Please guys tell me how to put a track and to know exactly where the track goes? I know that you must have few object lets trees and so on not to loose track but then you in the field it sometimes happen to me especialy then you train young dogs who know what is tracking and you already do long track for IPO I but still they dont have stable working.
And also I have one ten months old bitch who is crazy for tracking, but she never eats only at the end. She is speeding all the time and she doesnt want to eat as I said only at the end. Should I continue put food in the track or no, cause as i'm trying to understand this bitch she just like tracking and the motivation for her is not food not ball, just tracking. how can it be? have you met such dogs? Thanx
I had have such a dog it was a Tervueren out of malinois bloodlines. It took me 15 min. for laying the track and he was done in 2 / 3 min. What you can do is lay a track. When you start laying the track you put your foot behind the other one(every 2 steps food) not beside one and other and you use a (In dutch: prikband geen knpv halsband). And with light tugs on the line you slow the dog down. The line must be under the dog. You can try this for 7 weeks. The next tip is one the video from Dildei, he learns his dogs tracking on akker(very soft one). He says iff a dog goes too fast he lays the steps far from each other and food in the heels off the step and force the dog too eat the food in the steps. And he doesn't put and reward at the end off the track. Iff the first one doesn't work after 7 weeks you don't see any result you can try the other one. Have a go good luck.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2005, 12:39:29 AM by Bjorn »
First about where the track goes. If you have dogs who knows what tracking is and know how to do it, where do you need the information where track goes? You said that your dogs are not stable trackers yet, well we are in same position then. But what I do, is that I read the dog. I can see is it tracking or not, has it loose the track and so on.
If the dog, or we can talk about malinois , is tracking it is concentrated, it's tail is down, mouth is shut and it's head is down. If the concentration collapses, me for example see it first from my dogs mouth. It will open it. My opinion is that when I'm practising I don't have to walk dogs behind, I walk it's side so I can see what it does. I'll give it enough space to work, but still so that I can see it.
With younger dogs I do so clear track that I can see it eventhough track has been in the field awhile.
Then your young lady... I would slow her down doing track which is old. Like I would do (if possible) the track the day before I go tracking. And now you must do the track very clearly, so you can see it next day. And then no food with every step, let's say every five steps rather. And when you start tracking, don't let the dog decide the speed, you are the one who decides how fast you two are tracking. Don't pull when your dog is pulling, rather make little short and sharp moves with your hand to slow the dog down. Remember, movements rather downwards than upwards. If the female is really motivated for tracking it won't mind you slowing her down.
I got some good advices from Jenni also. We see what will come out when it will be weather suitable for tracking. Now its tons of snow. I see you people in Finland really enjoy that tracking very much.
Hi Marius, I have a 13 month old Malinios and had the same problem. He didn't touch most of the food on the track and tried to do the track very fast. I started putting large food drops at least every 5 paces and left more space as he got more confident on the track. Just make sure the food drops are worth it so the dog will slow down for it. As for the pulling I started with small sharp pops and this works well as my dog is also very intense on the track. I have now started to use a belly harness that pulls the head down when he pulls and it works great. Good luck Randy
I will edit some in the explanation of Bjorn, to make it easier to read for everybody. ((no comments on training at all !))
Quote
What you can do is lay a track. When you start preparing the track you put your foot (make a narrow track) in front of the other one and at every 2 steps drop food. Do not drop food in between the footprints. You use a pinch-collar(In dutch: prikband). And with soft pops on the leash you slow the dog down. The line must be under the dog, between the legs. You can try this for 7 weeks.
The next tip is one the video from Dildei, he learns his dogs tracking on wheat field (dutch= akker) with very soft surface. Dildie says if a dog goes to fast he does lays the footprints far from each other and food in the heels off the step and force (!) the dog to eat the food in the steps. And he doesn't put and reward at the end off the track.
When the first one doesn't work after 7 weeks and you don't see any result, try the Dildei method.
My side note: patience is important. As Bjorn said...give the dog 7 weeks to get the idea of the new training and see the light. Keep training and guide him. Only after 7 weeks any evaluation is useful. Evaluations in between are just to be of any help to make the dog understand the goal of the training.
Just make sure the food drops are worth it so the dog will slow down for it. As for the pulling I started with small sharp pops and this works well as my dog is also very intense on the track.
Very interesting.
Bjorn uses pinch collar and soft pops, where you talk about small sharp pops. [rcoulas]: Do you use any correction collar or just a flat leather collar when you talk about small sharp pops ?
The belly harness work very well, I agree. When the dogs puls harder, his nose will be dragged down to plow. Without the belly harness the dog can pull himself of the track and go trailing (=follow scent cone in the wind).
What I do read here and does believe to: the intense drive to track is far more important.The strong motivation the dog does have to walk the track to the end makes possible to correct some behavior without ruining the drive to track/search.
Another tip I do use for intense trackers who loves to speed to the end: start hard surface tracking. Start teaching your dog to track on any hard surface but takes easy ones first. Smooth asphalt roads are last level. Gravel roads in between and sandy roads first. Avoid tracking on meadows and soft surface for a while. Use chalk to draw the track you are walking so you wouldn't get lost too. Your dog has to track intense and thus slow down. You only follow the dog when he goes into the right direction and got hot scent. The moment the dog lost the scent you stop walking and wait..but motivate him with words to keep going...to find the track.
What you get now: you have to start over tracking from scratch and now you have perfect situation to teach the dog to slow down and takes scent deeper at prints only. When your dogs tracks nice (perfect on asphalt is impossible) you will see the quality on any soft surface increased thousand times but you have entrance to your dog to make him slow down because actually trained. ---this tip only works for high motivated trackers---.
_ With Funk to Funky I had the same problem. Twice a week I made him track my wife through small city when she went shopping. 15 minutes old track and very contaminated. This made him an intense tracker who learned to solve any problem he encountered and find back the original track. When he went to Ohio (police team). The Chief instructor there made Funky track down a 30 minutes old track downtown a big city at noon -the time most people walk outside-. Funky succeeded there too. And downtown USA means asphalt only._
yes I do use a correction collar, but Rocco is very focused on the track. I never used a correction collar on my GSD but she was not as intense so it would do more damage then good. Randy
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, is tracking it is concentrated, it's tail is down, mouth is shut and it's head is down. If the concentration collapses, me for example see it first from my dogs mouth. It will open it. My opinion is that when I'm practising I don't have to walk dogs behind, I walk it's side so I can see what it does. I'll give it enough space to work, but still so that I can see it. 
I would slow her down doing track which is old. Like I would do (if possible) the track the day before I go tracking. And now you must do the track very clearly, so you can see it next day. And then no food with every step, let's say every five steps rather. And when you start tracking, don't let the dog decide the speed, you are the one who decides how fast you two are tracking. Don't pull when your dog is pulling, rather make little short and sharp moves with your hand to slow the dog down. Remember, movements rather downwards than upwards. If the female is really motivated for tracking it won't mind you slowing her down.
. Can't wait either spring and possibility to go tracking again.... 
