bit the wall I was 100% sure there was an aid in there. I opened the hatch just to make sure and I found that I was looking at the back of the cabinets in the kitchenette. Because Rogue didn’t show any interest in the bathroom until I presented the hatch I think it is safe to say the odor was being sucked out of the bathroom and into the kitchenette. After Rogue was rewarded in the bathroom he was taken back to the kitchenette and rewarded after he found source again.

Let me tell you about yesterdays training. The training problem was a wharehouse search. As soon as we entered the building we were getting our briefing from the trainer when Rogue pulled me to the edge of a small trailer and responded. This was all done before I told Rogue to search. My trainer just wanted to know if the dogs would find anything without being given the command.
The next training aid was about 7 feet high. Rogue and I had made it past the aid when he turned around and started working the other way. As soon as he turned around he put his nose up in the air. He jump on his rear legs once and then responded. This all was done very fast and I was sure that Rogue was pulling my leg becuase he normally works the odor longer before he reposnds but as I looked up I saw the aid. He did a great job.
The training aid #3 was a little different. It was inside the seatback of a chair. Rogue was all over the area but couldn't find the source of the odor. I called the area and we moved on. When we came back to this aid the same thing happened. The trainer said that all the dogs were haveing this problem. Most of the dogs wanted to respond on a crate that was about 10 feet from the chair. Rogue did spend a lot of time on this crate but didn't respond. When I was ask where I thought the aid was I said in a roll of carpet at the base of the chair. Rogue couldn't pinpoint it but he got me close enough.
Rogue only had one problem for the rest of the training problem. He had a good change and worked the odor to a metal cabinet. He stopped and took a big sniff on the seam of this cabinet and then walked away. I told the trainer that I thought something was there. Either Rogue is getting better about not walking away from source or he just had a good day.
During this training problem there were two distracting odors. The first one was some dog food. Rogue slowed down when he got to it and then walked away. The other was some materail we use to pack some of the training aids in but there was no training aid in it. Rogue looked like he wanted to respond but he left the area when I called him. I think we cought this problem ealry enough that it will be easy to be fixed.

Sorry about the late post but I’ve been busy the last couple of days. We did training early this week with some other local agencies. They had several short training problems set up. It may sound like we did training all day but it only took a few hours.

The first problem was a rail car and some fuel trucks. After we finished the problem without finding anything I looked at the trainer and ask her if there were two training aids in the problem. She said yes and then I told her where they were. Rogue’s change on both training aids was strong enough for me to see them and know the general location of the training aids. Rogue’s problem of walking away after he gets his nose on source is getting out of hand.

The second problem was inside a building. Rogue had a hard time finding source on the first aid but when he did he responded. He did an awesome job on the second training aid. It was under a table in a small class room. Rogue had his change from a row of tables away. He worked under the table that was in his way and around some seats that were in his way. As soon as he got his nose on source he responded. I was proud of him after the trainer told me that every other dog has had a hard time finding this aid. I just wish he could find the easy aids also.

Problem number 3 was also in a building. Rogue missed the only aid in this problem. He found it on the second try. This miss might have been my fault. The aid was in the corner under a desk and I didn’t make sure that he got all the way into that corner. The next room in the training problem was blank and Rogue did a great job in that room.

Luggage was the next search area. This is Rogue’s weak area but he did very well. There was one aid hid in the 40 bags that were spread out on the ground and he found it without any problems. There were also small groups of 4 or 5 bags standing alone the perimeter of the room. These bags also had 1 aid. Rogue was all over the back wall so I know he was on odor he just wasn’t sniffing in the right area. I had to present every group of bags. I knew which bag the aid was in by reading his body language but for some reason he didn’t want to respond. He stopped and took a long sniff but then walked away.

The 5th problem was more vehicles. Rogue did an awesome job finding the type of aid that we don’t go to train with very often. Rogue only had one issue with this training problem. After he found the first aid that was behind the passenger side headlight he started to respond on the passenger side headlight of the second vehicle. Even though I didn’t know where the training aid was I knew he wasn’t on odor and I didn’t let him respond.

The next 2 training problems where set up the same way. The search areas were paths about 100 yards long going through a wooded area. By now it was raining pretty hard but the rain didn’t bother Rogue at all. I think he even worked better in the rain. During these 2 training problems Rogue went 5 for 5.

Where to start

First let me say that I have already trained Rogue to do his job. Now all I have to do is maintain his training and teach him all the little stuff he needs to know. Let me bring you up to speed on his training. It took about 6 months to train him to find all the different types of training aids that we use. At the same time I was working on basic obedience. Basic obedience is not a big part of the job but I understand that it is a must in K-9 training so we will be doing some basic obedience training. Rogue is not trained to do any type of aggression or protection training.

We are working on two main problems right now. Of course I will not pass up an opportunity to work on any issue he might be having but I think working on two problems at a time is enough. The first is getting Rogue to stay at the training aid after he finds it. It doesn't take much for Rogue to leave the training aid. The smallest tug on the leash or even if I just keep walking he will come with me.

The second problem we are working on is teaching Rogue how to get a running start before he jumps onto something. If I need Rogue to jump onto something (so I don't have to lift him) he won't do it unless he can jump on it from a stand still. The idea of getting a running start has never crossed his mind. When I make him take several steps back so he can get the running start he will need to jump on the object he will run up to the object, stop next to it and then try and jump on it.

When I got Rogue I knew I was going to have to teach everything but come on. I have never had to teach a dog how to get a running a start before. Some times he is so smart and some times he is a box of rocks.