And, a couple more thoughts

When we have the tracklayer stay a full leg behind, we are testing, not training. How can we bridge the gap between those two? I have 2 strategies to share:

1. Put in your own tracks, usually a couple of one turn tracks. Lay them to add some mild challenge for both of you (when I did this recently with Fletch, one track was 25yd by 150 yds, the other 200yd by 125). Pay strict attention to the ground, looking for holes or tripping hazards. Release your dog to the start, and close your eyes. If that's uncomfortable, stare at your toes while you follow the dog. The goal is to make you very, very sensitive to what you feel in the line, so you feel when to stop, and what the different varieties of pulling feel like.

2. Tell your tracklayer what to put in, but not overly precisely: "I'd like R-L-L, one leg short, so 50 yds or less, one very long, one surprise." The tracklayer must follow the turn directions in order, as requested. The handler should sit in the car and not watch the track go in. Now, when handling, the tracklayer will stay at least 25 yards behind, and will let you go 20 yards in the wrong direction, should that happen. You know what direction the turns are--do you wait for a clear indication from the dog (&do you recognize it), or do you tend to go if the dog simply casts in the direction of the prescribed turn? Your tracklayer should NOT tell you how to recover the track until you specifically say "put me on the track." AND, they should resume not helping, 25 yards back etc, once the team has recovered.

These exercises are specifically handler training exercises, and should be sandwiched between several dog training exercises. These exercises put a ton of responsibility on the dog, so make sure you try them when the dog is looking happy and confident on the tracks dedicated to him. It's imperative that you are super careful with the trust we've worked hard to establish--we've taught the dog to trust that when he follows the track, you will follow him.

I hope you'll think hard about these, and how to implement them. Again, these are for teams that are ready to certify, NOT teams who are learning/perfecting turn skills.