# Backtracking



## MDJ8176 (Dec 14, 2011)

Owned and ran beagles for the last 20 years, but have always purchased dogs that were closer to two years old and already well started. This last year my daughter wanted to a puppy so I purchased a 10 week old beagle from good hunting stock. Early training went very well. We did have some deer running issues early on, which I promptly addressed and that has not been a problem sicne. He won't even look at a deer track now without getting nervous. He was 11 months old mid-December and was circling rabbits. Not a polished performance by any means, but for his age, the fact that he was getting it figured out made me pretty happy. So he is now just shy of 13 months. His running is getting better each time out. The one issue I am seeing is that occasionally when the rabbit checks and he can't figure it out for an extended period of time, he will take the track backwards. When he has done this he typcially takes it back quite a ways then seems to realize he screwed up and goes back to continue working the check. A couple times he has taken it all the way back to where he has jumped it and is so screwed up by then that I have just taken him back to where the rabbit checked and with snow have been able to get him back on the track going the right direction. I did this the other night and he then continued to run the track beautifully for another hour before I pulled him off it at dark. I guess my question to some of the guys more experienced training beagles, "Is this backtracking normal behavior for a young dog that is still in the process of learning?" I'm a little concerned since I know working the track backwards is of course a negative trait. Just not sure if it is something a young dog sometimes does while he is learning and that he eventually out grows with experience or a flaw that is just inherent with some dogs and that they don't overcome as they learn.


----------



## michhutr (Jan 16, 2009)

I think all young dogs may backtrack a little at some point. Let him work it out but offer some assistance if he doesn't correct within a short distance. Sounds like you did a good job.

Good luck.


----------



## southernpride (Jan 24, 2008)

Md ur on the right track. As soon as he starts the back tracking stop him and put him back on the forward track, its better and easier to fix now then it will be later. Good luck

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


----------



## rusty7 (Dec 8, 2005)

Backtracking is a "flaw" or fault, however with young dogs sometimes it's just part of learning, but if it continues or gets worse it's not soemthing I'd tolerate for long in my kennel, but thats your decision to make.


----------



## Jumpshootin' (Jul 6, 2000)

Is there snow on the ground? Do you think he's backtracking by scent or sight? If by sight, I'd pull him out of the field until the snow is gone so he has to rely on his nose only. If by scent, get him going in the right direction before he backtracks too far. Twenty feet or so on a backtrack should be far enough for a dog to tell that he's going in the wrong direction.


----------



## kisherfisher (Apr 6, 2008)

Jumpshootin' said:


> Is there snow on the ground? Do you think he's backtracking by scent or sight? If by sight, I'd pull him out of the field until the snow is gone so he has to rely on his nose only. If by scent, get him going in the right direction before he backtracks too far. Twenty feet or so on a backtrack should be far enough for a dog to tell that he's going in the wrong direction.


 Rite on Jumpshootin . You will have to monitor him for a while, and make sure he is tracking forward. Snow is your best answer for direction of travel. Also , be selective of bettter scenting conditions. If scent is scarce, they may take what they can get as a less experience hound.Just my $.02.


----------



## 19rabbit52 (Jul 15, 2007)

Rusty7 is giving good advice. You have to watch that rabbit isn't doubling back as they sometimes do. A young dog will back track a little but will learn to quit. Back tracking is an inherited trait that should be culled or at least keep out of breeding.


----------



## Big Reds (Oct 14, 2007)

Sounds like he's sight tracking alright. He loses the scent for a moment and relies on his sight. It is easier to spot his AND the rabbits track because of the amount of snow that is disturbed.
It is normal for a young dog because he is not secure enough to trust his nose yet, but left uncorrected, it will pose a problem.
Jump has good avice in this scenario.


----------



## MDJ8176 (Dec 14, 2011)

Took this young dog out again on Saturday. He ran real well. The first run lasted three hours, I saw the rabbit, but could never get a shot before he finally lost it. Got him going on a second rabbit which he ran for an hour and I eventually shot. Only once did he try to take a track backward. I caught him right away and told him "no". He seemed to know he had screwed up and turned around. We'll see, but the backtracking seems to be getting more and more infrequent with each time he is out. The fact that he's managing to stay on a rabbit for a few hours at only a year old, has me holding out hope that he will turn out okay. Again some of this may be normal when training a puppy, but since as I mentioned in my original post I have no previous experience doing this, I didn't know what to expect. Thanks for everyone's feedback.


----------



## Big Reds (Oct 14, 2007)

The pup ran a bunny for three hours? Cottontails or shoeshoes?
That may get to be problematic for the dog soon. That IMO is too long for a dog to run one rabbit. It may decide bunnies aren't worth all that effort and give up trailing.


----------



## Marcellus Bodi (Jun 17, 2001)

Hi,
I think you got a heck of a dog right now.You have to shoot them Rabbits now.


----------



## MDJ8176 (Dec 14, 2011)

Over this past month the backtracking issue with this pup has really cleared up. Had him out this weekend and he did great. Killed some rabbits over him, but the best run was when he got on a snowshoe hare. It surprised me since I had not seen hares in this particular location in years, only cottontails. I was hunting by myself and for the life of me could not cut this rabbit off. It did not help that the snow was old and crunchy. I'm sure whenever I attempted to change postions the hare could hear me a mile away. The pup ran this rabbit from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM at which point I finally had to go round him up as I had to be somewhere. Ended up coming out of the woods about .6 miles from where the dog had originally jumped the rabbit. During that entire five hour run only once, that I could tell, did that pup bark on the track going the wrong direction. The rabbit had checked and he was having some trouble figuring it out. He took it the wrong direction for about 20 or 30 yards, realized he had screwed up, went back and got it figured out to continue the run. Not too bad at all considering this is his first season plus the scent conditions on that frozen snow on Saturday I'm sure were not the greatest. Don't think he is going to be the best dog I ever owned, but definitely going to be able to get the job done for me. Since I don't field trial, if a dog has a few minor flaws I'm not too concerned as long as he is getting the rabbit back around to the gun.


----------



## Jumpshootin' (Jul 6, 2000)

MDJ8176 said:


> Since I don't field trial, if a dog has a few minor flaws I'm not too concerned as long as he is getting the rabbit back around to the gun.


Exactly. I do field trial some and alot that stuff is really some hair-splitting. The vast majority of the folks that trial the Basset Hounds have never gunned over their dogs. A dog can score enough points for jump/strike, checks, and such to win, but still never shave stayed on a rabbit long enough to circle it around to within gun range of the starting point. Which is how I run/hunt with my dogs.
Sounds like he's coming around for you. Some dogs just take longer than others to round out.


----------

