# Is anyone into tracking?



## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

I am looking for something to do with Woody, and I have seen a little bit about tracking. From what I read, a path is set up by a person who leaves a glove at the end. The goal, of course, is for your dog to follow the person's trail and get the glove. It is not really competitive--if your dog gets the glove, then he "wins." There are no places, and it is not timed. 

This just seems perfect for him and me...no fast running or jumping (good for him and his weak hip), and not competitive (good for me). Just lots of time outside with your dog! I have no idea how one gets started in this; does anyone have any ideas?


----------



## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Our trainer says tracking is the most fun she has with her dogs. My biggest reservation is that she insists on going out into the field no matter what the weather -- even snow or heavy rain. Her reasoning is that if we decide to get a dog certified as a search and rescue dog, then we must be prepared for real world conditions. 

I'm not much for braving the rain or cold weather, especially since I have no plans to get certified.


----------



## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

I would have no plans to become certified either, it would be strictly for fun. Do you know how she got started? Did she take a class? Woody loves to "track" things on our walks, but I would have no idea how to train him to track the "right" things.


----------



## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Gosh, our trainer started her career when she was 13 and now she's 63! No idea how she got started with tracking, but she's titled dogs in just about every type of competition there is including conformation, agility, tracking and flyball. 

She also has two masters degrees in animal behavior, runs a training facility as well as a doggie daycare, has been involved in rescue, and does personal behavior consulting like TV's Dog Whisperer. Oh, and she's also trained as a human nurse. She's traveled internationally to share her expertise. 

I feel extremely lucky to have found her!


----------



## shaneamber (Apr 20, 2005)

The only tracking my gang does is foot prints on the carpet. 
Tracking sounds like fun,I'd like to learn more,just a for fun sport.
Shane


----------



## mojosmum (May 20, 2005)

Good Gracious Brandy's Mom - Where do you live? I might have to think about moving to your neck of the woods?


----------



## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Right now, we're living near Birmingham, Alabama. But it's the fourth state we've lived in during the past 3 years. In the last 18 years, we've probably moved 15 times. No we're not running from the law -- it's my husband's career that keeps us on the go. 

It's my furry family who keep me centered (and hopefully mostly sane!) When I wandered into this training facility, I had no idea what a gem I had found!


----------



## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

Holy cow, you must feel like you stumbled into a gold mine with that trainer! I would love to have someone like that around here.


----------



## mojosmum (May 20, 2005)

Ditto MegB! 

Brandy's Mom - moving 15 times in 18 years!!!!!!!!!! My Goodness woman - you must be a master packer! I think I would start to live very lightly if I knew I'd have to be packing all that stuff every couple years. It's taken me a month to just UNpack the stuff I had pack for the move that didn't turn out. I already had 107 boxes packed with the house still full. What do I need all this "stuff" for?


----------



## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

We just sold our cottage in Michigan's U.P. last week... it all happened in a whirlwind... the new owners were paying cash and just wanted to close ASAP! I really didn't want to pack everything up and rent a truck and storage facility, etc. ...so I put out 2 signs on the main road early Saturday morning that said "Moving Sale" and by noontime everything was sold and gone AND we were over 3 thousand dollars richer. I gotta tell ya, after that experience I've now learned... that's the way to move.

Quite a few years ago I bought a book on Scent Tracking 'cause I though it might be fun to do with our last dog (an American Eskimo)... but his nose turned out to be a dud... everything with Kimo was done by sight, he could never figure out how to use his 'smeller'. So I never did get started with tracker training. Now Sidney (our Golden boy) is a different story... he's all about nose! He naturally finds everything through his nose. Sometimes I will put a toy or chewed rawhide on a shelf so he won't find it but as almost as soon as he enters the room he begins to sniff the air and ends up at a point just below the shelf, looking up and whining... simply amazing. Often I will throw his tennis ball into high grass when he wasn't looking... I then tell him to find it by pointing (its a signal I give and he's come to understand to it means "there's a tennis ball over there somewhere, find it!") His tail immediately perks up and begins thrashing about as he begins air scenting and quartering off sections all on his own... when he gets really close I say "There!", which so far means nothing to him 'cause he already knows it nearby and from there he 'smells' it out. Also when we were doing formal agility training, Sidney was known as the dog who could find every single treat dropped in the grass by the preceding Beginning Obedience training class the day before. Maybe I'll just break-out that old scent training book and include this as a new activity this spring....


----------



## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Monomer, the next time we move you're hired as our moving consultant! We're on our fourth state in three years, and I'm getting pretty darned tired of lugging things around. 

Get it all over and done with. Snap! Snap!


