02/04/2024
๐๐โ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญ!!! ๐
Thank you so much for your donations ๐
Together we have raised ยฃ1700 for Cornwall Search Dogs, this is way above target and will pay for Lylaโs Training and then some.
As promised us Dog Professionals have also stepped up this week reaching 1.704024 Steps! More than just for the good cause this fundraiser has been a lovely way to connect, laugh and network amongst us.
As a special treat & Thank you for all the donations Iโve asked Lyla, our sponsored search dog in training, and owner Annie a few Questions:
Trailing Adventures - Lexi's Legacy
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ?๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ ?
Annie: โLyla is a 20 month old labrador and has been with us for 5 weeks and has settled in very quickly. She is very cuddly and friendly and has no idea about personal space!
She is still growing, and doesnโt always have control over her long legs! She has a fabulous wiggle when sheโs excited and it starts with her tail and moves her whole body. She loves to play with her toys and her favourite game is to de-stuff them, which does mean we often have fluff all over the floor.
She loves everyone one she meets and everyone loves her.
To be a good search dog they need to be curious and enjoy using their nose and Lyla definitely likes using hers and investigating the world around her.โ
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐๐ฌ๐ค? ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐?
Annie: โWe train our dogs on Scent Specific trailing โ this means we get them to take scent from and article belonging to one person and follow that scent to find the person and their reward (Lyla loves mackerel โ and each dog is different, some like food, some like a special toy)
At the start they will see the person run off, making excited noises and the scent article is on the floor โ the dogs learn that the scent on the article is that of the person and the more they play the game the more that is reinforced. As they develop they stop seeing the person and start to just be given the scent article and follow the scent. We build them up by adding in turns, junctions, split trails (where two people go off together and then split up along it and the trailing dog stays on just the one persons trail. We build them up working on the 3 Dโs โ Difficulty, Duration and Distance but only add in one from this list each time.
For our dogs it is a really fun game with a lovely reward at the end. It can take up to two years to train a scent specific trailing dog and handler, who are a team that builds a very strong bond on trust and respect and FUN!โ
๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐ ๐ฃ๐จ๐, ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค?
Annie: โOur dogs learn to understand when we are going on a job โ from putting on our kit to getting their kit ready. Lyla has a separate harness and line that is only used for trailing so she knows that we are going to play the โgameโ.
Once we arrive we secure a scent item of the dog or person we are going to look for -find out what information is available and then we give the dog the scent item.
Our dogs then work to find where that scent is freshest โ they are able to work out direction and follow the trail. There are many things that can affect scent in the environment, some of it helpful and some of it not. What we are looking for is a direction of travel in order to help searches know what area to be looking in. As well as following a scent our trailing dogs can also tell us if there is no scent in an area so the focus can be put into another area.
Our dogs can work long trails and we are very aware of how much a trail can take out of them so we make sure if it is a long trail that they get rest breaks and sometimes will leapfrog our dogs and use two or three on one trail.
For our dogs it is always a fun game โ as humans we understand the serious side of what we do.โ
