Trailing Dog Challenges

Instructor: Derek Koonce

Improving trailing dog skills - 1 hour class, 2 hour field

Ever wonder what can motivate your trailing partner? The simple answer is to make problems challenging and not routine. Derek presents numerous examples that have been experienced through searches and training. These experiences are put together as a form of problem set ups for trailing dogs to solve. This lecture starts off with a different view of how trailing dogs work – do you know your dog’s working zone? Derek covers this answer and provides information on how you can develop unique problems that will motivate and challenge your trailing partner.

BIO

"Derek is a veteran handler and has been a member of California Rescue Dog Association for 25 years. His canine experience started in southern California under the tutelage of some of the best trailing handlers in the state. He moved to northern California in 1995 and became a certified trailing dog handler with experience in area, cadaver, avalanche and water searching. Derek has also been a member of Los Gatos Disaster Aid Response Team as canine leader. He is also involve with National Ski Patrol and is the Patrol Representative for Tahoe-Donner.

Derek is an international speaker and provides a direct, no-nonsense approach to a presentation. He takes a unique approach to trailing in that he enjoys challenging his and other dogs to solve search problems. Derek draws on his training and search experiences, and his dispatch work to develop challenging problems for search dogs. He has worked trailing dogs in all types of conditions from pouring rain to deep snow, from hot desert terrain to crowded commute traffic. He self evaluates all trainings and searches to understand how scent flowed and how his partner worked to create unique trainings and lessons which he enjoys sharing with others.