Introductory to Tracking

Introductory to Tracking...

TRACKING - A Partnership Between You and Your Dog

Make Obedience Count - the working dog who wins top points at an obedience match but jumps unbidden in and out of vehicles, hauls his handler on lead down a city street, or makes a nuisance of himself at a training workout cannot claim to be obedience trained.

This handler error can be effectively corrected by viewing the handler-dog team as an ongoing work partnership. Work obedience routines into things you regularly do at home, at friends' home, and in other situations familiar to your dog so that 'being obedient' will not be strange to him.

This also applies when tracking with your dog. The dog soon learns what you will and will not accept. It doesn't matter what you do with your dog, if there is no partnership between you, you will never learn to communicate and 'read' your dog.

The key to successful tracking is motivation; creating a desire in the dog to want to track. To correct the dog for undesired behavior when teaching him to track is a common error. The dog may be physically unable or may be following a previous laid track... the handler has no way of knowing. There is always a reason for a dog's apparent difficulty on track and if it persists you should halt tracking for the day. DO NOT become angry or lose patience as this will have a negative effect on your dog's desire to track.



BEFORE YOU START

Prepare your dog to start the track by giving him time to 'clear his head' and exercise him for bathroom duties. If, while on track, the dog stops to relieve himself, allow him to finish before commanding him to start tracking again. If males seem interested in 'leaving their mark' at every opportunity, this should always be discouraged. Anything that captures their attention from the track should be scolded with a 'no' or 'phooey'. The timing of this scolding does require practice. If, however, the dog stops trackign and looks around, encourage as much as possibel and direct him toward the track using hands if necessary.

Remember that tracking is physically tiring for the dogs and they will require more water than normal. Always have water available for your dog at the end of the track or part way through long, extended tracks. It is best to begin tracking training during the cool hours of the day and work to condition the dog toward tracking during the hotter parts of the day.

Plan to train in all weather conditions so the dog is ready and willing in any kind of weather. Generally, the cooler and wetter the ground, the easier tracking will be for the dog. Design tracks to teach your dog in simple, acending order. Begin training in reasonably short grass and move on to rough cover, stubble fieldsand from there to underbrush and treed areas. Bear in mind that smaller breeds should have shorter tracks than larger breeds for the first part of their training.

Scenting and Tracking
Canada West Canine Centre