Rowdy and Heidi

[Brushpile]

Rather than add Rowdy to Elkie's thread and diminish from Elkie's accomplishments, I am starting a separate thread for Rowdy and Heidi to show their progression from early imprinting to deer recovery. Rowdy has already been started on liver drags by the breeder, while Heidi is just two weeks old.

Rowdy is the son of a German Champion and his breeder was the exclusive tracker for the Grand Duke and Government of Luxembourg Hunt. Rowdy is the result of years of planning and research. Rowdy's breeder is on the Luxemburgish Dachshund Committee and she researched the Deutscher Teckel Club (DTK) Registry Book, which registers European Teckels. To be allowed to breed, a dog is judged for conformation and must pass with Good or Excellent, and demonstrate good blood tracking skills. Not all Teckels are allowed to breed, even if they have registration papers!!!

Heidi is from a Canadian kennel that tracks moose for Canadian outfitters. The Kennel assigns dogs to outfitters and tracking is part of the hunting package, Heidi is from imported European dogs and her Kennel only sells to trackers.

Rowdy's breeder researched the DTK and told me that Heidi was a perfect match for Rowdy and their puppies would improve the breed. I hope you will enjoy the ride from start to finish. Rowdy arrived home at 2:30 A.M. on Friday, and weights about 2-3 pounds, but by deer season he will track deer.

This will be training a Teckel from start to finish, and there will be input from doctorbrady as well as European breeders, and United Blood Trackers.

 

[wbpdeer]

Will Heidi be larger in size than Rowdy or Elkie?

Rowdy is a great looking pup - no doubt.

Wayne

 

[Brushpile]

Elkie, Rowdy and Heidi are all Standard Wirehaired Dachshunds. In Europe a "Breed Warden" takes DNA samples to insure that the parents are in fact the real parents, and there is no cross breeding of smooth coat, wire and long hair. Additionally, many of the AKC dogs I see in America would NOT be allowed to breed in Europe. Elkie, Rowdy and Heidi conform to standard and will weigh about 20-30 pounds.

 

[Doctorbrady]

Super cute! Hope to see him in person soon!

 

[Brushpile]

Rowdy had his first track in America today. The track was about 20 feet and was flagged with a small piece of hot dog at each flag, and then liver was dragged and left as a reward at the end of the track.





The flags mark the track.

Liver reward at the end.

 

[Brushpile]

Rowdy's toys.

 

[Brushpile]

 

[wbpdeer]

How many tracks will you likely do in the first ten days where today is day 1?

Does Rowdy just chew on the deer leg or will he shake it with some aggression?

Rowdy has the classic looks. Thanks for the update.

 

[Doctorbrady]

...and they're off! Way to get going Brush. How was his interest?

 

[Turkey Creek]

I know nothing about training a tracker (only a couple of retrievers under my belt) so I am in no means criticizing your approach. Why do you use all three things the flags, the hot dog pieces and drag together? It would seem in my mind that the flags would be a visual cue to the dog when you are trying to build confidence in the pups nose?

 

[wbpdeer]

Fellows,

I was on YouTube watching some video on shed dogs and a learned trainer said the Dogs are color blind and don't see that orange flag as orange. Sort of like a deer. People trying to train a pup to shed hunt get confused about where they planted a shed. They use orange flagging tape to avoid losing their shed location.

Turkey Creek - Rowdy is might young 20 feet is to avoid him getting distracted. Set up for success - positive reinforcement with the hot dog. First full day and Rowdy has a notch on his collar.

I find the training methods fascinating and the nose of dogs amazing.

 

[Doctorbrady]

Dogs can cue in on flags if they are used repeatedly, but young scent hounds like Rowdy have no interest in the flags when liver scent is on the ground. I assure you that he is not associating flags with the trail at this point. He is simply following his nose based on centuries of genetic imprinting. The hotdogs teach a dog to maintain the line from point "a" to "b" to "c" etc, and build in reward for doing so. A dog can easily drift well off such a fresh, scent-rich trail, but the rewards laid directly on the line help to avoid this when a pup is being imprinted. Treats also keep a young dog's interest. Keep in mind, that Rowdy is just weaned, and is already expected to begin his mastery of one of the hardest tasks a dog can learn. He will likely be running 100+ yard tracks within a month or so.

 

[Brushpile]

Rowdy looks bigger in pics than he actually is. Rowdy only weighs about two pounds, and it was cold enough that fine mist that wet the grass had frozen, so Rowdy was wet and shivering after a 20 foot track. I will run a track with him every day, gradually increasing the length of the track and allowing the track to age. After Rowdy gets the hang of it, he'll get excited when he sees me going out the door with tracking material (blood, liver, deer, leg...). By Summer tracks will become 1/4 mile and be aged overnight. It's a gradual process of increasing length and age while decreasing the amount of scent. By Summer tracks will be 2 times a week until just before deer season. I have lots of blood, but it goes fast when training three dogs

Flags that mark the track will still be used, but only to mark turns and to let me know that we're on track. Elkie still needs training too. Blood tracking can get very challenging because the dog has to track just the wounded deer, which is difficult when hunters don't call until after the track is 24-48 hours old and dozens of fresher tracks have crossed over it!

 

[Brushpile]

...and they're off! Way to get going Brush. How was his interest?

The breeder had done some liver drags, so he sniffed around but basically had to be helped along. He's still a baby, but he loves raw liver, and will soon realize there is liver at the end of the track.

 

[Brushpile]

How many tracks will you likely do in the first ten days where today is day 1?

Does Rowdy just chew on the deer leg or will he shake it with some aggression?

Rowdy has the classic looks. Thanks for the update.

Every day! Sometimes twice a day when starting out. Rowdy has the classic look because his parentage is 100% dogs that have been judged excellent for conformation. Many AKC registered dogs would not be permitted to breed in Europe, because they don't conform to breed in temperament, conformation and have a flaw. Breeding is policed by a breed warden, so you can't just breed to the dog down the street and register the litter.

Hips and back are x-rayed, eyes are examined, and breeds are checked for genetic malfunction.

 

[Brushpile]

Track #2. 20 degrees and snow, yet Rowdy ran this track like a pro! Tomorrow's track will be 25 yards long. Rowdy has recovered from his long travel and is full of piss and vinegar! Rowdy is smaller than a Chihuahua, and is still a baby!

 

[Brushpile]

Rowdy was not happy about being left at the Vet, even though he got special treatment. When I picked Rowdy up, his name was fitting as he was howling above all the other dogs. Back at home he was still whimpering hours later! This is a VERY important time for imprinting, so even though I'm under the weather, I took Rowdy tracking, and he will track every day without fail over the next two months.

The track is marked with flags and laced with hotdog slices, then I drag deer liver along it and leave the liver at the end for a reward. The liver is tied to a branch with a string so that rodents can't steal it.

 

[wbpdeer]

So Elkie has been to the Vet more often and isn't unhappy to be there is my guess. Rowdy had rather be out and about.

Good for him. Hope your trip was fun. Happy New Year to the Brushpile Tracking Crew.

Wayne

 

[Doctorbrady]

Welcome back Brush! Time to get after it. My search continues...

 

[Brushpile]

So Elkie has been to the Vet more often and isn't unhappy to be there is my guess. Rowdy had rather be out and about.

Good for him. Hope your trip was fun. Happy New Year to the Brushpile Tracking Crew.

Wayne

Poor Rowdy was shipped from Luxembourg to America, and a week later he was caged at the vet! Keep in mind that Rowdy is still a baby. Rowdy is getting lots of attention now, but Elkie wants nothing to do with him! Elkie bonded with me and is VERY jealous of Rowdy!