TRACKING

' You can't help your dog find a track, if you don't know where it is yourself '

Some handlers have a real aversion to any stakes and flags being planted anywhere on a track. I can only assume it is a preception they are training for competition and not for the real world. So, in 90 words or less let me explain.

The world is a smorgasbord of odors, if you did a time-lapse video on the place you tracking, you might be amazed at the number of animals that visit these spots during 24 hours. Just because you don't see anything when you lay a track, doesn't mean your's is the only scent in the area. As we've said before, we are not actually teaching the dog how to track but what to track.

• Stakes or flags are meant to orient the handler to the location of the track, not the dog
• There are NOT meant to be a permanent fixture in tracking training
• They assist in the handler in correlating the areas in which the scent drift to
• They should gradually be removed, depending on the K9 teams progress, sometime after the tenth track

You can find should you care to look, more then one way to introduce your dog to the 'scent picture' of a tracking course. The tracking program detailed here, is NOT about competitive AKC or Schutzhund tracking. It is not about 'forced tracking' or remotely connected to footstep tracking. The goal is to have a dog that will maximize the available aroma of the scent trail, whether its in the air or on the ground. We also reserve the right to include off-lead tracking as an option because it works wonders. If you click on the link TRACKING PROGRAM you can download the tracking program which is in WORD and .pdf format.

tracking program WORD. tracking program .pdf format

I think it is important that you know, I believe in using FOOD during the initial part of tracking. I specifically import it into puppy tracking 101, because it is a 'spot-on' super motivator for puppies. I am well aware of the controversy surrounding this practice and eventually I do remove it from anywhere on the tracking course.

Secondly, I will use handler laid tracks, BUT this practice, DOES need a cautionary note. If overused it WILL confuse the dog and they could fail to follow a track not laid by the handler. It is far better to ALWAYS have your dog work a track laid by a stranger but in order to achieve the number of training tracks, within a given time period, requires the effort of a lot of voluntaries.

There is one principle of tracking which is an ABSOLUTE MUST. You MUST KNOW (except for test tracks) where the track is at ALL TIME otherwise you are of little help to the dog. Why? To begin with, you are guiding your dog into a scent field which is already 'polluted' with a cosmic assembly of different odors, everything from grasses to animal droppings, from last night and weeks before. To this, you are asking the dog to follow a SPECIFIC scent trail, a human scent trail, one ABOVE ALL OTHERS that are present. YOU need to know the possible perimeters of where that human scent trail will be and you can't do that unless you know EXACTLY where the tracking course is. I am not advocating foot-step tracking here, that's for Schutzhund competition. I do suggest, markers, flags, stakes or colored rocks to denote the starting scent pad and the corners; not forever, just in the beginning. To have flags or stakes forever would be stupid, not to say counterproductive.

THINGS THAT EFFECT TRACKING SUCCESS

• Three things which influences tracking success are, poor lead handling, going too fast and handler attitude.
• LEAD HANDLING. You need to work the lead like fishing, reel-in and cast-out. To practice this, two handlers, one taking the position of the 'dog' should practice start/stops, making turns, etc.
• RUNNING DOWN THE TRACK.
• TRAINING EXERCISES THAT ARE PROGRESSING TOO FAST. for the dog abilities.
• HANDLER ATTITUDE includes second guessing the dog when the dog doesn't seem to be working. Yelling at the dog when its obvious you both are completely way off the track. YOUR DOG is YOUR ONLY SOLUTION, no one else can do the track for you
• Canine illness
• Not enough practice tracking
• Certain canine medications
• Too many handler laid tracks
• Tracking is boring to the dog
• Dog tracking too fast for the terrain
• Talking too much to your dog, even in the form of praise
• The person who laid the track didn't follow your directions
• Unrealistic tracking exercises, which are either too hard or too easy
• Helping the dog too much, especially in the beginning with puppies
• Tracking is work. An exercise program, such as running for you and the dog can help your fitness
• It has been suggested that car fumes can inhibit the dog success. Use at LEAST five minutes, AFTER you let the dog out of the car before you start work
• Environmental inhibitors. Too much heat, rain, cold or wind, poor soil, hard surfaces and air pollution. When there is a lot of pollen and dust in the air, you need to keep the dog's nose moist by carrying a sponge to resaturate the dogs nose. If they start sneezing, they may need to just clear their nose but if they continue they may have gotten a burr lodged in their nose.
• Animal Scents abound in the city and the rural country side. I once took a break at 0600 at a local park and it was amazing the number of people who found this place. Anywhere, there is green grass, someones will bringing their dog to it.
• Not knowing where the track is which its obvious the dog isn't on it.
• FINALLY. One of the BEST way to learn about how you and your dog are working as a tracking team is to have someone video tape your performance, so you can review it later. You can also have two handlers follow behind you on an unknown track. These handlers will know exactly where the track is and can critique the performance.
• See these websites for further suggestions

