Lesson 7 Leash Work 3

Using the Long Tracking Leash  

Lesson 3 of 3

This 3^rd lesson for using a long tracking or trailing leash for search dogs is spilt into 3 sections and postings listed at the right.

The first lesson is Lesson 5 Leash Work 1

The second section is Lesson 6 Leash Work 2

The third section is Lesson 7 Leash Work 3

This 3nd lesson in using a long leash for tracking and trailing continues where lesson 2 stopped.

Be sure to refresh yourself with lesson 2 before beginning this lesson.

How to Use the Long Tracking Leash 

Now the time has come to use your dog instead of a person as we did in lesson 2.

This Lesson is best done step by step and do not change the steps with this lesson or you will confuse your dog. 

This lesson is setting up the dog so they learn to take the clue that they will be tracking or trailing. They are putting on their Family Disaster Dog uniform.

This is best practiced in a large place without any obstacles. 

      If your dog is the off-leash type then have your dog stay walk with you and do not let your dog run all over the training area until this lesson is over.  

      

     If your dog will be on a short leash and taken to the training area then keep your dog on the short leash until you are ready to start this lesson.

     Using the dog’s short leash walk the dog to the area where you will be practicing, carry the long leash and harness with you.

     When you are at the spot where you will begin working a trail this is known as the LKL,

     or the " Last Known Location" of the person you will be searching for. 

     You will learn more about LKL later but keep in mind this is an important spot because;

     At this spot is where you put your dog in its equipment, the Harness and Long Leash.

    To begin;

1. Have your dog stand or sit and put the harness on. 
2. Do not change the short leash from the collar to the harness.
3. Hold your dog with the short leash as you do put them in the harness.
4. When you are ready to start, then snap the long leash on the back of the harness.
5. Hold your dog by the collar and unhook the short leash, continue to hold your dog’s collar while you pocket the short leash for using to walk your dog back after you run a trail.
6.  While holding your dog’s collar in one hand have the person who will hide run away from the dog, calling its name.
7. Give the dog a smell of the person’s sock, drop the bag with the sock on the ground at this point in training but later you will pocket the scent article bag in the carpenter or hunting apron you have for the purpose.
8.  As soon as your dog gets a good smell of the sock then release the dog’s collar while taking a hold of the long leash as explained above.
9. Tell your dog to “Find them “and run with your dog to the person.
10. Throw the leash behind you and handle the Long Leash as you learned in Lesson 6 Leash Work 2.
11. Try to keep the dog in front of you, and not beside you or behind you.
12. Have the other person call the dog, if the dog does not know what to do. 
13. You have to get the dog moving in order to work with the leash.
14. At this point in training the person does not have to hide. They can be across a big yard or field so the dog can easily lead you to them.
15. Keep the leash high in the air and loose so the dog does not feel any pressure.
16. You never want to jerk or discourage the dog when they are on the long leash.
17. Let your dog take you to the person; try to make this fun and fast work with excitement so the dog enjoys this game.
18. Be sure and use the leash as instructed and let your dog find the person.
19. As you train more, both you and your dog will become experts in using the long leash.
20. Only do this long leash lesson 2 or 3 times each day of training no more then 3 times in one week.
21. Praise your dog when they do as you ask. Praise your dog tenfold when they find the person, even if the person called them.
22. Do not train more then 3 times a week.
23. Never “walk” your dog on the harness and long leash. Always use your short leash snapped to the collar. 
24. When you reach the person you find then unsnap the long leash from the harness and snap the short leash to your dog's collar to walk back to the beginning of the trail. This will teach the dog that when you use the long leash they will be tracking.
25. Keep in mind as you practice that your dog will learn to go by the amount of pressure that is on the leash.
26. In time, you can learn to feel the tension and pressure on the leash and understand what your dog is doing when the dog smells.
27. There will be more to come in advanced lessons but these three lessons will give you a few weeks training exercises with your dog.
28. Enjoy and have fun.
29. If you dog loses interest then skip a day of training, do something else and try again next time. They get tired of the same ole thing too.

