| Tracking, Trailing & Searching with your Dog
A 3-day Workshop with John Rogerson
Next Workshop Dates: April 22-25, 2006
Maximum 12 dogs and handlers each day and 8 spectators.
Day 1 - tracking to recover lost property - police style, AKC tracking competition style, and British Working Trials style.
Getting started - how to teach a dog to track a person and recover lost or hidden property (firearms, clothing, etc.) -
- Starter tracks and track laying
- Effect of wind and terrain on tracks
- Straight line tracks
- The first corners
- Free tracking
- Tracking on harness and line
- Line handling
- Indicating lost property
- Age of tracks
- Cross tracks
- Variable surface tracking
Requirements: dogs can be any age from 8 weeks to 4 years in age or older if in good shape. You will need a TRACKING harness (not a walking harness!) and 25 foot tracking line, a bag containing five different types of food rewards, five different toys that the dog enjoys playing with and lots of enthusiasm. Dogs need no formal obedience training and do not need to do a recall as they will be on a harness and line or collar and lead at all times. It is also important that they are fine around people that they do not know! (no aggression problems please). Times 9:00am - 1:00pm and 4:00 - 6:00pm.
Day 2 - Trailing Either AKC for lost property or more importantly Search & Rescue to find a missing person -
- Straight line starter tracks
- Reading the terrain
- Cutting corners
- Track ages
- Location of victims
- Pursuit tracking
- Night time tracking exercise
In addition to the requirements above you will also need to bring a flashlight (a headlamp is best) plus two light sticks and a means of attaching them to your dogs harness. Training is 9:00am - 1:00pm and 10:00pm - 1:00am!
Day 3 - Rest day for dogs and humans!
Day 4 - Searching to find a missing and hidden person (victim, criminal, lost child, etc.) Teaching an indication – barking, passive indications, commuting. The first steps in training a good search dog: developing memory: increasing drive: finding buried victims: quartering the ground: Controlling the dog at a distance: Directional control: Night time search exercise.
Dogs MUST be over six months old with an instant recall when running free and have good temperaments around people and dogs. You will need to bring a bag containing five different types of food rewards, five different toys that the dog enjoys playing with. You will also need to bring a flashlight (headlamp) plus two light sticks and some kind of jacket for your dog to wear that will hold a light stick.
Times are 9:00am - 12:00pm, 4:00 - 6:00pm and 10:00pm - 1am+
You can come to all the classes or individual classes. For fee information, and to register, download the registration form below:
 Registration Form (155KB PDF)
For further information, email Mare Shey, or call at (541) 312-3766. |
Seminars & Events
John Rogerson is the founder and principle lecturer of the Northern Centre for Canine Behavior is now widely acclaimed as the world's leading trainer/behaviorist, having pioneered the majority of techniques that have now become standard practice in behavior therapy and training. John is the author of no fewer than seven books, and has produced two videos. John is in great demand as a training and behavior consultant and in this capacity runs many courses worldwide to impart his skills and knowledge to others. The organizations that he has run courses for and lectured to include: