Schutzhund tracking questions - Page 3

Hi all,

I missed over a month of tracking due to health problems, but we are back on a schedule now.   A new problem that I have encountered is ants covering the hot dog bits.  Our training director advised me to help the dog through it because he is getting rewarded and punished at the same time, which makes sense. 

I would like to try for SchH1 in November so I want to minimize unnecessary distractions and eliminate anything that may slow down our progress.  My question is (and sorry if it sounds stupid): Is there a time of the day when ants are less active? 

Thanks in advance. :)

Topli it's been my experience that ants are going to be ants no matter the time of day.

I stopped using hot dogs and switched to making my own tracking bait.  It's liver mixed with garlic, flour and oil.  The dogs love it and the ants seem to hate the garlic.