# Treibball, Tracking, Agility and HTM



## LittleAussiePoodle (Jun 2, 2016)

Hey everyone!
So I wanted to, in this post, ask a question and also give a bit of information myself, because I find that not many people really know much about the dog sports I enjoy on this forum. Firstly, for those who hate reading, I'll ask my question.
To do with tracking/sniffer work, does anybody here have a dog who does this for recreation or work, and if so, what method did you use to train it and do you think this is a fun activity for a poodle? I am interested in training Hendrix to track, and I know how I would most likely go about it, but I'd like to hear some thoughts on this.
I was planning on offering him a bag of liver treats, clicking him for sniffing it, and working from there. Once he could find that anywhere in the house, starting work on a scent like birch oil and adding a "find it" cue.

Next, I just wanted to ask if anybody here had tried treibball or heelwork to music. I plan on competing in the latter and in preperation for that kind of competition, Hendrix and I have been working on treibball.
Treibball, for those who don't know, is a relatively new dog sport that involves the dog herding up to 8 yoga balls into a goal. The handler and dog need to be able to work at a distance, both quickly and efficiently. So far, Hendrix can push the ball towards me, go left and right at my point, go around the ball and be sent out. He is still learning to stop on command, go to the point position, and work with speed.
Heelwork to music is basically glorified obedience, with tricks added. Freestyle heelwork to music is more tricks and less obedience. It is done to music, with focus on inventive routines and overall fun. I find this sport to be a much more enjoyable (especially for the dog) and to an extent, more difficult version of obedience.

I suggest to anyone who does agility or HTM to try treibball out, because it really helps to improve the dog's focus and distance work. I have found especially when training the left and right work that he started watching me a lot more. I also suggest HTM to anyone who loves obedience and is willing to train some more interesting things.

Finally, I wanted to ask if there is any point in trying out agility with a dog who doesn't have intense drive. Hendrix is as fast and agile as any poodle can be, but he prefers to work slowly and think things through, rather than speed through a course. I know he would enjoy it, but I also know he wouldn't be very good at it.
So my question is basically: Is there a purpose in teaching a dog to do agility if there are other things he can do to burn energy and I don't plan on competing?

Sorry for the long post, but I didn't see the need to make five new threads just to talk about these things.


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## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

I've just begun nosework training via a hands-on seminar. The instructor placed yummy treats (I used dehydrated liverwurst) in one of 6 boxes spread out on the floor. Give the dog your 'find' command and praise when they locate the treat box. You can also drop extra treats in the box but only while their nose is still in it. She believes that you should start with treats before moving to the scents, as training mistakes are less harmful to the end goal. Use the same box for treats but rearrange the boxes in between runs, with the dog in another room. Also store the treat box separate from the others. Typical boxes are small postal boxes such as those used by amazon.

My beagle mix went to the seminar and I practiced last night for the first time with both the beagle and the spoo puppy at home. My spoo loved it! Nosework is in his future but I will keep it in the background while focusing on other activities. There is a follow-up seminar in a couple weeks. There are instructional videos on line but I do better in a hands on setting.

My beagle also does not have high drive, in fact she is fearful. This may or may not be the result of a dog bite in an obedience class but includes fear of loud noises (we left the ring when a thunder storm erupted during a rally obedience run) and I can't use a start line stay or she doesn't move. I keep her in agility classes/practice for several reasons. She needs a job. She loves going to the training club--she's ecstatic when she sees me packing the gear. She doesn't mind not participating in trials or earning titles. But in fact she now has a title, the AKC ACT 1. She also has several Qs in CPE agility which is lower key. We have a CPE trial coming up and I look forward to her enjoying it.

My beagle also is in Barn Hunt, which is really fun and low stress. I know a spoo who does barn hunt and was at the nosework seminar, an 11 year old who also needs a job after several knee surgeries took her out of agility. 

I look forward to exploring the other sports that you mention, once time and opportunity allow. The Versatility In Poodles project encourages this and even offers additional 'titles' for poodles that achieve in multiple venues.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

Collies do better at this kind of work. They have the focus and energy. Spoos have the energy but can only focus for a shorter time. They are thinkers and will bend rules to suit. Poodles are sticklers for routine.
Eric


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## LittleAussiePoodle (Jun 2, 2016)

I have noticed this too. My boy is certainly a thinking dog, but has a short attention span. He doesn't have that drive, but as you say, once he knows something works he will do anything for it. I think he would enjoy sniffer work, but agility seems a little out of his league.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

You can build endurance for attention by making paying attention have great rewards. You can also build drive and enthusiasm for any sport (including agility) if you make the reward for the dog worth it. If you want to see what I mean about those activities look at my threads about obedience training with both of the poodles. Especially in Javelin's Road to Ring Ready, you will see some great attention and drive exercises. 

I am working on tracking with both of the poodles. I did not do nosework to set up the tracking work. I took them to tracking training workshops run by a good nearby (in New Jersey) tracking club. Lily has been to this workshop twice. The first time she was a little slow on the uptake of a couple of things, but when we went back and also had Javelin, she just put her nose down and followed all of the short tracks that were laid for teaching different things like she was a pro.

I have to go to work soon, but I will post again later to discuss some of my thoughts on these sports and training in general later.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I'm back. It is a hectic time of year, isn't it? 

Here is my thinking on tracking. First it is a great confidence builder for the dog since they are totally in charge. Next, I don't think you need to do click and rewards for sniffing. Your dog knows what to do with his nose already. You will want to have a proper tracking harness. I would never try to teach anything related to tracking with a dog that was on a leash and collar. You want the dog to want to pull on the track, so don't allow any opportunity for pulling against a collar and making it unfun. Use the harness only for tracking and make a ritual out of putting it on. Get some old socks and things like that to use as articles. If you are going to work with a partner then have them sleep in bed with the articles. If you don't have a partner, you sleep with the articles to give them heavy scent. You will also need some really high value treats (hot dogs or you can make something with ground chicken or turkey, bread crumbs, eggs and either a lot of garlic powder or grated parmesan. Mix it to the consistency of a firm meat loaf and press it into a brownie pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake in 375 oven until the edges pull away from the pan. Cut it into small bits). You will then use those treats just for tracking. Leave your dog in the car or with a friend while you (or your partner who scented the articles) lay a short straight track (maybe 50 yards to start). Have the track layer put one article in the middle of the length of the track and some of the smelly treats along the way. Also have the track layer put a leather article with a bunch of the smelly treats on top of it as a reward for reaching the end of the track. Put the harness on and bring the dog with a regular leash attached to the collar to the start of the track. As you transfer the leash to the harness talk a bit to the dog about going to find something. You will offer the dog the scent you will have it follow at the start of the track. Then keeping the dog close but in front of you say go track or go find and let the dog start following the track. Don't talk to the dog. Let him figure it out. If he loses the track you can let him sniff the sock from the start of the track again. Once you reach the end of the track encourage a sit or a down to give a clear indication of the find. You should be able to fade the along the track food fairly quickly since you don't want to teach go find hot dogs in the magic field. Once you can get a good pulling scenting dog do between 75 and 100 yards, introduce turns. TD tracks are between 450 and 550 yards and will never have acute angle turns (only 90 deg turns). There will be no cross tracks and there will only be one article (leather) at the end of the track.

You might like to try rally as a way to work on attention and team work and from there try agility. Agility is also a confidence booster, but you need to develop attention and drive. Teach him to tug and look here http://www.poodleforum.com/24-perfo...-hunting/205393-javelins-road-ring-ready.html for some descriptions as well as videos on developing attention skills.

The key to every sport other than tracking is for the dog to have excellent attention behaviors.


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