Tracking Question - Page 1

Hi, I have started or am just getting my two female pups started on tracking the one female is great But I do not use food on the track she does supper without And I don't see the nead to use food the other female is doing well but needs a lot more work. But here is the real question " SHOULD I USE FOOD OR SHOULD I STICK WITH THE WAY I HAVE BEEN DOING IT ?" I feel that food is not the amswere but a friend keeps saying that I should use food because to not use food would mean that the dogs won't do as well is this correct? My 5 year old SCH III female never was used to track with food and she scores 98 on her tracking and loves to track. Please What would You guys do???

Do whichever method works for you and the dog you're training. I always start with food and then switch over to a toy. I live in the desert and we have alot of ants which can create problems as they can totally cover the food by the time you age the track. I think you answered your own question in that your female scored a 98 and loves to track. Again, alot depends on the drives of the dog and the natural ability it has.

I live in Florida (a lot of sand and ants) and we track in the dirt (sand) all the time and use food (hot dogs)...The real trick is to keep the ants off the food long enough to run the track...You can do a few things that help...1) Track early in the mornings...just as the sun rises (a lot less ants)...2) Freeze your hot dogs (attracts less ants)...I always use food on a track...except just before a trail I start to take it back away...and then when the trail is over with I put food back on the track...Dogs, like us, need motivation...Do you think a SchH IPO3 dog is motivated all by themselves to go and do something that they've done for about a thousand times before?...Our job as trainers/handlers is to give our dogs whatever it is that helps them be a better dog in the future...With a multiple SchH dog you are no longer teaching them anything...you are only refreshing what they already know and you must keep them interested in doing it... ~Bob~

Good points Bob. One other method we use is to take a half chicken, let it thaw good so it's dripping. We tie a rope to it and drag behind us as we lay the track. At the end of the track we have a reward of food at first then alternate between food and toy. You can adjust your steps as needed and also where you drag the chicken.