From FB.

I know Francis…this is a great post.

Anyone want to discuss visible tracks?

As a judge and handler, I like visible tracks. But as a judge and handler, visible tracks can be a bad thing too.

As a handler I can sigh a big sigh of relief when my dog is motoring down the visible leg of a track. I can relax, knowing that my dog is doing well and my normal nervous handler anxieties are not going to screw up my dog. My confidence gives my dog confidence.

As a judge, I like visible tracks as I can see that the dog and handler are on the track and I now realize what that chicken scratch on my field map was that odd looking tree that the track is heading to or the red barn and not the grey or brown barn or whatever the landmark is that I could not decipher after leaving the track on plotting day.

As a handler I don’t like visible tracks because, what if there is more than one visible track? Is my dog on the right one? Depending on weather conditions and ground cover, visible tracks can last a few days to even a year! Scent likes depressions in the cool of the morning and visible tracks are depressions. Several years ago, my dog took the wrong visible track when one sliced thru our track and he took the wrong one. Lesson learned.

It is also human nature to be walking in the visible track. Sometimes due to whatever reason, the dog is just outside of the visible track, a few feet or even a couple of yards. As a judge, no big deal for the dog to be a little off of the track like that. But as a handler, that is worrisome. So, handler stays in the visible track. Unfortunately, judges do not like handlers to be going down the visible track when their dog is NOT going down the visible track. It makes us think that you are guiding and that is always a bad thing.

The tracking regs say to follow your dog. When you are following the visible track, not your dog when the handler stays in the visible track and the dog is not. When you realize that your dog is tracking, but outside of the visible track, step over so that you are now behind your dog- in single file formation. Odds are that not long after you do that, the dog moves over into the visible track! Problem solved!

Visible tracks cause handlers to do all sorts of behaviors that fall into the realm of guiding. The most common is the one above. Another one I have seen as a judge is the handler calls their dog, who is not following the track, for water. Every. Single. Time. the dog is off the track, the handler calls the dog for water. At some point the judges will wise up to this form of guiding and fail the team.

A third way that visible tracks inspire guiding is the dog wanting to take the cross tracks. The handler manages to get the dog back to the track (usually the judges are discussing whistling off the team for guiding/restraining or are in awe of the finessing to get the dog off of the cross tracks. Then the handler gives water to the dog, while doing so, physically blocks the cross tracks while turning the dog’s head in the direction of the track with the water vessel.

What other issues are there with visible tracks that you know of?