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Hello all, I hope I've posted this topic in the correct place.

 

Over the last couple of days I've introduced Percy to tracking and, because it's new to me as well, I was looking for a little advice.

 

I started with some really short tracks yesterday with some treats to encourage him to get his nose down and moving forward. That worked fine, and he seemed to understand what we were doing pretty quickly.

 

This morning I set up two tracks of 70 meteres and then 80 metres and, to my surprise/delight, he completed the tracks with just a couple of small redirections from me.

 

And that's the question....how far do I allow him to stray off the track before getting him back on course? (Would it also be advisable to hold him back a bit on the tracking line to slow his pace down?)

 

Chris

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I just started one of mine in tracking recently as well and find it fascinating how quickly the dogs pick it up. I was told to leave the leash loose to let him figure it out. It may differ based on why you're tracking, whether it's for sport or for practical reasons. What we're teaching mine is SAR tracking/trailing.

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I would want to avoid all correction/redirection at this early stage of training. So I would use more treats in your track at this point so he naturally learns to keep his nose in the track - if you have a treat every few steps he should slow down a bit and stay in the track better.

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That's great, thank you very much for your advice.

 

Because it's so new it's really thrilling when I see him change direction at right angles exactly where I laid the track. I've been making the tracks in the woods by dragging my feet through the earth and fallen leaves which makes it easy to see where he should be going.

 

I'll do some more tomorrow.

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That's great, thank you very much for your advice.

 

Because it's so new it's really thrilling when I see him change direction at right angles exactly where I laid the track. I've been making the tracks in the woods by dragging my feet through the earth and fallen leaves which makes it easy to see where he should be going.

 

I'll do some more tomorrow.

 

I have done a bit of tracking under the guidance of a lady who has 25-30 years experience in SAR/tracking. She currently trains the local SAR group.

 

Dragging your feet (whether through the leaves in the woods or along a track in the grass) at the beginning is a great way to leave a lot of scent for a beginning dog to follow. We started in a mowed field and used small flags to mark turns.

 

I am not saying one way is better than the other (since so much can depend on the dog's interest/ability), but we started with very few treats along a short track. The trainer wanted the dog to smell the human scent, not to try and smell for the next treat a short distance up the track. Also, treats were never put at turns. They were placed about 5-10 feet beyond the turn. The trainer's philosophy was to advance the dog as quickly as possible since it is such an instinctive, and pleasurable, activity (for most dogs). Of course, if the dog had difficulty with a task, we would quickly make it easier so the dog could succeed.

 

I would say that if he is going too fast and starts making too many mistakes, you should redirect him - but that may also be an indication that it is too easy for him, and you may want to add a little more difficulty here and there so that he has to concentrate (and slow down) to stay on the track.

 

Do you have someone locally who can mentor you? i.e. that can see how you are doing with your dog so they can provide guidance.

 

Jovi

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