Off season tracking training...the devil is in the details. Part 3: Set a routine

Whether training a new puppy or a seasoned veteran, it is important to establish a routine in your tracking.  This begins with making sure that you, the tracker have all of your necessary equipment with you on a track.  This is most easily accomplished by having a tracking pack or vest with your essential equipment in it.  If I leave without my vest, I will invariably forget at least one piece of essential equipment.  Getting deep into unfamiliar woods without an excellent flashlight and extra batteries can ruin the best of tracks.  Have a place where all of your equipment stays, and always bring it along.  

This routine also helps to condition your dog.  When my dogs see me load up my vest or grab a tracking lead, their excitement level rises.  The equipment becomes a cue that begins to prepare them mentally for what we are about to do.  Once we arrive at our tracking sight, whether on a training track or a live track, the dogs sit while the tracking lead gets untangled.  Their tracking collars or vests then go on as a further cue, followed by the lead.  All of this routine serves to excite the dog in preparation for the track.  For my versatile dog, it also distinguishes this activity from other hunting activities that we do together such as quail or rabbit hunting.  The routine is unique and well ingrained into each dog's mind from dozens of previous tracking lines.  Each dog knows that this routine means that we are tracking.  We are not chasing bunnies.  We are not going for a walk.  We are not exploring the woods.  We are tracking.

I have watched other trackers struggle with this routine, and have seen their dogs struggle as a result.  Often a less experienced tracker may use the tracking lead to walk his dog in the field or even while at home.  Other trackers use a tracking harness or vest, but also use it for other daily activities.  This may not create a problem for every dog, but it does more often than not in my experience.  When a dog is used to being walked on the same long lead, he develops no association between tracking and the lead.  Consequently, the dog is just as likely to take a stroll through the woods than follow a faint blood track.  In the same way, if the dog wears the same harness for hikes that he does for tracking, the dog may think that he is going for a hike once the harness is applied.  Instead, I like to carry a short nylon lead to walk the dogs.  This lead, or one similar, is used for all non-tracking tasks, such as daily walks, trips to the vet, or moving from the truck to the tracking area.  The tracking lead is only attached once the dog is sitting close to the scent line, waiting to start the track.  The lead is removed immediately after the track is completed, and the short leash placed back on if the dog requires restraining.

I have seen the issues of inconsistent cues cause great frustration for trackers who do not put all the pieces of the puzzle together.  It is easy to overlook, but a consistent, unique routine is important in building a solid blood trailing dog.  Having confidence that your dog knows its task, and is going to perform it well also helps the tracker focus on the track.  One of the last things that I ever want to have happen after travelling hours to recover a deer is to have a dog just ramble around, and fail to work a track at all because it thinks that we are out on a stroll!

Verbal cues are equally important to visual cues for your dog.  Set a tracking command, and stick to it.  Keep the cue simple such as "track it" or "find it."  Make sure that the cue is unique, and not one you use for non-tracking tasks.  Reinforce this cue every time you track.  You can also use the same key words to encourage your dog when it is having difficulty with a track, or simply losing interest.  

I also use cues while getting my dogs ready for a track.  When I am loading and unloading the dogs in preparation for a track I ask them with some excitement in my tone of voice "Do you want to go to work?"  Though I typically like to avoid long phrases with training, a simple repetitive phrase like this in conjunction with the visual cues of loading up my tracking vest is enough to peak the dog's interest in the track to come.  Once the dogs hit the ground, there is no doubt left in their minds as to what the mission is.

Building cues into your tracking routine will help build a confident, focused tracking team.  Following these basic steps, and consistently reinforcing them will definitely improve your tracking success.

Good hunting!  Brady