Gempress said:
Sounds like fun! How is Riot doing in his training so far?
Riot is actually catching on extremely quickly! He gets extremely worried whenever someone leaves his sight and he wont quit until he finds them(which is good and bad lol)
We have moved on to "C-Patterns" for training now, where Nadine(S&R partner) holds Riot in a semi-sit position facing me, I play with him a bit before I leave with his tug toy, then I run off in a HUGE c pattern, then duck under some brush and lay extremely still. When he finds me I play tug with him and pull him over my body while I'm laying down, this initiates the fact that Riots got to lay on the victim in case they are in a shock state, it gives them body heat. I'm sort of nervous when we start on Cadavers though because those victims dont get up and play with him lol hes going to get a little stressed about that one..
There are "scent cones" that hes got to follow and he does this fairly well. His first run is always the run where hes getting into working mode, his last run is always the quickest and best
We have progressed from straight open flat fields, to slightly forestest small hill fields.
Each hill and tree that is in the field you have to take into scense that the scent from the victim will either get detered from the tree or "pool" by the hill.
So he is doing extremely well so far!
So anyways, Riot is working on C Patterns with me, and he has JUST started to find semi-strangers(Nadine and Ryan when they hide).
I have worked Riot in dense woods before as well in a straight line(easier for him at the beginning because its still air scenting we are working on, not tracking) and hes found his victim every time.
Its amazing to watch him follow the scent cone though, they zigzag through the field. I'll try and draw a diagram for everyone to see of his last "c pattern" run and post it for you