Practice makes perfect and enjoy!

Use the left or right hand to hold the leash as explained in Lesson 2 

I often switch hands because I have many years experience with this method.

Notice the long leash thrown on the ground behind me.  

I do not hold all the leash in my hand to get tangled in.

I will not pay any attention to the leash behind me and as the dog moves away from me I let the leash out and as I get close to the dog I take the leash slack out and toss it behind me..cool trick once learned.

Notice the scent article bag I am holding and will pocket as I move off with the dog.

Lesson 6 Leash Work 2

Using the Long Tracking Leash 2

This lesson for using a long tracking or trailing leash for search dogs is split 

into 3 sections and postings listed at the right or at the bottom of this page.

The first lesson is Lesson 5 Leash Work 1

The second section is Lesson 6 Leash Work 2     

The third section is Lesson 7 Leash Work 3

This 2nd lesson of 3 lessons in using a long leash for tracking and trailing  continues where lesson 1 stopped. 

Be sure to refresh yourself with lesson 1 before beginning this lesson.

This lesson begins by first using a person, children work great! 

As a pretend dog for you to learn how to use the long leash without 

getting caught up or tangled in the leash. 

A dog can tangle and trip you in seconds, possibly injuring both of you.

Using this leash is not as easy as it looks but you will catch on quickly if you 

follow these instructions.

1.  Have your pretend doggie stand with their back to you; hook the snap of the long leash on the person’s waist band or belt loop at their back.

2.  Hold a piece of the leash about 2 feet from the snap in your left hand.

3.  Use your right hand to hold the rest of the leash.

4.  Using your right hand, throw the entire long leash behind you.

5.  Keep a hold of your dog with the leash in your left hand.

6.  Do not pay any attention to the part of the leash you tossed,let it drag behind you.

7.  Holding the leash in the left hand, use your right hand to take up a piece of the leash that is lying across your body. Now the leash is in both hands with maybe 2 ft hooked to your dog and the rest behind you on the ground.

8.  At this point, you are ready to start moving.

9.  Have your person start walking and as they walk away from you let the leash slide through your left hand and use your right hand to feed the leash to your left hand. Sounds tricky but once you get the hang of it; this really makes using the leash easy.

10 Have the person stop walking and as you walk towards them, pull the leash back to you with your right hand sliding it through your left hand.

11 As you walk and pull throw the extra leash you pull in with your right hand behind you. Just toss it and keep walking.

12 Keep practicing with the person going different speeds and stopping.

13. Once you are comfortable using the leash like this then have the person make turns and go in different directions just like a dog does.

 Practice this until you know what you are doing...smile

Then go to the Next Lesson

Lesson 2; To Leash or Not

To Leash or Not to Leash 

This lesson covers why some dogs use a leash when looking for lost people and other dogs do not. This will help you decide which way works best for you and your dog.

How to use the long tracking leash when Trailing and Tracking with your dog is taught during each lesson and outlined on Lesson 1, Tracking Overview.

 As you can see by the pictures of Sambo working in a harness, we are using a very long leash or lead.  A long tracking lead like the one pictured is most often used to allow the dog extra room to work an area over without the handler interfering.

Mantrailing Training

Most Bloodhounds are worked on a leash while other breeds are often worked off leash due to other breeds paying attention to a handler more then a Bloodhound does.

No pun intended, a Bloodhound on a trail is working from natural ability and instincts without any direction from a handler while other breeds are working a trail from the training they have received and the commands from a handler. The Bloodhound is trailing and the other dog is tracking, there is a large difference in the two ways the dogs use their noses.

The leash below is the type a Bloodhound Handler uses..A Retractable leash is not recommended.


Another reason a long leash is used with a Bloodhound is that the Bloodhound is known as a silent tracker/trailer because the dogs generally do not bark or bay while running a trail like Beagles and Coonhounds do.

