The Response

The Response- if you are in any of my courses you will hear me talk about this a lot. I believe it is one of the main keys to a successful team.

We are taught to follow our dogs, trust our dogs and yes I want you to do these things. First, you need to learn to read your dog- what does it look like when they are on, off, searching or just messing around? Once you learn to read them you can trust what they are doing and follow along. Yet, it does not end there. 

To build a strong team you must respond to what they are telling you. Yes, you are responding by following and trusting, but what about when they lose the trail? Do you just wait for them to find it? What about if you responded by helping them? And when they do find it again you respond by letting them take the lead?

Response goes hand in hand with reading your dog. If you respond to what you read it moves you as a team together, in a forward motion. It can keep the dog in the most odor. It builds you as a true team just not a handler holding on to the line hoping the dog stays on track. Most importantly, it tells the dog they can trust you.

Yes, I have been told to trust my dog, but does your dog need to trust you? YES- most definitely! A dog that trust their handler is a dog that will have confidence to get the job done. A dog that has clarity in the job that is asked of them.

From the beginning of our Foundation Courses we work on your response as a handler. We prepare you for your response. 

Watching an experienced handler work their dog is like watching a dance. It looks so easy that we all think we can do it with grace. Then we get in there and our line gets tangled, we may even trip and fall. The Response is that grace. Being prepared for that next step before it happens, and practicing it over and over again till it becomes second nature for you and your dog. 

We teach your dog to track or detect, then our or your response trains the team how to work together. 

We do not direct the dog- they have the nose- our response is to help, our response lets them know we can read what they are telling us and we are happy with what they are doing.

Why is the response so important? Why do I spend so much time talking about it, working on it, and expanding on it? Honestly, because your response can make or break your team. 

If you are having a hard time staying on track, scent discrimination, wrong indications- I believe you need to look at your response- what are you telling your dog? Your struggles maybe all in your response.

Here is an example-

Handler working a track with their dog. Dog gives handler a negative, handler tells me it is a negative.  Then stands there and waits for dog. Handler gets restless and tells dog to go to work as they take a step forward. Handler repeats this several times. Now, dog is off track and going for a walk. I tell handler they are off track, they reply to me-" yes, I could tell, my dog has been doing that a lot- just walking off track not sticking to it." 

Why is dog going off track? 

Handler is reading dog correctly, but giving the dog a response that says even if it doesn't go this way I want you to keep going. Your response is vital to your teams success. To what you are actually training your dog to do.

Much of the work we do is all about this response- working known areas 90 percent of the time, short drills, watching ourselves and others. Yes, learning to read your dog and responding to that read to move you forward in your search towards success.

If you are struggling with an aspect of your search work- break it down, and take a hard look at your response. What are you telling your dog to do? What are you telling your dog is important? 

Response a key to your success.