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How Dogs Tell the Difference Between You and Another Person or Object

Tracking and Scent Discrimination

This article explains how your family dog can tell the difference between you and another person or object. This information applies to Family Disaster Dogs, Tracking Dogs and Trailing Dogs as well as any dog who is using its nose to find an object, person or pet.

Scent discrimination can be a complicated and complex subject.

When I was first learning Bloodhound handling and training with my dog Sue, our SAR dog mentor and instructor, Lt. Ezra Roberts explained the basics of scent discrimination to me in what I continue to believe is the easiest way possible.

the author and bloodhound Sue

I smile in remembrance of Ezra as I write this..I couldn't of asked for a better mentor.

He said, " When a Bloodhound smells a chocolate cake they smell every ingredient of the cake. The flour, sugar, eggs and coco while other dogs smell only the chocolate cake. "

This is the difference between a dog trained to scent discriminate. They smell one scent out of many many scents.

Dogs that are not trained to scent discriminate will search for only one scent, such as, live human scent but not each individual person within that human scent. They will find any human scent and all human scent in a certain search area by air scenting, tracking and  grid working. They will find every person or object's scent they are trained to find, such as bombs, drugs, humans live and remains. They are trained using only one scent article or smell.

Other dogs are trained to find many different scents or a scent they are given by the handler. These dogs are scent discriminating when they find a drug or object the handler asked them to find.

Service dogs who are trained to get the newspaper, slippers and dropped items of their owners are scent and sight discriminating. They know your slippers from another person's slippers.

Bloodhounds are different in that they process the ability to scent discriminate naturally. When a Bloodhound is given a scent article they start looking for that scent without much training at all. The handler gets most of the training and not the dog.

We don't train Bloodhounds they train us. Family dogs of all ages act naturally like the Bloodhounds when they stay close to their owners, follow the owner around the house or bond with a special family member.

Most dogs want to follow a person leaving their company, especially when the owner or a member of the family leave a dog behind a closed door or fence. If allowed to go the dog will do its best to find/follow the person they love.

These dogs are choosing to discriminate. All dogs can discriminate and they do naturally.

It is up to us humans to take advantage of this natural ability in the dog and teach our dogs what we wish them to find or who.

Here is my dog finding my daughter. This is the first time I asked the dog to find this person. I have only asked the dog to look for another person 3 times. She is not a trained tracking dog but I know she will find people she knows and wants to be near.

We had a chance to video tape this first time for everyone on the Family Disaster Dog site to watch and see how easy it is to teach your dog to find a family member or friend. Read the Scent Article page for more info about to use Scent Articles that tell your dog who to look for.

Watch this video






Click to Learn how-to Evacuate with your Dogs Help

Watch How-to Teach any Dog to Find Family Members after Floods, Earthquakes

Watch us start training a search dog in basic skills and learn how to teach your own dogs to find lost or missing family and friends.

This is one of the skills you can learn more about in my Family Disaster Dogs book. (free on Kindle unlimited)

This fun game of hide and seek is perfect for families to play with their own dogs. Knowing how-to ask your dog to find your child or partner sure would come in handy in the aftermath of a disaster or if a child or elderly person wandered away on a camping trip.

Teaching your dogs how to look for friends and family is one skill I hope you never have to use.

While knowing how to do this with your dogs may never be used, it sure does not hurt to know how!

Plus this gives you a fun activity to do with your dogs and family.

Here's a video of a family dog I'm teaching to find lost and missing persons with her owner. Bella is three years old and did not have an formal training before starting to learn how to find a missing person. She knows basic manners and obedience, enjoys the dog park and swims in the river fetching her toy. This video is one of the first times we asked her to find the boy she lived with. Watch her go!

Your dog can do the same, ask a family member to go hide while you hold the dog until the person is out of sight then let the dog go and see what happens !

You can use a leash or not. We are teaching this dog to be an official trailing-tracking dog and the leash in this case is part of the job. Family dogs can get the job done anyway they are comfortable looking for a family member.

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think. Thanks and stay safe everyone!

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Please share this post so others learn how to save their loved ones.

With climate change rising seas and heatwaves, floods, wildfires and storms everywhere it's time to prepare for the worst and pray for the best.

my Wrinkledpups Daisy Mayham 2000-2014

Mastering The Art Of Dog-Walking

Image

If you are thinking about getting a dog, you are going to need to think about a lot of different things in order to make sure that you really know what you are getting into. The truth about dogs is that they are a lot of fun, a lot of love and also a lot of energy - and you need to be prepared for that energy, otherwise you will find it considerably less enjoyable to be able to look after and have your own dog. There are a few things in particular you are going to need to focus on, and one of the main ones is walking them. Walking your dog is something that you will find is actually much more of an art than you might have thought, and requires a lot of skill and patience. Let’s take a look now and see what might be involved here.


Frequency


If you are to actually provide the benefit that walking your dog has, you need to make sure that you are doing it as frequently as necessary. You need to be sure that you are actually giving them the exercise they really need, otherwise you might find that you are in trouble and not really doing it right. The frequency, however, along with many other things, depends on the dog. You need to do your research regarding the breed and size of your dog, and you should also just pay attention to your individual dog’s needs, as you will find that it might differ to what other people’s dogs are like, or even other dogs of your own. However, in time you will come to see the kind of frequency that your dog needs to go walking for, and that will mean that you know how much you need to make that a part of your daily life.


