How To Train Your Puppy To Track & Fetch

Puppy Training

Hi all,
I believe you had a good weekend. I had.... hee hee hee.....

I have shared this topic before, some subscribers wrote in to ask for more detail.

So...let begin with today sharing.........

Training Your Puppy How To Track And Fetch

These are just two things you can do to build rapport between you and your puppy and at the same time teach him to respond positively to learning so that his advanced training will be easy.

Tracking: Puppy tracking is a wonderful way to get you and your puppy out for a walk. Tracking is natural for a dog and is relatively easy to teach, at least for short distances.

1. Find a park or a nice open area.
The initial site does not need to be very big. Tie your puppy to something and let him watch you "lay a track" by placing tidbits on the ground one foot apart in a straight line for ten feet. Also let him watch you put his favorite toy at the end of the track.

2. Walk back through the same track to the puppy.
Take him to the first piece of food, point to it and say "Track." Encourage him to put his head down and keep it down by pointing to the next piece of food. He will quickly start smelling the food from piece to piece! When he reaches the toy, praise him and play with the puppy and the toy. Repeat this exercise three times.

3. If you practice two or three times a week on short tracks, he will become reliable pretty quickly.
As his nose keeps to the ground, spread the treats a little farther apart each time you "track." When he can go fifty yards in one direction, lay another track at a 45-degree angle to the right or left. You should also have someone else start laying the tracks so that the puppy will learn to track different people. Do not try to hurry things along by going too far too fast or by making too sharp turns.

That's all for Tracking, I shall leave the fetching to the next post. Stay tuned.

Cheers.

Puppy Training