Crittering
Today I will be discussing “Crittering”! This is a mantrailing word used to describe a dog’s action when they come in contact with the odor of some form of animal. Rabbits, squirrels, field mice, or cats, all are capable of making the dog lose interest in his work of trailing a human and want to “check out” this new and interesting odor. Although this type of action can occur on any type of terrain it is especially common in a more rural or wilderness type of setting. The wild more undomesticated animal odor seems to give the dog more pause as they become very interested in this unusual scent.
Recently I had posted a video of a dog working on a social media site. In the video, while the dog was working I mentioned that this action by the dog may be crittering. However, the dog quickly continued her work. A person that had watched the video asked. What did Reign look like early on if she was crittering? Clearly, she doesn't anymore on a job, but people often say "that's crittering" when a dog gets animated or wiggly at a scent. Again, it's about knowing what your dog looks like, but I've had observers tell me "that's crittering, stop her" when I'm pretty sure she's just excited to scope out the scent picture. In the video, the dog, Reign, was working through a rural wilderness type of area. She was moving with some pace keeping a consistent head position, tail position, and maintaining a set direction of travel. Her animation was good for this type of trail with this amount of age and current weather conditions. Suddenly her amination became more erratic. Her movement had a bit more of a back and forth type of motion. Her tail did not tighten up or I would have been completely convinced that this was crittering. At a point in her work where she seemed to focus on a spot on the ground, I told her to “Leave it,” and she immediately turned back and moved forward putting her body language back in this original condition.
So here is some noteworthy information in regards to a dog crittering. First of all, it is going to happen! This is very much a natural response for a canine and not something you should be upset about. Deal with it appropriately and move on. Some of my past mentors would think when this happens it was the end of the world. Though we do want our dog to ignore distractions and not give interest in anything but the scent of our target person. For the dog not to show some interest is just not reasonable on our part. With that now stated this is something that also must be trained out of the dog. In this sense, we need a stop that, or a recall type of command so the dog understands to quit this action and return to the work requested of him. After all finding, our missing person is the game we are currently playing, and the reward for finding this person should be just as great, if not better than the hunt for this critter. For me anytime I read in the dog’s body language that they are not focused on their work. They are showing interest in something like crittering or trash on the ground or maybe other people. I use the command of “leave it”! I also have a motivational command used to help refocus the dog on its target. This is “Where did he do”! So when I encounter a situation where I need to refocus the dog. I first give the “Where did he go command”. This is done in a happy motivated voice tone. I have basically asked my dog to please get back to work and refocus on our target odor, and I expect this action to be immediate. If that does not happen in a harsh tone I give the “leave it” command. Again I expect this to immediately happen. If that does not resolve our issue and I feel the dog is totally ignoring me or has their full attention on this unwanted distraction. The extra harsh come to Jesus type of “LEAVE IT” command is given, often with a pop on the back of the dog with the line I am working with at the time. Note when I work with a young pup and this action starts to happen I do make this correction extra hard. By doing the correction with this much intensity the pup quickly understands that leave it is not to be taken lightly. Seldom do I ever have to correct the dog with much more than a request for the rest of their lives.
Now reading this crittering type of action in the dog’s body language and understanding that they are in fact “Crittering,” is different with each dog. First, you would see an elevated animation in the dog. His trailing behavior should start moving differently than it had been. There may be more of a back and forth motion to them. Often a dog’s tail will rise and curl very tightly over his back. You may also hear a popping sound as they start to suck air trying to get more of this unusual scent they have now discovered. This type of dog action can come on all at once or be very subtle. This will also vary from one dog to another. I once worked a dog that would jump a trail in a heartbeat if she crossed a deer path. The problem was she was sly and you did not read this in her body language. I have also had others that would shout it from the rooftops with their body language, CRITTER! This is one reason you start your trailing dog work with a pup. This way you are able to observe the dog over the course of his life and start to understand something is different when you see subtle changes in their body movements.
To help address the crittering situation in training I often work around colleges or parks. Anyplace that has an abundance of squirrels or wild cats. Some type of critter that has the ability to cause a distraction. Depending on how severe the problem is training may start with a series of runaways. Or short blind trails may be set so reading the dog is very much needed on the handler’s part. Regardless of this or any other situation, remember the trailing dog cycle of operations. 1. Is scent present? 2. Can the dog detect the odor? 3. Can the dog discriminate the odor? 4. Does the dog want to find the target? 5. Can the handler read the dog's actions? If there is a failure in our work the problem will be in one of these areas.
Happy trailing!
Comments