Increasing
Non-Food Footprints!

Decreasing food in the footprints is the most difficult part of tracking training and is the reason most people don’t like to use food for operant conditioning on the track. At first, you decrease the food pace by pace. The most important concept to remember is to increase the number of non-food footprints by three to five paces for several sessions. As you begin to remove food, watch your dog’s behavior in the non-food area. If the dog stays focused, and does not waver from side to side, you can increase the length of the non-food area by two more paces. Usually, you will see the dog enter the non-food area and then begin to swing wider or cast about looking for the food scent. It may be only one foot to each side, but he will not be going from footprint to footprint. This simply means that he doesn’t understand that the next footprint might have food. He is looking for the food rather than concentrating on the footprints. Keep the number of paces without food the same until he stays concentrated for the length of the non-food area. Increase the non-food area SLOWLY!

I’ll start with a non-food area of 3 to 5 paces. When the dog is focused for the entire length of the non-food area for several training sessions, I’ll increase to 7 to 10 paces of no food. At first the dog will probably waiver in the non-food area. Once the dog does not waiver, the non-food area can be increased to 12 to 14 paces, then 16 to 20 paces and so on. When you only place one or two pieces of food in a row, the dog will begin to rush forward looking for the single piece of food. With food in 5 to 15 footprints, he will always hope that the next footprint will produce food.

In the end, I will have food areas of 5 to 15 paces on each 200 to 250 pace leg of the track. I simply mix up the location on each leg. There must be a reason for the dog to track! If you increase the non-food area too quickly, the dog will lose focus. The idea is for the dog to stay focused on the footprints. He should be moving from footprint to footprint. If not, decrease the non-food area.

For a long time, I will place an article on each 200 pace leg. So the dog will have two possibilities of being rewarded on each leg; the article and food in footprints. Most people make the mistake of placing a single piece of food on a leg. Guess what? After one month of a single piece of food on each leg, the dog will stop tracking. Why should he track? There is no reward for the footprints! Occasionally, I will bury a single piece of food. The dog will be forced to uncover the food.

Remember that the dog must always track with confidence, and confidence comes from rewards (praise, food, articles, etc.). Tracking is basic operant conditioning training. Follow the footprints to find the rewards. You are creating understanding in searching for footprints by using operant conditioning. Articles will help reduce the amount of food on the track to a minimal amount. Dogs like to be correct. They’re creatures of habit and patterns. Survival can mean following patterns that earn food or keep them safe from danger. That translates into wanting to follow the correct pattern in training. When patterns change or the dog thinks their pattern was the correct behavior but it wasn’t, they can become upset or confused. Anticipation of where on the track a dog will need a reward is important. Through behavior shaping you are teaching the dog to search each footprint.

There is a difference between pulling from insecurity and pulling from confidence. While the dog goes through the initial learning of working longer tracks, he may pull because he is insecure.  Ignore this insecure pulling and simply allow it. He may also just simply stop tracking or even run back to you. Ignore the behavior and quickly encourage the dog to return to work.

I try to anticipate places on the track where the dog might lose motivation and place some form of reward at that place. Usually, the dog stops working because he becomes insecure or loses motivation. Rewards, usually food or it can be an article (in extreme cases I might even hide a toy on the track), will help fix both problems. Most dogs have one place where they quit. It usually is at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. Reward at that place for a few weeks. Unfortunately, the dog is not stagnant and may change the place on the track that he loses confidence.

As the dog gains confidence, then begin to set the pace of the track. Use light Blocks to slow the dog to your pace.A Block is not a correction. It’s a pattern interruption or interfering with pulling. In the food area, as the dog finishes eating a piece of food, give a Block. The dog should immediately find another piece of food after the Block .The idea is that the Block means “food is coming, keep checking each footprint.” Once the dog understands this concept, you can use the Block in a non-food area to set the pace. .

You set the pace, not the dog. Just be certain that you aren’t experiencing uncertainty. If the dog is tracking too fast, he will lose the scent and wander off the track or overshoot corners. Simply set the pace to a slower pace, your pace, and insist that the dog track on a slightly loose leash. This will teach the dog to focus on the footprints. Anytime the dog is overshooting corners or articles, I always consider the pace and the dog’s focus on footprints.

You may be amazed at the distances your dog will track. After the dog understands the concept of footprint to footprint and article to article, articles become a big reward to him and can be used for motivation in the difficult areas of a track. The reward at the end of the track may need to be decreased to avoid the dog’s rushing to the end.

Sixty-five degree turns can help to keep the dog’s mind engaged and break up long straight legs. For instance, go 75 paces and make a 65 degree turn to the right. Go another 75 paces and turn back 25 degrees to the left.Go another 30 paces and turn left. The turn can be immediately followed by an article.

Remember, if the dog stops tracking at a particular point on long tracks, either add a reward at that point or shorten the length of the leg. It’s NORMAL for dogs to stop tracking. It’s how you handle the confusion, loss of motivation, or insecurity that is important.

In the end, I will have food areas of 5 to 15 paces on each leg of the track. I simply mix up the location on each leg. Finally, but I don’t maintain this, I place or bury one food area on one leg of the track. This will occur just a few weeks before a tracking test and encourages the dog to search the footprints intently for buried food. I will quickly revert back to more food on the track after the tracking test.

Happy Tracking