Doug Goodman

One of the things that came out of the HRD seminar I attended in November was the desire to spend more time focusing on handler skills.  So with the other senior HRD member on my team, we started adding Tuesday night handler trainings.  I have really liked how these training sessions have progressed because of the impact on the dogs and the handler.

The kinds of skills are things like detailing, which is getting the dog's nose to follow the hand.  This is very useful in vehicle and building searches, but can also be used for small evidence searches when there is not a huge area to cover.  Believe it or not, something as simple as where you stand can affect a dog's behavior.  For example, if you are standing in one spot while the dog is working an area, and you gradually move to your right, your dog will start to move in that direction, too.  So on Tuesday nights we develop some of these skills (and many others).

Another advantage to the Tuesday night trainings has been the opportunity to work in different conditions. See, team trainings are usually weekend training sessions, usually staggered between mornings and afternoons to create the most opportunities for people to come out.  I really like the system, but you can't train in the dark when the sun is out!  Usuall when we did night trainnig, it was a special once- or twice-a-year event, usually held in the summer when it was just too stinking hot to train during the day.  But now the team is training lights out (you are welcome for the bad pun) on a weekly basis.  This has also allowed us to train in more inclemental weathers like rain, fog, and gusting winds, and sometimes like this past Tuesday, we get to train in all of them at once!  That's Texas for you.

A key element to the Tuesday night trainings has been that they are purely voluntary.  These sessions are for handlers who want to work their dogs a little more.  (And who doesn't?  Cadaver dogs are cool!) 

Note:  Create bumper sticker saying "Cadaver dogs are cool!"

There is nothing against anyone who doesn't want to attend.  Whether or not the team did Tuesay night trainings, I recognized the need to work my dog a little more each week, so I was getting everything out of the trainings that I wanted.  I have had to leave early before, other times some people couldn't make it out, but we always have enough people in attendance to train a least four to five dog teams. 

In January, the HRD teams tweaked the Tuesday night training, and we have really reaped the benefits from it.  What we did was make handler trainings complement weekend team trainings by doing the same kind of problems.  On Tuesdays, the problems are not blind, and on the weekends we do the same problem, but blind.  So for example we did a couple weeks of elevated training, where the source is placed up high.  We started at a lower height that our dogs were more comfortabe with (I think 4 feet).  All handlers knew exactly where the scent item was hanging (i.e., not blind).  Then on the weekend, we mimicked the same problem (hanging, 4 feet, always in a new location), but the handlers couldn't know the location of the hanging scent item (i.e., blind).  This has been great for learning the different behaviors provided by a dog in different situations.  It also builds team confidence, which is vital to any working dog team.  The handler has to trust that the dog is doing the job as trained.

Unlike team trainings, there are no flankers and no additional work, so the trainings are always quick and finished.  They usually take one and a half to two hours max from wheels stop to exiting the park.  If your team meets once a week but has several team members who want to pursue Tuesday night trainings, I highly recommend it.