Routine

It’s great if you can develop some kind of a routine with walking your dog, so that you can help them to understand when it is time and when it is not. It can also help with some of the more difficult aspects of the process. For instance, a lot of owners will have trouble getting their dogs on their leads, but if you do it as part of the routine, your dog will soon get used to it and expect it, and even make it easier for you by sitting still for it to happen. Likewise, if you need to clean your dog's afterwards, you should make sure you do so in the same way every time, so that they will eventually play along. Visit KingKanine.com to see some paw-cleaning products which can help here.


Length


Finally, be sure to be clear on the length of time that you need to walk your dog for every time you take them. It should be enough to get them tired, as that shows that it is good exercise, but you should not push them too hard in case you end up causing them some damage. As long as you get this right, you can be sure that the exercise is giving them what they need.

Author Amber Higgins Book Interview with NF Reads

Interview with NF Reads 

Hi everyone,

I was asked to do an interview about my books from a really cool site that has interesting inspiring stories, interviews from book authors and other great reading!

I talk about what inspired me to build this blog site and write the Family Disaster Dogs books.

Check it out at this link

The interview is published at Interview with Amber Higgins

Bella to the Rescue-Search Dog Training Video

Here is Team Bella in training.

Owner handler Mark is working Bella.

They are training with the author to be certified 

for K9 Search and Rescue (SAR) 

This is Trailing not Tracking! 

Enjoy the show!

Bella is a 3 year old family pet who really enjoys her new job!

Follow Bella's progress on Facebook 

Why Does A Dog Bite?

There are a lot of scary stories about dogs attacking people these days. But the reality is that dog bites are a lot more common than you might think - it’s just the serious, terrible, and disastrous incidents we hear or read about in the news. In fact, there are over 4.5 million dog bites that occur every year, most of which are mild accidents - and almost all of them can be avoided.


The key to understanding how not to get bitten is to learn why dogs bite. Having covered what to do to avoid and deal with a bite from a dog, we thought it was time to explore the reasons why it happens so much. Let’s take a closer look.

Pic via pexels

Why do dogs bite?

The first thing to understand is that any dog can bite. Sure, there are aggressive strains and personalities out there in the world, but even a timid dog will snap at you in fear if you close off their escape route. Big, small, male, female, young, old, cuddly, scary: any dog will try to protect themselves the best way they know how when they find themselves in a stressful situation.

‘Stressful’ is the key word to understand, here. Almost every dog bite will occur as a reaction to something - they don’t just do it for the sake of it. It could be to protect something, or to ward you off from its territory. It might be because they feel threatened - or even that someone or something is threatening you. They can even bite when they feel unwell and just want to be left alone. But the key thing to remember is that in almost every scenario, it’s because your dog is stressed.

Understanding the issue

The trouble is that too few owners understand the signs that their dog is stressed. And unless you learn those signs yourself - as a dog owner or otherwise - it could spell trouble. For example, if you have a small child who loves pooches and sees one on the street, can you be sure that the dog they go up to and try and stroke isn’t afraid? And can you guarantee they will not bite? Educating yourself and your kids on how to approach - or not - any animal is wise.

That said, if you do ever receive a bite from someone else’s dog, it is the owner’s fault. Contact a lawyer to file a claim for canine bites and make sure you get the relevant medical attention - every owner has a responsibility to look after their animals. And if you know your dog is stressed, make sure you have full control over them and let the approaching party know to keep a good distance away.

 
What about play?

In their natural environment, dogs will play with other dogs - and they tend to nip at each other for fun. The trouble is that they nip and bite during play with humans, too. And while it’s fun for them, it’s dangerous for you - and especially for your kids.

You can avoid getting bitten by not wrestling with them, or playing tug-of-war. Ultimately, these are games that will overexcited your dog and accidents are more likely to occur.

Easy Dog Training Tips that will Completely Change your Life

If you have a dog then you will know how difficult it can be at times to get them to listen to you. After all, you may find that no matter what you do, you just can’t get anywhere and this is the last thing that you need. If you want to avoid all of that then just take a look below to see if you can get some help with that.


Decide on House Rules
Before you bring your new dog home, decide on what they are and aren’t allowed to do. If they are allowed on the bed or the furniture then let them, but don’t try and change the rules a year or two down the line. If you do this then they will only become confused and you may even find that they don’t obey you as much as well. it also helps to try and plan if there are any areas of the house that they aren’t allowed in. This way you can save a ton of hassle for both you and the dog.

Source

Give them Their Space

It’s so important that your puppy has somewhere they can call their own. From the earliest moment you can, try and give your dog their own private sleeping place. You will want to choose a place that is not used by anyone else in the family or even by another pet as well. This way they can have their own level of comfort and you can also reward them if they stay quiet for long periods of time as well.

Teach Them To Come When Called

You really do need to teach your dog how to come when they are called. This should be the very first thing that you are able to master. When your dog is coming to you, your status as the alpha will be reinforced and you will also teach them how to respond to their name as well. The benefits of doing this are endless and you may even find that it is easy for you to get them back on the lead if you go out of the house as well.

Source

Avoiding Barking

Dogs bark and there isn’t much that you can do about it. It is their way of communicating and most of the time it won’t be a problem. If your dog is constantly barking at things that they shouldn’t be however then this can cause you major problems. You may find that you get complaints from the neighbor and you may also find that you just don’t get anywhere with training either. For that reason, it’s helpful to look into sites such as Dogable as this will really help you to teach them not to bark every single time they see another dog or every time someone walks past the window.

Of course, there are so many things that you can do to try and teach your dog everything they need to know and by following the above tips, you can be sure to get the whole thing done without any hassle.