fast tracking
 

tried tagging this onto another thread, but ill try starting my own to see if i get some responses. ive been working with my girl bailey now for probably a couple months off/on depending on weather conditions. the problem i have is that she follows the track too fast, loses the track, and i end up practically guiding her down it myself. i know she gets the idea of what to do because later at night when i take her out for a bathroom break she'll go right to the start and do the whole track at a moderate/slow speed making sure she gets every treat she missed the first time. ive tried putting the leash underneath her to keep her nose down but she steps right over it. i seen someone suggest that on another thread. it may be my fault because in the early stages i would practice tangling the leash and have her step out of it. anyways, ive tried a harness, flat collar, prong collar using both rings so it doesnt tighten, flipped the prong collar inside out and used only one loop so it will tighten but with no prongs and i did one with her shock collar on (left over from our obedience classes) hoping she would just listen more with it on (didnt actually use it), but ive had no luck.

the past couple tracks ive been walking with her when she goes over it the second time slowly and encouraging/praising her as she makes her way down the track hoping it will carry over to her first time tracks, but i havent seen any improvement.

should i shorten her tracks? be more stiff on how far or what speed she can travel for awhile? i guess its just intiimidating that ive heard you should do minimal corrections when tracking so im cautious to jump to forcing her to do it.

any suggestions would be appreciated. this is something i started doing with the intent of just having fun and teaching bailey something different beyond just obedience/tricks.

thanks.

what is your leash tension like? if she tracks fast and inacurratly on a line but slow and methodical off the line when you let her out to pee then I'd guess your leash tension is increasing the speed

It is somewhat difficult to give advice without actually seeing the track, but here are a few simple fundemental things to think about.

1. Why is the dog so keen to get to the end of the track? Are you giving something at the end? If so, why?

2. Why is there food left over on the track? When I track, my dog MUST eat the food. If I was nice enough to put it down the dog must be appreciative enough to eat it. I do not allow the dog to just ignore food.

3. To me the dog must have some urgency to refind a lost track, this means there must be some pressure when the dog is off the track. If the the dog loses the track he must become very intent and urgent about finding it again.

When you have this sense of urgency to stay on the track then you can do things to make the track difficult; if the track is difficult and the dog wants to stay on the track then he will naturally slow down and be more careful.

Likewise, if the dog knows the articles you can use very small or buried articles so that the dog must be careful or he will miss them. If he misses them then this gives you an opportunity to make a little pressure. If the dog is concerned about missing articles then he will naturaly slow down and be more careful so that he does not miss them.

ETA:

Hunter makes a good point in regards to the line. You have to be aware of what you are making in the dog with the line.

first, thanks for the quick feedback.

as far as leash tension i tried to keep slack in the line, but it will quickly get tight as bailey starts running off track.

for the treats i mix in some larger ones as well as small ones. the training method im trying to follow starts with treats placed under steps of the track to encourage following the smell of the broken grass. some of the smaller treats i miss myself (the ones she gets the second time round) but when shes doing loops on either side of the track shell go right by even a larger peice of treat. then i have to bring her back onto the trail and walk her into it. maybe i will try just laying down article and give a treat reward only when she marks them.

at the end of the track her reward is excitement, praise and playing ball for a reward of finding the article. this is what shes in a hurry to get to. so maybe ill tone that down as well.

i do think if i can get a video of bailey tracking it would be easy to point out many things im doing wrong. i will try and get one in the next couple days and put it on here.

thanks again guys.

What do you do to make your dog eat the food? Does it cause stress?
Consistent line tension is necessary, IMO, as well as pulsing to set a rhythm. I also would do some serpentines which will help slow down the dog some.

so i should keep constant stress on her leash? ive seen videos of a lot of tracks trying to pick up things they do and it seems with the longer 30' leashes there is always slack in it. i dont have a 30' leash right now, just a ~10' nylon rope i have made into a leash (something lighter than our normal walking leash). as i said before i was hesitant to correct her since thats what we used during our obedience classes for doing something incorrect, a couple quick tugs on the leash/prong collar. i figured she would see the tension as correction even if she is on the track. guess i can always try some of these things with each track. no big deal if we go from bad to worse haha.

You are watching video's of trained dogs, not dogs in the learning phase. Seldom when we are teaching, do we let the line out more than 6-8 feet. You want to stay near your dog some....and let the dog work out the track, don't interfere but let your dog know you are with him(that comes from the line tension) Some people talk/praise others remain silent. Different thoughts on that. And it does depend on the dog.
I'd get with a good tracking instructor so you don't have to fix things in the future.

One other thing to try, lay two or three tracks, the first one short/straight so the dog can get out the hectic behavior then will settle better when you get to the next one. I wouldn't let her "retrack"
And if you want to slow her down, you could wrap the line around her midsection so the tension she puts on it will tighten up some~ similar to a bottcher harness.

Is your dog hungry when she tracks? If she is not hungry and maybe even a bit over weight there will be less incentive for her to find all of the food. I don't advocate starving dogs so they will track (I would rather breed dogs with high food drive), but they do have to have some reason to want that food. Also, no more play or jackpot at the end of the track. She is rushing to get to the end.

Without seeing the tracks it is difficult for us to help. Sounds like she is casting a lot (going back and forth searching for the track) so the tracks may be too difficult for her. How old is she?

1. How is the start of your track? That is one thing that more time normally needs to stay on, teaching the scent pad. That sets the pace for the track...

2. Leash handling. Any slack not good.