May 19, 2011
My two dogs pull much too hard when tracking. What can I do?
Full Question:
I read all your articles. They are very informative and have helped me a lot. I have a problem (I think) with my two dogs in tracking. When they start tracking the pull as if they were on the protection field trying to get the helper. It is a constant battle to hold them back. I give tugs to slow them down and in a calm voice say such? They have their nose to the ground but want to run the track? They miss the corners and the longer the track then the female will start to go from side to side more. Both dogs are very hyper (active) when out of the kennel it's non-stop, they are ready to go. They will work all day long. They are both two years old now. The bitch I bought from Germany at 14 month old and tracked like that when I got her. The male I have had since 13 weeks old and he started tracking like that the first day I started tracking him with hot dogs. I did not try to slow him down because I did not want to diminish his drive or desire to track.Thank you,
Bob
Ed's Answer:
I assume you are talking about sport tracking. Sport tracking is more of an obedience exercise than tracking. Many people new to the sport do not understand this very important issue. Yes - you have to train your dog to follow a track. But all dogs (with any drive at all) will want to run the track at a high speed. Your job as a trainer is to guide your dog through the process of learning to follow the track. Once the dog understands this process, then it's your job to slow the dog down in training. You can start the process by tracking in a prong collar, then the dog self corrects when he tracks and will slow a little on his own.
If you want to learn to do this properly, get my training video Training a Competition Tracking Dog.
You are not facing anything any differently than any other new handlers.
If you want to learn to do this properly, get my training video Training a Competition Tracking Dog.
You are not facing anything any differently than any other new handlers.
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