Hello
Rotty Dog 10 half months old.
Have been tracking using kibble ,food in every step with very good success.
Have been varying suffaces,short grass,ankle length grass,cut grass,also starting to get dry grass with change of season.
My questions.
I have started doing tracks maybe 300 yards,first 3 quarters a nice pace nose deep ,accurate but all of a sudden he starts to speed up , head comes up ,then goes back down ,most times still on track its as if the dog looses interest.
Do you think that it's lack of motivation ,and dose dog need a more interesting bait.
Have tried not feeding before tracking but this just makes dog hectic.
Is this lack of motivation for the dog?
Keep in mind this boy is a rotty ,when he wants to train,fight,play its full on if he is in a lazy mood or tired its a waste of time trying to work him.
Anne Jones Webboard User Reg: 04-29-2004
Posts: 3825
Loc: Northeast
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Just a couple of thoughts.....Try using a higher value food on the track starting just short of where you are seeing him loose interest & see if that helps keep his focus.
It is possible that he is not ready to do tracks that long yet. The dog is VERY young. They have shorter attention spans then older more mature dogs. Sounds like you are trying to push him too fast & far & too soon.
Also might try to bury the bait so he has to search a bit harder & keep his nose down deeper.
Anne Jones Webboard User Reg: 04-29-2004
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Loc: Northeast
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Also some people start pups tracking by laying the tracks in circles. I have not done that, I always started with scent blocks & prceeded forward with short tracks(a step or 2 at a time)fronm there.
I think Ana, and a few others have started their pups that way. Maybe they will see this & can give some advise from that perspective. I can guess how & why of doing that, but would rather let someone with experience doing it chime in.
Keith Jenkins Webboard User Reg: 08-25-2003
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Loc: Virginia
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What you've described is pretty much a typical young rottie. I would take the suggestion and scale back a bit. Not every dog's work ethic developes at the same rate or to the same degree.
Keith Jenkins
Eli SchH3,FH,StP.3,BH,TD
Breitta v. Schwarzen Kobold BH,TR1
Argus vd Aunkst SchH3,BH,AD-2011 USRC National SchH3 Champion
Ana Kozlowsky Webboard User Reg: 01-21-2010
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The circular tracks are used to teach the dog to work methodically on his own. It sounds like this is not the issue here since the dog starts good and loses interest later?
300 yards with food in each FS - that's a lot of food. I'd remove part of the food from the track, space it randomly and make the track more interesting. He might not be ready for 300 yard tracks just yet or maybe same length tracks every time are too boring.
At 11 months old I'd be using articles on the track. It also adds excitement.
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