I have returned to FST style tracking with Cyra - 6months GSD/SAR future(as opposed to TTD) until she is a little bit more mature. We have had no problems with TTD style tracking and she has done simply marvelous and had also done some air scent problems mixed in (J hook with wind blowing from victim to track), but I have had several tell me that (1) waiting to do runaways and major air scent problems can really wait until a dog is over a year and (2) that FST can help with focus and precision in the future.

Everything we are doing is motivational and she picked right up on going back to a tighter more precise pattern after I would not let her advance unless her nose was down in the center of the track. I do, now have an observation -- question.

Once we got to the end of the track (with a leather tug that spent some time under my armpit AND some hot dogs), I released her (Lord I look like a fool with "All Done" and my arms flailing) and tried to engage her in play (she likes this tug) but all she could think about was to continue scanning the ground for more scent and was pretty frantic about it.

I am scared that since we started TTD earlier, she may be looking for her victim (but I laid the track) and I don't want to be setting up an "extinction" scenario.....as I will need her to be aggressive about scanning for scent when she loses it in real life in the future. Any comments on what is going on? Where next?

Try hiding the tug at the end of the track. That way she has an "end article" to designate the completion of the track. You can get more and more inventive with hiding the tug as she gets better and more experienced.

So like throw some grass or leaves over it so it is not just "there"

...I did have it at the end of the track but I did not think of "hiding" it. Ok, will try that, thanks.