Switching from self laid to helper laid tracks

[pfitzpa1]

What's the general opinion on this? I switched this morning after my first week of working Maggie on self laid tracks and she just didn't seem interested. Could it be that she has no problem following my tracks but has yet to get that she can follow other tracks as well?

[lhczth]

I rarely run blind tracks. My dog and I am a team so I need to know where my track is so I can help my dog in the learning stages AND so I can learn to read my dog when he has lost scent. I will run a few blind tracks with new articles as I prepare for trials since I have had one dog that wasn't sure she should indicate the strange articles. My first dog saw maybe 4 blind tracks and 1 of those was the TD certification track and another was the TD. We had 2 other blind tracks in the two years I was tracking her. My second dog saw 2 blind tracks. Her SchH2 and her SchH3.

I know, that didn't answer your question. It could be that she was tired from playing beforehand or she sensed that you were not as confident on a blind track thus causing her to also not be confident. You are a team.

[pfitzpa1]

They're not very "blind", in the sense that we track in sandy ground so I can see the trail that has been laid (plus we're only doing straight lines right now).

I did an experiment in the local park today, I did one single laid (normal steps) with the wind and another double laid (shuffle steps) into the wind. She broke off the single laid several times but the double laid she locked on to right to the end. This seems to match what was happening last week, where she had no problem with the double laid tracks I was making.

Maybe too many variables changed at this mornings session, double to single and my buddy and I swapping laying roles.

Not sure how to proceed, maybe keep laying the tracks myself for a bit?


P.S when you lay single tracks for a starter pup do you walk normal pace or shuffle?

[pfitzpa1]

So this morning we did 2 rounds of 10,20,40yd straight line tracks (self ) double laid with the wind, aged 10mins. Maggie picked up on all of them. At the end we switched one track, maggie ran my buddys 20yd track and he ran my 40yd track, with helper article at start as well. She wasn't sure for the first few feet but something seemed to suddenly click with her and she tracked it perfectly.

We also kept the dogs separate before/between and after tracking, so no other dog interaction. I think the switch back to double laid, and the dog isolation really helped her regain her focus.

[lhczth]

When I go from the double laid track to the single laid track I do tend to still shuffle. Once I see the pup understands what I want then I go to foot step tracking. What I do also will depend on the terrain and conditions. I add corners very early in the training (usually by the second week) though I do continue to lay corners very heavily for a long time. With Elena I am doing straight tracks with corners on some days, then I might do a serpentine another day. This is working well with her (or was before I took the winter off from tracking).

[pfitzpa1]

Originally Posted by lhczth

When I go from the double laid track to the single laid track I do tend to still shuffle. Once I see the pup understands what I want then I go to foot step tracking. What I do also will depend on the terrain and conditions. I add corners very early in the training (usually by the second week) though I do continue to lay corners very heavily for a long time. With Elena I am doing straight tracks with corners on some days, then I might do a serpentine another day. This is working well with her (or was before I took the winter off from tracking).

Thanks, it's good to get some thoughts/input from other trackers.

Our schutzhund club also does tracking but it's not very organized (there's no stepped process that I'm aware of and I think the focus is very specific to IPO), plus I only get to talk to them for a short while each weekend.