Some Bloodhounds do get excited at the beginning and end of a trail and some will work very quickly but others are more caution and careful not  to miss any smells. They work slowly and surely.

Bloodhounds are different in many ways from other breeds which is why there are few Bloodhounds working in comparison to other breeds. Bloodhounds do not train well or respond to directions from handlers well while using their noses and this makes them difficult for some people.

Consequently, we have to use a leash when we ask a Bloodhound to find a person in order to stay with the dog and know when the dog finds the person, otherwise a loose Bloodhound might find the person and happily lay down with them to cuddle instead of coming back to let the handler know they did the job.

Other breeds are taught to find a person off leash and return to the handler or bark to indicate the found person so the handler can find them. These dogs rely on the owner or handler to work with them in finding the person. Obedience training and off leash hand signals or direction can be given to the dog by the handler so the two work as a team in searching for evidence or a missing person.

Your family dog can learn to work with a leash like a Bloodhound and also off a leash like an area scent dog or an off-lead tracking dog. You will will learn the difference between tracking, air scenting and trailing in upcoming lessons. The method you decide to use will depend upon your dog. Not the breed of your dog but how well your family pet does what you say off a leash.

Many family dogs never use a leash and pay attention very well to their owners. These dogs will respond to training faster then the house dog who is use to be kept on a leash and walked or a dog without any training. Do not worry either with or without a leash works for a family disaster dog because this type of training does not require obedience.

If your dog has no other training then you can train your pet like a Bloodhound, on a leash.

If you want your dog to understand commands then read through the other lessons on this blog to teach your pet manners and how to behave in different situations while responding to sit, come, stay, down, heel.

You can also take an obedience class offered in your community while you continue to work on the disaster dog lessons.

While attending other classes, Please be sure and spread the word about Family Disaster Dog Site so others can learn how to use their dogs during emergencies too.

Email us for Free F.D.D. Posters/Handouts to give out or post in your community. 

Family Disaster Dog (FDD) Email 

Any age of dog can be trained using a leash or not.

The older dog may take more teaching then a puppy. Do not get discouraged if your dog does not learn right away. This is supposed to be fun and the family dog, like all Search Dogs, are in training for a life time not for a short time.

Unlike other dog training classes this  type of training does not require a time agenda or daily practice. Family Disaster dog training can be done any time you have spare time because all you do is go out and play with your dog whenever you want, wherever you want.

You have the rest of your dog's life to train and play for a disaster which we hope you never have to use. Keep this type of training fun for you and your dog.

How to use a long leash and work a search dog on a lead will be covered on the Leash Work lesson.

How to train your dog to work off leash will be covered on the Off Leash Lesson Post.

Off leash and On leash dogs in training should own a Leather Leash like this 6 ft long leash pictured.


Click on Links on the Left to go to Another Lesson

First Aid Supplies

In any emergency a family member or you yourself may be cut, burned or suffer other injuries. If you have these basic supplies you are better prepared to help your loved ones when they are hurt. Remember, many injuries are not life threatening and do not require immediate medical attention. Knowing how to treat minor injuries can make a difference in an emergency. Consider taking a first aid class, but simply having the following things can help you stop bleeding, prevent infection and assist in decontamination. (Info From Ready.Gov )

Things You Should Have:

• Two pairs of Latex, or other sterile gloves (if you are allergic to Latex).
• Sterile dressings to stop bleeding.
• Cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes to disinfect.
• Antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.
• Burn ointment to prevent infection.
• Adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes.
• Eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as general decontaminant.
• Thermometer (Read more: Biological Threat)
• Prescription medications you take every day such as insulin, heart medicine and asthma inhalers. You should periodically rotate medicines to account for expiration dates.
• Prescribed medical supplies such as glucose and blood pressure monitoring equipment and supplies.

Things That May Be Good To Have In Your Kit:

• Cell phone with charger
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Tube of petroleum jelly or other lubricant

Non-Prescription Drugs:

• Aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
• Anti-diarrhea medication
• Antacid (for upset stomach)
• Laxative