
Tracking is a type of canine sport intended to
exercise the mind and body of working dogs. Working dogs are those which have high drive and require a means for release.
By challenging these dogs with a task, they utilize their innate physical and mental abilities to the fullest extent, as nature
had intended. Outside of tracking, other forms of release for the working dog include obedience, agility and protection work.
There are different avenues of tracking from Schutzhund trials (earning
titles), to Search and Rescue (professional working dogs), to dogs who only participate as a form of energy release. The dogs
below have advanced obedience, have been trained in the field of protection, and are in search of their next challenge. These
dogs are currently learning the basics of tracking for the possible pursuit of Schutzhund titles and FEMA certifications.
Although it is not the intent
for these dogs to work as professionals, as a result of their work, they do possess the abilities to assist in finding missing
pets. The nature of tracking requires that these dogs learn to follow scent tracks to reach their ultimate goal. As a result,
these methods can be directly applied in the search of a missing pet.


Tracking
These puppies are learning how to search.
It starts off by simply tossing treats in a
hiding place such as this to have the dog use his/her nose to search for the "missing treat". This is where you
would start to introduce the command of "track".

Wes shows Teigen (8 weeks) and his owner Michelle the proper way to begin a puppy's very first
track!


In Schutzhund, the track consists of a track that is
very mechanical and the dog can not pick it's head up to "air scent", where as in Search and Rescue there are no
rules to how the dog can search.
This is Nikki and her owner Alex. They begin their search and when they find the
"missing person" you will see that Nikki lays beside her "missing person". You will see in the next series
of photos that, during the Search, there are articles that are left behind by the person laying the track. Whether that is
the handler or, in Search and Rescue, the person for which the dog is searching, an item such as clothing has been dropped.



In these pictures you will see Peyton and his owner Alex doing a standard
Schutzhund type track. When an article is found by the dog the dog will indicate by laying down with the article between
the front two paws to signify to the handler that he has found something that belongs to the missing. The handler then approaches
the dog and picks up the item and holds it in the air to signify to those who are watching that something belonging to the
missing has been found. However, there are many ways for a dog to indicate that an article has been found when doing Search
and Rescue style training.


Though tracking
comes natural to most dogs, it is still something that has to be taught with precision. Angie and her owner Anne here
are prime examples that even an adult dog can learn to track and be sucessful at it. Angie is a Belgian Malinois/German
Shepherd mix who was rescued by Anne. Anne and Angie have lended their services to missing pets on numerous occasions
and has a wonderful track record for finding missing pets!



Dogs need to learn to track on different surfaces such as grass, dirt
and asphalt.
Here you see Wes's son Brandon tracking his dog Gypsi on such surfaces.


Teaching
your dog to track is a great way to get involved in your community. It gives a dog a job to do and can help by allowing
the dog to burn off that extra energy!
To lend that special helping hand, or paw! Here at Arrowwood
Shepherds you and your dog can learn to become a wonderfully sucessful tracker!
If you have lost a pet and are
interested in the assistance from one of these dogs, please contact Wesley by email or call him at 410.804.2714