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Lure coursing

Last winter we started to train for lure coursing competitions. I didn´t trust in that Simm would run after a plastic bag, because I thought Simm´s sisters Helmi and Maisa to have higher prey drive than Simm. But I was absolutely wrong. From the first time Simm knew exactly what he was supposed to do. He´s calmness beforehand might have something to do with “the fact” that boys don´t think so complicated ;) On march 12th 2005 Simm showed his abilities by testing the track at Ohkola winter coursing. We were suprised that he managed so well, because the track was a long and demanding one. Now Simm has participated in few competitions, but our first season was unlucky due to Simm´s nail injury. Hope the year 2006 will be safer for us too...

Achievements:
- The Finnish Pharaoh and Ibizan hound club's Hobby dog of the year 2005
- The Finnish Pharaoh and Ibizan hound club's Lure Coursing Ibizan hound of the year 2006
- Helsinki Sighthound club's Lure Coursing Ibizan hound of the year 2006

Photo: Antti Ruotsalo.

Oval track racing

Simm has now started his oval track racing training... We are now working toward his oval track racing licence. He has run solo test run and his first group run so he is missing only one group run which will be in the schedule soon. Simm did superb in his first group test run with sisters Helmi and Maisa. Very nice run! Simm has earned his lisence and attended one competition this year. Simm run with Kermit (Snout Neonlight) and was second.

Tracking

One of  Simm´s hobbies is tracking, because I wanted to see how he would manage in this area. He was already very keen on using his nose, when he came, so I thought tracking would be good for his self confidence. In tracking he must concentrate and work calmly by itself, so this hobby differs a lot from our other hobbies. Nowadays Simm is training turns, corners and articles. When we started tracking Simm had his own “beezer-style” which ment that he wanted to do his job so precisely that it sometimes was quite timeconsuming... Nowadays he is getting quickier so I must slow him down a little bit.

I started teach tracking by trampling a square (about one square metre) and putting there pieces of his snacks. I let Simm notice that there were no snacks outside the square (I didn´t pull him back to the square or something like that). I must point out that there are lots of different styles and variations to teach tracking and I doesn´t claim that this one is the best for all ;) One should consider which way is the best for that particular dog and trainer, of course. Gradually we moved from squares to tracks and diminished and eventually stopped using snacks on the track. The biggest problem in tracking training has been finding the right and good enough reward for Simm. I tried playing with toys, for example, but nowadays I use Simm´s favorite foods (canned dog food, sausages and other fresh stuff). Still it is very important to change the reward often. Now I give Simm a reward when he has indicated an article which the tracklayer have left behind. He indicates articles by stopping and slapping the article with his paw.

Simm´s tracking training must be kept moderate and variable, because he gets bored very easily. Then he isn´t eager to find a track and doesn´t do his job precisely. Then it is wise to stop training for a while or maybe for a longer period and of course consider what went wrong. Were the rewards good enough, were the training sessions too similar, too easy or too difficult? One good thing to do is change the person who lays the track. New person is interesting :)

Agility

We attended pharaoh and ibizan hound agility course this summer. The course included five training lessions. I was (again) little surprised about Simm´s co-operations skills. He might have learned something in his obedience sessions ;) We trained mainly separete obstacles. Maybe we will be able to continue training with our friends in future.

Obedience

In spring 2005 we participated in obedience course once a week. Nowadays we train by ourselves every now and then. From the course I wanted especially tips for motivation and rewarding. Of course we trained also things that have no practical use for us, because I think all things I teach Simm, makes the next teaching lesson easier and he wants to keep in contact with me, when I have many nice tricks he wants to show me.

We haven´t planned participating any obedience competitions so our aim in training obedience is managing every day life and having fun! I think the hardest parts of training obedience with Simm are softness, independence and motivation. Softness is a problem when I want Simm to do something precisely. His motivation diminishes rapidly if he thinks training isn´t rewarding enough. He surely doesn´t have an urge to do tricks just for me... It can be sometimes pretty hard to find out which reward might be the right one on a particular day (or moment...). Today it can be a bit of sausauge, and tomorrow or within minutes it can change to a play moment. On the other hand I find Simm´s training very challenging which means that it can be very rewarding for me too, when we manage to do something fine.

I must train Simm in very short sessions, because he can get bored very quickly. As with other dogs this means stopping in the funniest moment. I must admit it is sometimes very hard for me to stop when I get excited about training. A good advice for me has been that you should decide beforehand which exercise(s) you are going to do and then make yourself clear that you will stop immediately after succeeding. Then training is pleasing for the dog and yourself. It is also helpful to consider training sessions in series of five exercises. At least four exercises of five (80%) should be successful. Counting exercises can be a rather instructive thing! Often one thinks that more exercises are successful than really are. When necessary you must make exercises easier so that the dog surely succeeds.

I don´t think this breed is made for obedience competitions, but I think that the training sessions are funny for these dogs also. And of course some level of obedience helps a lot in every day life. Simm is so conservative that when I get him suppose that some thing must be done in a some  way, he usually does it that way (at least accidentally) ;)

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