----------



## shaneamber (Apr 20, 2005)

Years ago,after Grandpa died,we were cleaning out his house getting ready to sell.We put a moving sale sign out front and sold everything except 10 old TV's that didn't work.We put them out at the curb for 2 days and nobody touched them.The town made us pick them up,so we put them on the porch.We made a sign that said,For Sale,Best Offer.....somebody took them during the night,even the cardboard sign was gone.
A cheap way to get rid of trash.
Shane


----------



## golddogz (Apr 27, 2006)

I am new to this forum so am just now seeing this thread. I am currently tracking with my 2.5 yr old girl. We started training back in October and hope to get our TD at the National this year. It is a great activity to do with your Golden and it's fun to watch just how good their noses really are. I had wanted to start her when she was a puppy but never had the time to dedicate to training until last year. I would recommend this sport to everyone!


----------



## greg bell (May 24, 2005)

Goldens have excellent noses... it is one area where they have it over labs hands down... would seem like a natural for them...


----------



## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

Golddogz, that is great to hear that someone is into tracking!

How did you get started? Did you take a class? I am having trouble finding a class in my area, so I bought a book, but it is a little intimidating. I am not sure how to get started, where to practice, how to lay a track, etc., etc.

I'd love to hear any advice or suggestions you have! Thanks!


----------



## golddogz (Apr 27, 2006)

I am very lucky that my good friend, who has also been my obedience instructor for years, decided to offer a tracking class. Our class is small, just myself and a woman who is tracking her Beagle. I think in the beginning you don't need to take a class as it's very simple for the first few weeks. After you've got corners mastered, I think it would be helpful to find others in your area that also track as they can offer suggestions and give opinions on things that we don't see when we are tracking our dog.

I have two tracking books that I really like. The first one is Tracking From the Ground Up by Sandy Ganz and the other is Enthusiastic Tracking by Sil Sanders. The latter book would be a wonderful book for someone who is not taking a class. It goes week by week through training up to the certification test and the TD trial. It then goes into getting started with TDX work which involved more articles, obsticles and cross tracks. I haven't really even looked at that as I want to get everything perfect for our TD first. That book also has maps for the different tracks, where to put your flags and also where to place the food drops. I think it's an excellent book.

As far as where to track, in the beginning your need to lay your tracks where you're not likely to have people walk across them. This is especially important when you start aging your tracks 30 minutes or so. We have several areas that we track in as we have permission to use several pieces of land in our area. You will want to have different places to go so your dog doesn't get used to tracking in the same type of ground cover all of the time. 

I will also PM you with a link for the Article Game. This plays an extremely important role in tracking. Would go into here but I think I've already started to write a book! I LOVE tracking and could go on and on. Let me know if you have questions.

Lisa


----------



## golddogz (Apr 27, 2006)

*Article Game*

I could find the link so I will just type it out. ARTICLE RETRIEVING GAME

How to Get a Retrieve From Your Dog

PATIENCE! Don't Rush. Give the dog time to team the game. 
(this works great with dumbbells too, and is ALL positive!)

Play this game at home on days you don't/can't track. You may play it in the yard or in the house. Be sure there are no other pets around or toys to distract the dog. Only you and the dog play this game, and the DOG must think this through. You MUST have patience. You will need a moist treat the dog really likes, so the dog can 'gulp" it down and get back to the game right away. "Pounce" cat treats are ideal for this purpose.

IN THE YARD OR HOUSE-

STEP ONE:

I like to play this game in the kitchen, but anywhere will work. Remember, you MUST be patient and quiet except when praising the dog. Sit down and make yourself comfortable. You may need to put the dog on a leash if he tends to wander away. Put your foot on the leash giving the dog several feet of leash in order to maneuver. Place the dog treats on a table beside you. Soon just getting out the article and treats will have the dog grabbing anything in sight to get his/her reward. 

Place the dog's article (use a glove) on the floor. To make the dog focus on the article, "plop" it on the floor. Get a treat in your hand and watch the dog. Your dog may go directly to your hand, but conceal the treat so he cannot get it unless he performs the required action. The hard part now is being patient and not saying anything but wait for the dog to indicate the article. At first he may just walk over the article to get the treat. That counts! The minute he is at the article, say "good" and quickly give him the treat at the glove. You can say "good" a lot quicker than you can give the treat, and timing the praise to the action is most important. The treat may come a second or two later. Make sure the dog comes to YOU to get the treat the minute he catches on to the game, as eventually you want the dog to come to you with the article. Now watch the dog. When he looks at the article and then at you to get the treat three times in a row you can move on. On days you don't track, play this game before you feed the dog breakfast / lunch dinner. Remember, NO 'I'ALKING EXCEPT FOR PRAISE! He has to figure this out himself, and your talking will only distract him.

NOTE: If your dog pays no attention at all to the article, stuff the glove with treats for several days until he starts going to it because it smells good. If the dog still pays no attention, try withholding food by feeding only ¾ of that day's food, and try again tomorrow with a hungry dog. In the rare event the dog absolutely refuses to concentrate on the article after all your efforts, you may want to teach the dog to "down" at or on the article.

