In TTD, how far away from the actual footsteps is is acceptable for the dog to track (or "trail", if you want to get technical)?

Bump.

Sorry if it's a dumb question........

this is not a dumb question. i am very interested in hearing replies myself. has there been none because so many of us are unsure. one of the members of our search group went to a seminar put on by jack shuller and came back with info that in training a dog you should keep the dog on a tight as well as short lease and if the dog gets off of the trail to pull the dog back on top of the trail and repeating this in training and the the dog will learn to become trail sure. and that when a dog becomes trail sure he will pull hard into the leash and its becomes very hard to pull the dog off of the trail, as the dog is so sure of itself. i have a leerburg dog and he will cast about the (track) and for the most part won't get more than say 3 1/2 to 4 yards off the track at most. and if he does get off the (track) he will generally circle back until he is back on the (track). but i would like to hear comments from ed frawley on this issue as i don't believe he covered that in his tracking videos. (that is not to a certain distance off of the track). also would like to hear comments from kevin s. as well as the man from the rcmp that helped ed with his ttd videos. (can't think of his name right now).ps - - the member of our group that went to jack's seminar came back very pleased with the info on what he had learned. it was a very postive experience for him. but i am also still searching for the answer to your question and look forward to hearing some very postive comments back on this issue. allen byrd (jab)

I wish I could have attended the seminar last weekend, but I just found out about it today. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

What I have been urged to do is keep my dog literally right ON TOP of the footsteps. The reason that I am asking this question is that it seems really unnatural for my dog to track this way, and I often feel as if we are fighting one another rather than working together. If I allow him to track his own way, he tracks no further than 3-6 feet off the footsteps, and he is much happier, and so am I. So, I'm really curious to know what others who are more experienced than I think about this.

what i've allowed my dogs to do on the track varies depending on the dog's abilities and the purpose.
athena liked to track about 3 feet to either the left or the right of the track. she always stayed parallel to it. but if she was off to the left, and there was a right turn, she would have a lot of difficulty finding it and get frantic.
i worked on this endlessly, and then discovered if i let her track off lead, she nailed it. so i think it as something i was creating.
casey likes to zig-zag across the track. it works well for him, so i allow it. it also makes him easier to read. when he goes in a straight line, he is not really tracking.
morgan likes to track with her nose on the track, and her feet on one side of the track. she won't walk on the track.
unless i'm doing schutzhund with the dog, i pretty much let them do what's comfortable for them, as long as it works.

My gut instinct is that I should encourage him to stay closer to the track, but that I should also let him track how he is comfortable; a happy medium. We should be working as a team, not against one another. If trying to make him track a certain way is leading to problems, why do it? If he's on scent, and going the right direction, what does it matter if he is right on top of the footsteps or six feet away? I'm hoping to get some thoughts on this from others.

It is easier for the handler to get off track than the dog in TTD. Handlers forget the goal of the work is to get to the end as quickly as possible. It does not matter if a dog tracks to the left or right or zig zag - as long as its done quickly. Dogs are trained to track fast and quickly indicate "track loss". Handlers (not dogs) get into problems when they proceed too fast in this training. A handler that allows his dog to go 40 feet past a corner just made a mistake - he went to far or was working an un-known track before his dog was ready for it.

ed: thanks for your reply. i think that tango is pretty good on his tracks and yes he has made mistakes in the past as any dog will, especially when they are on the learning curve. i also have to say that most of the mistakes made while training have been on my part as the learning curve also applies to the handler as well.i also believe that sar work is like most work, there is always something new to learn. more replies from others would still be appreciated. does the lack of responses mean most are not sure of the answer?i think that if the dog is reasonably close to the track and can be successful in their finds (say 85% of the time)then the dog and handler must be doing something right.

Based upon your response, Ed, I think we're doing pretty good. My dog likes to track quickly, and he does indicate loss of track usually within a few yards of a change in direction. His indication is that he will stop moving forward and will begin casting about in the direction from which he came.

I guess I'll keep doing what I've been doing. Maybe I should break out that tape again! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Thanks for your response.

lisa , you've got the right idea . keep working known tracks with known corners , until you can absolutely , positively recognize track loss in your dog . your initial question : you may at times get way , way off the track for any number of reasons , the important thing is to recognize the last positive track , establish a perimeter , and then give your dog the opportunity to cut ( pick up ) the track again . as ed said ,you are tracking faster than the person who laid the track so you have to allow for some "error"