Reading your dog with the blind training trail:

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Once the fundamentals of handling and reading a trailing dog are discovered, it is essential that the handler learn to find some comfortable understanding in the unpredictability of a search.  Not everything can be controlled nor is the nature of scent truly even truly understood by us. A handler should concentrate less on training patterns or drills and more on interpreting the dog’s body language. Dogs have a way of follow scent seamlessly and with an amazing level of simplification. Yet, when learning trailing, we as handlers have this mindset that by providing the dog a series of complicated patterns, we will somehow make them trail better. In essence, teach them to trail. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the dog has a high value on the Target he is searching for, then the dog will trail without any method, without a harness, without a lead, and definitely without the handler.  It is better to learn to understand the dog and his body language and how to move naturally with it. In the dogs' mind, simplicity and immediate timing will always eclipse complicated rules and patterns. For this I am likely to use short blind trails.  If I know the trail then even though I think I am reading the dog’s body language, the understanding is not as pronounce as it is when I read the dog blindly and then get confirmation with a find. This type of work along with short motivation runaways can carry a team a long way toward success.

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Until next time keep training and Be Relentless!