Caro
Moderator
I thought I would post this for anyone interested in trying tracking on their own.
This is how we learnt at the 'Introduction to Tracking' w/end.
Materials: Harness, 10m lead (or rope that wont burn your hands), stakes (for markers), treats.
To begin with the instructor said the dog should track the owner as they already know the scent and will be eager to find them.
Laying a track: Novice courses are 90m/yards so we started with 60m.
The tracker holds the dog while the owner scents the trail. This is done by walking in a straight line for 60m and not stopping until the end. The owner calls to the dog to get it excited about following. A marker is placed at the start of the track (away from the dog) and a marker is placed in the ground every 20-30m. At the last marker the owner lays down and stays still (partially hidden would be good).
Tracking: When the owner puts down the 2nd last marker the tracker puts the dog on the scent, letting out the 10m lead. The markers are so the tracker knows where the trail is. If the dog goes more than 5m away from the trail the tracker reels in half the lead and stops until the dog gets back on track. The tracker doesnt talk much but if the dog gets confused the owner can call. When the dog reaches its owner - big rewards.
Progress: At first the dogs would sniff when it could still see the owner but tended to look around when the owner disappeared. When they realised their owner hadn't gone and it was a game they sniffed a lot more.
One person tracking. After doing a bit of owner tracking the instructor said we could try on our own - the dog tracked down an article of our clothing. Same process of scenting the trail and laying down markers. At the end leave a piece of clothing (something bigger than a sock for beginners) with a treat tucked in. When returning to the dog do a big arc back, firstly so the track isnt over-scented and also so the dog doesn't get a visual fix. Same process for handling as above - definately keep at least 5m between you and the dog so you don't overpower the ground scent. I found with Mr D we had to do a few short trails before he was okay going 10m ahead of me (and he knew a treat was ahead).
Don't go over the same piece of ground for an hour
Use areas not used much as other human scents can be confusing for novices.
Leave at least 5m between trails.
And most importantly - its meant to be fun!
This is how we learnt at the 'Introduction to Tracking' w/end.
Materials: Harness, 10m lead (or rope that wont burn your hands), stakes (for markers), treats.
To begin with the instructor said the dog should track the owner as they already know the scent and will be eager to find them.
Laying a track: Novice courses are 90m/yards so we started with 60m.
The tracker holds the dog while the owner scents the trail. This is done by walking in a straight line for 60m and not stopping until the end. The owner calls to the dog to get it excited about following. A marker is placed at the start of the track (away from the dog) and a marker is placed in the ground every 20-30m. At the last marker the owner lays down and stays still (partially hidden would be good).
Tracking: When the owner puts down the 2nd last marker the tracker puts the dog on the scent, letting out the 10m lead. The markers are so the tracker knows where the trail is. If the dog goes more than 5m away from the trail the tracker reels in half the lead and stops until the dog gets back on track. The tracker doesnt talk much but if the dog gets confused the owner can call. When the dog reaches its owner - big rewards.
Progress: At first the dogs would sniff when it could still see the owner but tended to look around when the owner disappeared. When they realised their owner hadn't gone and it was a game they sniffed a lot more.
One person tracking. After doing a bit of owner tracking the instructor said we could try on our own - the dog tracked down an article of our clothing. Same process of scenting the trail and laying down markers. At the end leave a piece of clothing (something bigger than a sock for beginners) with a treat tucked in. When returning to the dog do a big arc back, firstly so the track isnt over-scented and also so the dog doesn't get a visual fix. Same process for handling as above - definately keep at least 5m between you and the dog so you don't overpower the ground scent. I found with Mr D we had to do a few short trails before he was okay going 10m ahead of me (and he knew a treat was ahead).
Don't go over the same piece of ground for an hour
Use areas not used much as other human scents can be confusing for novices.
Leave at least 5m between trails.
And most importantly - its meant to be fun!
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