Back to the Laboratory in Tracking

Controlled Aggression

In this episode, Jerry Bradshaw discusses:

• Hard surface training for the most successful tracking.

• Creating an independent problem solver in your dog.

• Common issues in tracking.

• Drills and approaches to shore up your tracking foundation and the problems you are facing.

• Why laying a good track is a critical skill.

Key Takeaways:

• Returning to foundational drills is not a bad thing - it is returning to basics to keep your tracking training progressing forward.

• One of the first things to train in tracking is pace—this will be different from dog to dog, but our job in training is to create a nice, even pace given the dogs temperament, characteristics, etc.

• Get rid of the large rewards at the end of the track - value the track itself. You need a variable reward system on the track.

• Don’t get lazy when laying your tracks. If you’re always doing large articles, the dog will start to look for those instead of the potentially higher-value, small articles.

• Your dog is not too slow. Deliberate is a good pace.

"This is going to be the life cycle of your tracking - tighten them up, they're going to get looser. Tighten them up again, they're going to get looser. You have to have these go-to's to always reel that dog back in and make him tighter." — Jerry Bradshaw

Get Jerry's book Controlled Aggression on Amazon.com

Contact Jerry:

Website: controlledaggressionpodcast.com

Email: [e-mail]

Tarheel Canine Training: www.tarheelcanine.com

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Twitter: @tarheelcanine

Instagram: @tarheelk9

Facebook: TarheelCanineTraining

Protection Sports Website: psak9-as.org

Patreon: patreon.com/controlledaggression

Slideshare: Tarheel Canine

Calendly: https://calendly.com/tarheelcanine

Tarheel Canine Seminars: https://streetreadyk9.com/

Tarheel Canine Student Portal: https://tcstudentportal.com/

Sponsors:

ALM K9 Equipment: almk9equipment.com

PSA & American Schutzhund: psak9-as.org

Tarheel Canine: tarheelcanine.com

The Drive Company: https://thedriveco.com/

The Drive Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedrive.co

Find out more about Hold The Line Conference 2025 at https://htlk9.com/

Train Hard, train smart, be safe.

Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.