I have been working on footstep tracking with my shepherd.(5 MO OLD) I dont have any experience at this and am using the methods from Sue Barwigs shutzhund book. My dog seems to love it. The problem she has though is she will often go so far, then turn around and seek back up the trail, then turn and go forward and do this back and forth till she hits the trails reward pile. Should I let her do this? Also as many of the trails we make are in our own yard she will want to take the trail later in the day when we are out playing. There is no reward then. Does that do any harm?

I wouldn't allow her to backtrack freely. Stay close to her (but not crowding her, which can push them down the track faster than you intended), and when she turns around and backtracks, only allow her to go back about a full body length, then simply stop giving her any more line. Block her in other words, NOT correct her. When she finds that she can't go any further and there are no food rewards back there to get, she'll turn around and work her way forwards again and you calmly praise that. And never allow her to work the track and pick up any missed food after the track is over. It's a one-time opportunity; miss it the first time, it's gone. So if you're tracking in your own yard and she misses some food drops, go put her up and then go back and pick up any missed food. I'm not a fan of tracking in your own yard, cuz for every reward-laden track that is teaching her that following your scent is a good thing, she's going back later and finding that the same behavior is not rewarding any more. And much later, when the food is sporadic, I absolutely wouldn't track in your own yard. Too much chance that your scent is in other places besides just in the footprints we want her to follow.

Lee
Do you use hot dogs in the begining or something less odiferous?
Ron

I always use Biljac frozen. It's impossible to see with the eye, it's very small, doesn't have a strong odor, and it's relatively greaseless so it doesn't attract the ants so much.

Another way, some other thoughts. Why does it matter which direction the pup is tracking, as long as the pup learns scenting behavior???? I track my pups in my yard ( 2 acres ) to start just as I teach my dog’s sits, downs, etc. at home before taking them out for distractions. If the pup gets to the end of the track and has left a lot of food on the track I take them back to the start and track again. Sometimes I will let them back-track( into the wind ) for another learning experience. My only concern is that they are motivated and learning to track. If they go off the track I wait to see if they correct themselves. No talking, the praise ( reinforcement ) comes from the track and tracking behavior. This beginning period is my one-time opportunity to teach (motivate) the pup to use its nose and learn tracking behavior. If there is any food left on the track my older dogs love to free track, even when there is nothing there they work the track for some time. The food is only a means to an end; you should be teaching the dog to track footsteps not food. When the time comes to start tracking training ( compulsion) the dog knows the proper behavior to use to reach his reinforcement. Find a good trainer who can be there to help you.

The drawback to allowing the pup to retrack over where it has already been is that eventually most of them figure out that the BEST part is at the end (some kind of final reward that is larger or tastier than the rest), so they find it is to their advantage to hurry to get to the end, get the reward, then take their time picking up the remnants they missed in the track itself. This can be in conflict with the slow, careful, footstep-to-footstep tracking that we want.

Then the track becomes the only reinforcement with nothing at the end.

You can still put a reward at the end, but they recognize that it's like putting their dinner down for only 5 minutes: it's eat it NOW or lose it, so they are more careful to get every piece along the track rather than rush to the jackpot and then backtrack for the lesser value food.

For everyone reading, consider this; Dogs know how to track, trail, and air scent just as they know how to sit and down. We only teach/train them how and when we want them to do it for us. If the dog rushes to the end of a track without checking most of the footsteps then why would I want to put a reward at the end???? The dog is telling me (read your dog ) I’m doing something wrong if I’m trying to make him a footstep tracker. Dogs do not rationalize or recognize the reasons for our efforts and work to satisfy themselves which reinforces their own instincts.

Thanks for the info! So I shouldnt let her go backwards or retake the track later. The main reason that I was tracking in the yard was that I got one of Ed's tapes (training police search and rescue tracking dogs) and somewhere in there I thought it mentioned scent hanging high in long grass. (I know that this is not a beginer training tape but I was dogless at the time and just wanted to see the dogs work.) I thought that that info made sence even in footstep tracking. In my feilds the grass is sort of long. Mabey a school yard after hours? Also has any one heard of a method where you drag meat behind you and dont actually leave it in the track till the end?