I want more precision / focus / attention to each footstep. I've used ALL the little tricks people have mentioned (serpentines, track difficulty, randomized rewards etc. etc.) for years. Just wanted some feedback on the specifics of using the dogs food.
This dog is good... too good and gets bored with simple tracks so she tends to get a bit sloppy if you're not careful.
If she's not showing interest in each footstep, since you say she needs more focus/attention, then possibly your choice of food is not enticing enough. Going to kibble (typically a LESS enticing choice) isn't likely to increase her desire to check each and every footstep.
Under normal circumstances, I would agree. However, hotdogs are treats and hunger can be a good motivator (I'm talking about actually feeding on the track). This dog is very different from the others I have trained... we will see... I may have to go back to the old Tom Rose method.
Her inherent drive is so strong to move forward and get to the end... even with no reward, force, or pressure of any kind... its bewildering. It'd be fantastic for police tracking... not so good for precision though.
Hey Dave,
I didn't check the board for the last 2 days. (Don't tell Ed!) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Bernhard said for clear nerved dogs to use the drag method with a reward at the end and for more thin nerved dogs (like MINE) use the daily ration of food on the track. One piece of food in each footstep and a small reward at the end (i.e. small dog biscuit). For the thinner nerved dogs the actual reward is THE TRACK while the calmer, more clear dogs need the END OF THE TRACK is the motivator. Even with the calmer dogs the reward is still a small biscuit.......not a huge steak or anything. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
SO, if you are using the food in footprints the dogs track is as long as the meal for the day. She gets no other food that day except on the track.
Is her reward at the end of the track too attractive - so that she is always thinking about getting to the jackpot or the ball playing at the end or whatever you use, rather than being interested in the actual working of the track? What kind of line handling are you doing to slow her down? What collar are you using? Between light pops (not steady resistance) on a prong AND increasing the difficulty of the tracks AND increasing the attractiveness of the food on the track AND decreasing the attractiveness of the finish, you will get a slower, more focused dog.
Dave,
I forgot to add that for a driven dog like yours when you use the food in footprints if she skips some of the food on the track that day DON'T let her backtrack when she gets to the end. I had always been taught to let young dogs go back down the track after they got to the end to pick up anything they miss, I guess this was to make tracking "fun" but if you do this with Bernhard's method it will pretty much cancel out the benefits of using the food.
She may take some time but she will learn that if she skips any footprints she will be missing her dinner!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Earlier today I laid a short track... but Kira was SO wired... she just wanted to play. She started fine... then found a more interesting scent about 15 feet into the track.... I was... well... pretty ticked... but managed to maintain control. I just pulled her off and put her back in her crate... no success.
We haven't done ANY tracks older than 15-20 minutes yet.
But 2 and a half hours later, I thought I'd experiment by letting her try the track again (its in a park and I'm sure people / dogs had walked all over it**).
She was PERFECT... I'm not sure what this means yet... but it was a learning experience.
**(FYI I started her puppy imprinting on hard surface and she ONLY tracks my scent right now).
Since my puppy was started on hard surface (where scent is a bit more sparse / dispersed), it seems that tracks on vegetation must be aged MORE so that the only scent that remains is in the footstep. When I do a vegetation track that is only 5 to 15 minutes old, she tends to RUN through it... about 18 inches off each footstep. It appears that the scent cloud is just too big at that stage... so she has to follow from the edge (outside) of the cloud.
Vic Wilms talked about this in a recent seminar also. I could be wrong... but its my current theory.
When you're just starting tracking, as I'm thinking of doing, does the handler lay the track or someone else? I've just read the introductory material in The Tracking Dog by Johnson. Any thoughts? Thanks a lot. Pam
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