Scent Hurdle

Wow. That is all, just WOW!

I decided to teach Soccer Scent Hurdle, on the face of it this seems like a totally dumb idea since he sucks so badly at Flyball. Well, I've been practicing with him most evenings and he started picking up the bar bell from right next to me right away so I moved it away a bit and he was still consistent so I started hiding it; this is usually when most dogs start to struggle a bit while the figure out what it is you want them to do. Ummm, not Soccer so far he has found the bar bell every time. Every. Single. Time. And I've been hiding in in much harder places than I ever hid Ahab's bar bell. Colour me stunned.

Ahab practiced distinguishing between his and Soccer's bar bell. This could be an issue if he was scenting to me, however he had no problems with it on his first try so I suspect he's been scenting to himself all along. Not that he couldn't decide it's too confusing later. ;-)

OK, to back up a bit for those who don't know what Scent Hurdle is go watch this video. I'll wait; watch it as many times as you want.

Welcome back.

Looks pretty complicated doesn't it? Not really. Down the course, choose the bar bell, back to the start.

So, obviously you have to teach the dog how to do this. There are a few stages and parts of the training that I'll try to break down for you. This is just a break down of the things a dog needs to know to play this sport, it is by no means a comprehensive training guide. Use what ever training method works best for you to teach your dog the skills he needs.

NOTE: I will use the pronoun "he" for the dogs but this doesn't mean female dogs should be excluded, I just use it because both my dogs happen to be boys.

1. Teach the dog to come back to you over the jumps. This is critical to make sure your dog can finish the game properly. We like to teach the last thing the dog needs to know first so you are always building backwards towards the entire pattern. Start on leash and build up from there.
2. Teach the dog to pick up a bar bell. They aren't very exciting so it can take a while before some dogs figure out what you want. This was Ahab's big challenge. If you find your dog is dropping the bar bell very quickly consider teaching a hold command.
3. Keep practicing recalls over the jumps.
4. Increase the distance you want the dog to bring you back the bar bell from. Start small, even just  few inches for some dogs and build it up from there. Make sure the dog will do this with the bar bell in a stationary position. Lots of dogs like to chase moving objects but when the object is sitting still it's a lot harder.
5. Keep practicing recalls over the jumps.
6. Now start hiding the bar bell around your house or practice area. Start with very simple hiding spots, behind a pillar or piece of furniture, even make sure the dog can still see the bar bell at first. Remember that the dog has no idea what you want him to do, you MUST break it down into really small steps for him. Gradually make this harder and remember to proceed at your dog's pace, some will go fast and some will go slow.
7. Keep practicing recalls over the jumps.
8. Introduce distractions, go to unfamiliar places like a friend's house or the park down the street and have the dog practice all his skills there. Again, this will be harder for some dogs than for others.
9. Keep practicing recalls over the jumps.
10. Introduce a second bar bell without your dog's scent on it. If you're playing with a team the team should have some "blanks", these are bar bells marked with an X. A really handy tool at this stage is a piece of peg board that you can tie the unwanted bar bell down to. This will help the dog understand he must bring back HIS bar bell, not A bar bell.
11. Keep practicing recalls over the jumps. Your dog should be getting really good at this by now, if not keep practicing.
12. Once the dog is consistent with finding his with one other choice introduce a third bar bell and then a fourth. And always move the bar bells around; the bar bells will be in different places on the box during a race so your dog needs to know to check all four spaces each time. Most dogs will develop a pattern of searching in one place first and then moving to check the other bar bells. This is fine.
13. Keep practicing recalls over the jumps.
14. Now start introducing other scented bar bells. Some dogs find it confusing to suddenly have their bar bell, and the blanks, and another dog's bar bell. Some don't. Go slow if required.
15. Keep practicing recalls over the jumps.
16. Start sending your dog down the jumps towards the box. You can start this earlier depending on your dog. For some you may have to break it down a lot, for others you may be able to combine some steps. Work with what YOUR DOG can do.
17. Once the dog can consistently go over all four jumps down to the box, find the correct bar bell, and bring it back you will need to start passing, and being passed by, the other dogs on your team.
18. Once the dog has this down pat you can introduce a dog running in the other lane. Make sure you switch lanes frequently and are always mixing up the pattern the bar bells in the box. DO NOT allow your dog to cross over into the other lane; this will get him disqualified from the tournament if it happens twice.
19. Go to your first tournament and have loads of fun. Even if your dog messes up completely at their first tournament (or more!) it should still be fun for both of you; your dog won't play if it isn't fun. We humans can learn a lot from that.

All of this can take several months, maybe even a full year. It all depends on the dog and your consistency as a trainer. If this is the first dog you've taught expect it to take a while since you are both learning.

Any questions? Leave them in the comments but remember that I'm NOT a professional dog trainer or anything like that.