Hey! I am looking for problem-solving ideas for my GSD. She is 20mos old and I am working towards certification in SAR trailing work. She got off to a great start at 9mos old but the newness of the game is wearing off.

I am now having trouble with inordinate interest in crosstracks. She follows them 3-5 feet and then will go back to the trail (sometimes I have to say something to her). What would any of you do to correct this issue?

I can't claim to be a trailing expert - I have done some trailing but am focusing on cadaver but I have some quesitons that may help someone who is more qualified (I do still flank for other trailing dogs)

How is she doing at casting to find the start of the trail? She should be handling plenty of contamination there.

(Number one reason for failing the trailing tests is not being able to find the start of the trail)

Does she pull a negative on her own after 3-5 feet or keep working the wrong trail? The first thing does not sound like a real problem, but if she actually follows the wrong trail it would and I would back up and work on scent discrimination.

How does she get back on the correct trail? Do you put her back on or does she cast herself back on or do you have to cast her?

How does she handle splits?

Newness wearing off? Is she still having fun, motivated? Are you mixing it up (short trails, long trails, fresh trails, aged trails) so that she never knows whether it will be quick and easy or long and hard?

Are you only changing out one variable at a time when you do somehting new?

Don't worry about *expert*! I am looking for input to think over...lol

We are already following the guidlines listed above, such as varying age/distance, only one new thing at a time...She DOES cast decently, still needs some assistance occasionally but on a known trail she finds the start around 99% of the time.

She does splits beautifully and I am scenting her off all KINDS of stuff.

She DOES pull off of negatives for me on her own at least 90% of the time, but sometimes I get impatient because she STOPS and snuffs which is the "I'm not working" sign.


I tell her to leave it and she bounces right back to the trail. She literally memorizes where it is, checks out the scenery and bounces like a kangaroo back to where she left off. SO obvious she's not lost or having contamination issues. This behavior has been present in some form for 2-3 months now.

It looks like the beginning of boredom, or bucking the system so somehow I need to make it MORE exiting? If she loses her drive she will not be a dependable trailing dog. How big of an issue is this (I'm afraid it will get worse if ignored), and any ideas to help re-create the singleminded hauling we started with?

What happens with the "helper" at the end of your trails?

It has got to be the most favorite thing for her to do when she finds the person. And then, the most favorite thing is used only for trailing.......

So she is getting short motivational stuff mixed in with the longer stuff - stuff less than a quarter mile / 20-30 minutes /easy problems / big paycheck.

REALLY good paycheck at the end? How is she interacting with the subject? Do they reward her or do you? Does your team have a philosophy on this?

Was she doing these cross tracks fine before? What was different?

I have seen people walk into the dogs butt if they pause too long and it is clear they are not working; avoids a correction but gets the point across.

Something else that worked for a friend

Her dog was not getting bored - she would take her to training and NOT work her. That jazzed her up to see other dogs working and her not.

Also, are YOU fast enough for your dog? If you are slowing the dog down too much that can have a negative impact.

 Quote: Nancy Jocoy

I have seen people walk into the dogs butt if they pause too long and it is clear they are not working; avoids a correction but gets the point across.

I do this with Max if he is lagging, just keep walking and walk right into him and don't say a word to him.

Thanks! yes she is getting a nice mix. I am not sure what changed things but I noticed it this fall. She used to just ignore all crosstracks, man or animal.

And no, I may not be fast enough for her. Sometimes I have to stop her for a minute to breathe, she wants to GO sometimes and it can be challenging to keep up. She does go right back to work when I say ok though.

I could change the paycheck, try 'climbing into her trunk' and also like the NOT working her thing....she goes NUTS when she sees another dog work. Would VARYING the reward work? Currently I use a tug toy which she likes, but she likes balls, squeakies and food alot too. Does it help if there is a SUPRISE at the end instead of a known reward?

Almost forgot: in our team we use the SUBJECT to reward, the handler does not. Most of the time she is very interested but it can be challenging sometimes to find a REALLY exiting subject - people seem to be embarrassed about shrieking and flailing around in an exiting manner....good subjects can be hard to come by!

I think trailing should be an olympic sport. When I got my current dog I had to do some real soul searching (and decided there was no way I could keep up with him (each dog is different) and work a line so we are doing cadaver. I know from my own experience that if you are not going at their pace they can get bored and start farting around.

She needs the one reward that turns her on the most. Then she only gets it for trailing. I would rather not work a dog than work on crappy subject. They are critical to your sucess.

Thanks so much everyone for the input!