Matthew;

Are you tracking him with a harness or on the collar? Where / how do you run the line from thr harness/collar to yourself? Under his belly? Under one of his front legs? Or from the top? How fast is he tracking? When he quarters/casts is his mouth open or closed? What is happening at the end of the track? Play? A bite? Have you tracked anyone completely unknown to him yet?

I would not worry too much about this so long as there is no loss of track, but I certainly would shorten up that tracking line...for me, 10-12ft. is about right.

Dave.... will try a shorter line and the barefoot idea.

MIKE:Are you tracking him with a harness or on the collar?

ME: We're using a harness.

MIKE: Where / how do you run the line from thr harness/collar to yourself? Under his belly? Under one of his front legs? Or from the top?

ME: I'm running th line from the top of the harness to myself. I know some go under to pull the nose down but I don't see the nose coming up enough that I would be worried about it.

MIKE: When he quarters/casts is his mouth open or closed?

ME: His mouth is closed and he deffinatly is sniffing....he's loud when he tracks.

MIKE: What is happening at the end of the track? Play? A bite?

ME: Play is at the end of the track... He's transitioned to the sleve in his bitework but I don't think he's ready for bites at the end of the track...the play is plenty of motivation for him. We have not tried complete strangers yet. He has tracked me, my daughter, the neighbor girl, and my training partner who handeled him on my handler laid tracks.

Thanks for all the input.. in a few weeks I'll report on where were at. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

hey matt , i was instructed to always vary the length of the line ; when the dog is moving well on the track allow the line to slip slowly through your hand to increase the distance between you and the dog .
during those pauses when you stop to allow him to get back on track , shorten the line by several meters .
when he approaches cover changes increase tension and shorten the line , then as he gets " in the groove " and picks up his pace , let him pull you up to speed , and again increase the lead length slowly . continually change hands about two meters from the end of the line and let the dog pull the lead through your hand .
this method helps to gauge the lead tension and " rewards " the dog by letting him pull away from you .
BTW , these coaching tips came to me from the RCMP , it's basic line management

Hey Mat I would agree with Ian. Linework is esential. I was trained to not use too much line. When the dog is out to the full 30 feet it is harder to read changes in the dog's movements. When he starts "check tracking" I would move up the line and apply tension. You know where the track is and you need to let him know where you want him to be. Reward with the release of tension and the line release as he moves "on "the track.

you may want to age the track longer to eliminate any scent other than the dead and dying vegitation. I had a Psd that did this a bit and I was instructed to age the track and lay them 90degrees to the wind. This puts any scent cone to one side allowing you even more ability to read him coming off the track. for example you know the wind is coming from the right so there should be no reason for him to be right of the track.

Have you started with articles?

We have not started on articles... I don't intend to start on that for a while untill the tracking is as close to A+ as were going to get. We went out for a short 100 yd. track tonight before dinner. He cut the track nice... then quartered the track for about 10 yds. then boom...no quartering at all...straight line in to the quary. It looks like a funnel, big arc at the top narrowing down till it looks like he is confident that he is on the track. I did notice that the quartering has a deeper nose than when he is on the track.... it's about 3-4" off the deck when he is on the track. Tomorrow we'll try a corner and see what happens. Oh, I tied a knot in the line and only let him out a max of 15' today.

hey matt , don't get in the habit of tying that knot . later on you may have to drop the line in heavy cover , and that knot is going to jam on something as it whips its' way through the brush .

there will be times when you're right up behind the dog as he works his way through a tough section ( short lead , light tension ) then you " reward " him by allowing him to stretch that distance as he finds his stride on the " easier " stretches . don't pressure him when you're up close , just be there , part of the team .