Tracking with a Puppy.. - Page 1

What is the earlier age you have started tracking with a puppy??

What king of games you do with a pup to increase their tracking ability or to stimulate them to use their nose? Any new method??
I wanted to start with my little guy and was wondering if their is any new tricks that have been proven to work!

Drag their favorite things around the house and have them find them.   Toys or treats make finding them a game.

Are you asking about schutzhund tracking?  For that, I start with scent pads in the back yard as soon as I bring them home.  Then, I start going places and laying short tracks at around 12 weeks, food in every footstep.  This is to teach them they must search each footstep, not run over any.  Also in the beginning I am careful not to track in plowed dirt where the dog sees the footsteps, so that he learns I am asking him to use his nose, not  look for my footsteps.  I also use plow lines on the flat collar then the dead link of a fursaver around 6 months old when he is strong.  As he get the hang of it, and I am confident in him, I will add big sweeping serpentines and longer tracks.  When my pup gets to the end,  I make sure to let him know he did a great and wonderful job.

If you are talking about other kinds of tracking, like AKC or SAR, since I don't do them I would not want to speak on something I don't know the first thing about!!  I'm sure our other members will be able to provide more advise both on FST tracking and other kinds of tracking.

 Sorry I didn't mention..yes schutzhund tracking..The only tracking I know!! The dogs I have trained were all older (about 6 months to a year) so I was wondering about such young puppies..

Ok..so you start with scent pad..(what about the snow) I usually have pupies to train in the spring..now it's winter..This is my first winter litter..

And at twelve weeks..how much time between laying the track and working the track(about 15 min..) Or you lay the track and work it right away?
I always used collar for tracking..I know some prefer harness..never used it..For teaching I think it ia easier with a collar..when the dog doesn't exactly what to do..you can easily put the head back on the track.IMO

I agree, for me, a collar is easy and I just run the line under the dogs front leg  (each front leg with plow lines). 

In the beginning I don't wait too long, maybe  5 to 10 minutes.  I also tie the young pup  out while I'm laying the track so he can see me & I usually look at him and repeat  the search (such) command while I'm laying it.  Honestly, I don't think that does anything but it's my weird juju so I always do it with pups. I might lay 3 little tracks, then go sit with him and fire him up for a while, then take him to the first start flag all fired up. 

Also in the beginning I don't feed before tracking.

I don't know about tracking in the snow, I have never started a pup that way.  BUT I also know that if you wait until the spring your pup won't be any worse for waiting.  I too find it easier to train an older pup/young dog than the little ones, I just do the tracking thing for lack of anything else I want to do with them!   I know lots of folks who wait to start tracking until pups are 6 - 9 - 12 months old, & it certainly did not effect their dogs.

One thing, I don't ever drag my feet, not even with young pups.  With them, my stride is definitely shortened , but always separate footsteps.  Now i know people who start out puppies with draggging feet & they don't end up with problems either, it's just not the way I was taught.

Some good ideas can be found in Armin Winkler's various tracking articles found here:

http://www.schutzhundvillage.com/_nose1.html

How old is this puppy?

 He is only 10 weeks old..but he is looking for something interesting to do LOL..That's why I was thinking starting a little bit of tracking to get him to use his nose right away instead of with his eyes..

Also I find tracking a very stimulating experience for the brain and a very focusing exercice.  I think puppies are very food oriented and are always hungry so it should be fun to snif and find it.  I tought by  imprinting this exercise very early they might do it very naturally.  But I don't want to start too early..

But then again if you do it with fun..there is no age for that!!

Lots of people laying tracks are dragging their feet..I find (in this is just my opinion) that by dragging your feet..you let the scent go off the ground so it's no good for schutzhund tracking..maybe better for search and rescue that use more air scent.

We start our puppies "tracking" at 4-5 weeks by laying a short (5-6' long) trail on a sidewalk with food every step.  Basically this teaches the pup to use his nose. Then we move to short grass starting a scent pad and food in every step with a large food reward at the end.  ( Early dinner the night before tracking and breakfast is on the trail.)   As the pup gets older/better we decrease food to every other step or every third step and also lengthen and increase difficulty of the track. (Higher grass/wind conditions, ect) 

A puppy is never too young to learn something.   But they need to be puppies also.
While the puppy is just being a pup, you will want to learn what you want to know ahead of time.

I started my pup ( Not so much of a pup now in my avatar) at 10 weeks old. I started with the scent pads and then increased it to scent pad and 10 steps with food in each step. Then slowly increase depending on how the puppy is doing.  As Two Moons said "A puppy is never too young to learn something."