 

SUBJECT	WEBSITE
Tracking	http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0056.htm.
Tracking	http://www.emainehosting.com/mesard/Articles/Tracking%20Handling.htm
Tracking	http://www.finographics.com/schutzhund/tracking/tracking.html (competition)
Tracking	http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/4425/sport.html (competition)
Tracking	http://www.doglinks.co.nz/clubs/tracking_resource.htm - covers everything

Researchers have been studying dogs tracking performance, both military and civilian personnel. Some of this is hidden away in old archives and takes some looking to find. Whether the work was excuted under the strictest guidelines isn't always understood but it is still interesting reading. Here are some of them.

In, 'Tracking Dog, theory and method' by Glen Johnson, he outlines terminology associated with tracking.

TRACKING DOGS. 'follows close to tracking course with head down/'

TRAILING DOGS. 'follows the body odor with head down and lift their head when tracking into the wind and half way down when in a crosswind.'

FRINGE TRACKER. Works the area in which the scent has been dispersed, often the very edge of the scent strength. They will 'quarter' back and forth across the track, except in a cross winds.

AIR SCENTING Method of following air borne scent.

BLINDFOLD TRACKING. A blindfold is placed over the dogs eyes, requiring him to exclusive us his nose to track

CASTING Method by which the dog will search back and forth for the scent of the track

CROSS-TRACK Tracking course, laid by two separate trackinglayer which cross each other

TRACKING LEG Section of tracking course between each turn

TRAIL Method of following both human rafts and ground disturbance left by the tracklayer

STEP TRACKING Method by which a dog is trained to follow each footstep of a tracking course

FORCE TRACKING Method of compelling the dog to follow ground scent exclusively.

VARIABLE SURFACE TRACK. The tracking course will be laid on various different types of earth, hard-baked soil, pavement, cement, humus soil, grass, tilled soil, sand.

Among the extraordinary feats of tracking is a dogs skill to 'cut' a track and correlate the correct direction to follow. It has been suggested the dog determines the direction by the age of the track. Which has never been clarified because at the point in which the dog intersects the track, the age, even within 50' should be relatively the same strength. There is an absolute variable between the beginning and the end of the track or even different areas of the track but we are talking comparing large increments of the course and the dog does not run usual go far before selection the correct course.

I know, I mentioned this was not program about AKC or Schutzhund tracking and again it is not. If you are like me, you may find yourself looking for solutions in other venues. I do want to caution about one point, and this is from direct experience.

Corners on tracks can be overshot or missed all together. You may read about double and triple laying the corners to help rise the dogs awareness of the corners existence. Well, I tried it, in the '80's and I do NOT recommend it. Myself and another handler both experienced where our dogs would actually commit themselves to the wrong direction or backtracking when working an tracking exercise. Now this wasn't a continous occurrence but up until we tried double and triples we never experienced the problem.

SUMMARY

• Know where the track is at all times
• The dog already knows how to track, you just need to guide them to the scent you want them to follow
• Practice lead handling problems with another handler, not with the dog
• Pulling the dog off the track is the most common error, intentionally or unintentional corrections
• As the tracks become more challenging, you will find the need to reduce the track length
• If you use a ball at the end for some tracks, it affords you the opportunity to terminate the track if it becomes too difficult. If you believe the track is too challenge, i.e. surface, temperature, you could successful end the track when he is actively working by throwing the ball out so it appears just in front of the dog, signifying completion.

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