Tracking with asbo

after reading the thread SLB started on tracking, i followed dobermkoney's advice on there, and gave it a go in the field with asbo before.

we put on his harness and line and off we went. i set up the line to follow for him first, messed up a bit because i couldnt stay straight and i also need some markers as i couldnt remember quite where i'd done the last step

but im really very proud of him!

i took a step digging in my heel a bit then put a treat in each step with a bigger chunk of treat at the end. i know it says to use the words "track on" but i decided to use "find it" as thats what i already use if we loose a toy in long grass etc.

he started off a bit ropey and a bit squiggly, but after the first couple of steps he noticed they were in a line and he stayed straight.

i have a couple of questions though if anyone can help.

1) at the end i just gave him more of the treat he had, but i wondered if instead i could put a toy reward at the end for him, or does this defeat the object as that wasnt what he was tracking?

2) when we were done i let him follow the trail back. should i let him do this or not?

3) how do you make sure the dog knows that thats it you're finished? asbo was still keen to go on, but obviously i knew the trail was finished. so do you have a command word? and how do would i teach hes at the end of the trail?

will try and get some pictures next time, bit difficult when im doing it on my own.

Whenever I see it done on tv people all ways use a toy to track with then when the dog discovers it they have a really enthusiastic play!

Well done for giving it a go

I train tracking slightly differently to you, in that I don't use food at all, but do a very short straight leg initially (double laid) and leave the dog's favourite toy at the end.

I find (with my dogs at least) that they are more motivated by a toy and it therefore makes a better reward at the completion of the track.

I personally don't let them come back on the track we have laid - but not sure it really matters.

To signal the end of the track, I remove the harness.

When we did air scenting with class, the dogs had to sniff out a person using the wind.. the person then had a toy and had to play with the dog when the dog found them. Same for when they're doing mountain rescue training. So yes you could use a toy at the end and play with him. But I do think thats a different type of tracking, I'm not sure.

Not sure if you should let him follow it back or not. I think he's just looking for more treats, I'd take him on and carry playing with him and then do another exercise.

Number 3 I definitely don't know the answer too. Tracking is all about him using his nose to find something. If he's found it then there is nothing else to find.

As I said I'm not sure on all the answers - but thats my take, if they're wrong they're wrong. I'm sure someone will be along to correct me anyway

Ahh yes, reading Moobli's post, we put the harness on to signal work was to be done and at the end after the play, we took the harness off. Now I remember.

what do you mean by double laid?

i wasnt sure whether to use food or not, but seeing as i was following the advice from another thread thought i would give it a go, and he seemed to like to go after it and find the next bit, but he does usually love his toys, thats why i was unsure as whether to leave him one at the end of the trail.

There is nothing wrong with using food for training tracking, and some put a piece of food in every footprint to get the dog to keep his nose on the ground at all times. For the type of tracking that I do, it is more important to me that the dog tracks reasonable accurately and gets to the "reward" as quickly as possible.

It is perfectly feasible to use food until the end of the track and at the end put Asbo's toy. When he reaches the end, loads of praise, play with the toy and take his harness off - which will indicate over time that the track is complete.

Double laid just means that when initially training a dog to track I lay the track (with shuffled feet) in a straight line and then come back over my track back to the beginning, so there is double the amount of scent. Does that make sense? I only do this until my dog is following the short track with purpose and enthusiasm, and then go on to slightly longer single laid tracks, before adding in corners and extra legs etc.

ahh right, i may double track it next time then to give him a helping hand while he starts. think i will leave his toy at the end, he has one which is his favourite at the minute which is a tennis ball with a tail attatched
do you use a specific scent like some people do? i thought about training to a specific scent but im unsure.

I am not sure what advice was given to you by SLB I can only tall you what I do when training my own dogs (and those of others) over a couple of decades!

The first thing is to make sure that when you lay your track (if it is tracking you are doing) with the wind BEHIND you.

This is because if the wind is coming TOWARDS you the scent will be carried in the air and the dog will tend to lift its head.

If the wind is a cheek wind (ie from left or right) then the dog will often TRAIL rather than track.

BEFORE you lay your track, make a semi circle away from where you will start and then put two poles in the ground one in front of the other, about 6ft apart.

Retrace your steps.

Then put in the START pole so it is lined up with the two poles at the other end (this is so you can walk straight and you KNOW where the track is).

There are several methods of teaching tracking, food in each footstep, food drops, or dragging a toy; which one you use will often depend on the dog, there are pros and cons to each.

If you are going to use food, then use something that is not white eg avoid chicken or cheese on a dark background and vice versa.

I use Orijen.

Bending over can be very tiring, so get yourself one of those white plastic tubes from B & Q and drop the food down it into your toe print (the ones people use for making cheap agility jumps)

That way you can keep straight and you will not get tired.

At the end you can put a pile of food either in the open or in a clip box, take the harness off.

Of course in most competition tracking the purpose of it is to locate dropped articles, so we do not want the dog focused on the END but to find articles.

There are several methods of introducing this.

A dog should determine the reinforcer(s) not you, so for some dogs it will be food, some it will be toys etc.

Remember, generally speaking food calms, toys excite (so I track my GSD with food)

The words you use are totally irrelevant and when you start (as in all training) I find it best to avoid cues until I have the behaviour.

I never permit a dog to follow the trail back but then I have reasons for this.

HTH

There is absolutely no need to lay double tracks (IMHO) and of course I want a dog to follow footsteps ie the way a person is going.

There is no need to use a scent either, as the dog is already tracking a scent, ie crushed vegetation, etc.

HTH

What are your reasons for that SB?

That is interesting SB. I am just starting Zak off tracking and am always interested in alternative ways of training. You don't feel that double tracks are worthwhile?

It is also interesting regarding finding articles, as I was trained by two PD handlers and both trained the way I described in my post in reply here. However, obviously police dogs are also required to pick up any dropped or discarded articles when chasing a criminal, so I wonder why they don't train the way you describe. I think I will ask

Great, informative posts as ever, SB.