09/20/2026
Nice message just received from one of our puppy owners.
Hey Kevin, I wanted to give you an update on Buck. He’s progressing wonderfully with both obedience and tracking. He’s got a really good nose and genuinely seems to enjoy figuring out the puzzle and finding his prize.
I started him in the yard about three times a week with deer hide drags across the lawn. At first I kept the tracks straight and varied the distance. Once I noticed he was anticipating that the prize would always be straight ahead, I started jogging the line and changing directions so he had to trust his nose instead. Eventually I started hiding the prize completely. It’s been fun watching him figure out that he needs to actually work the track rather than guess where it ends.
The attached video was his first track ever in the woods, and I purposely made it challenging. I dragged a beef liver down a slope through leaves and brush, terrain he’d never worked before. I expected that to give him some pause. Welp… apparently not. 😂
He stayed on the track the whole way. At the end I put a jog in the line and he overshot it, but without any help he stopped, backtracked, picked the scent back up and found the turn and his prize. You can probably tell from the video I was just as excited as he was. I’d say we’ve officially graduated from the lawn and can start running tracks in the woods now!
On the obedience side, we’ve been working on recall and normal leash walking. I’ve also introduced my whistle for recall and he’s doing very well with it. He is VERY food driven, which took me a little getting used to. I pretty much walk around with treats in my pocket all the time now. 😂
I couldn’t be happier with how he’s progressing. He loves to work and it’s been really fun watching him figure things out.
I don’t have Facebook, but feel free to share the update and video if you’d like. As we start progressing with tracks in the woods, I’m sure I’ll have plenty more videos. I’ll definitely keep sharing his progress with you!