THE ARTICLE GAME
Page 2

STEP TWO-

Once the dog is consistently showing some kid of article indication and coming to you to get the treat (even if his indication is just LOOKING at the article), require him to do something MORE to get his treat. For example if your dog has been looking at the article and getting his treat, do not give him the treat for just looking at the article. REQUIRE MORE! The dog will get frustrated when the treat is no longer given when he just looks at the article. Wait and be QUIET. This is the hardest part for the handier because we are used to talking to the dog to let him know what we want, especially in obedience. Remember, in this game the DOG must figure out what he has to do to get the reward ON HIS OWN. Tracking requires the dog to make many decisions on his own, and he is learning to do this while you play the article game.

Now watch the dog closely to see what action he takes when the treat is not forthcoming. In our example, the dog that was rewarded for just looking at the article may move toward the article. PRAISE AND REWARD! Once he repeats this action 3 times in a row, REQUIRE MORE! When he does not get the treat for moving toward the article and looking back at you for the treat, in frustration he will most likely touch the article with his paw or nose. Once he repeats this action 3 times in a row, REQUIRE MORE! Next he may mouth the article, and eventually pick up the article. When he does this CELEBRATE as this was you goal. If he progresses to bringing the article to you to get his treat, great! The rules for earning a TD state that the DOG must indicate the article, and the HANDLER must recognize the dog's indication. The dog might quickly pick up the article and just as quickly drop it without the handler, 20 feet back on the line as required, recognizing the indication. But it's hard to miss the indication of a dog that brings the article BACK TO YOU.

You may now want to try the Article Game with a CIRCLE of articles around your chair. As the dog brings each article, remember to say "good" as he picks up the article and give your treat when he brings it to you. In this way you can introduce other types of articles, mixed with gloves you have been using. If you are teaching the dumbbell retrieve, put the dumbbell in the circle too!

REMEMBER – BE QUIET AND LET THE DOG DO THE THINKING
AND MOST OF ALL, HAVE PATIENCE.



PLAYING THE ARTICLE GAME ON THE TRACK:

Now that you have made the dog article crazy, this is the time to transfer this game to the article left at the end of the track. If necessary, put treats in the article to remind the dog, that this is the same game. only in a different place. Start this game on a short track. DO NOT ask dog to do initial article work when the track is long or he will get de-motivated. Again- say nothing when the dog finds the glove. When he’s GOT the idea that if he looks at the glove and then back at you he will get his reward- CELEBRATE! When he does this and repeats two or three more times, ASK MORE! Most likely he will pick up the article and look back at you for the treat. Do this 3 to 4 times, then put article away and go on to the next track, and repeat article work at the end of each track.

Of course, the GOAL is to get the article back to you to get the reward. DO NOT require the dog to put the article in your hand, as this is requiring more than we need on the track. However, if this is easily accomplished with encouragement, then that’s ok.

If you plan to work your dog as a hunting dog or in obedience where retrieve to hand is necessary, do this separately and not in conjunction with tracking -- if you are going to use a forced retrieve. Just do NOT do it along with tracking training! PLEASE! Forcing a dog to tracking articles is not my method of training for tracking.

I have had no problem getting my dogs to train for field, obedience, and tracking at the same time. Just not at the same training session.

HAPPY TRACKING!


----------



## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

I actually have the book "Enthusiastic Tracking," and I started reading a little, but all those diagrams intimidated me a little. But I am going to try it again, and maybe ask you some questions along the way, if you don't mind  .

I wasn't sure how many places I'd need to find to practice. Once you find a few places, can you keep using the same places for different tracks? Or will the old scent still be there and cause confusion?

Another problem I have is that I do not have a tracking partner. I could probably recruit my husband or a friend now and then to help me, but a lot of the time, I will be on my own. Will I be able to lay tracks and then run them on my own? 

How many times a week do you practice, and how long for each practice? 

Sorry I am so full of questions, but I am very excited that I might really be able to do this! Thank you for your help!


----------



## MegB (Jul 19, 2005)

By the way, thanks a lot for the article game info. We will be starting that this week!


----------



## golddogz (Apr 27, 2006)

You can definitely track in the same locations just use different parts of the land/field. 
In the beginning when you are first teaching the dog you will need to lay short, straight tracks every day for the first couple of weeks. One week tracking into the wind and then the second week tracking with the wind at your back. I lay my own tracks during the week and then we meet with the instructor on Sunday's and she lays the track. I think once you get started and see your dog working that you will be hooked. It is a lot of fun. Once the dog actually knows how to track you won't need to work them everyday. Right now, I am only tracking a couple nights a week though I may take her back up to every day that way things went tonight!:yuck: 
I will be more than happy to help anyway I can. If you have questions you can also feel free to email me. Good luck!

Lisa


----------



## greg bell (May 24, 2005)

really nice of you to take the time to type that out.. thanks bunches...


----------



## golddogz (Apr 27, 2006)

Glad to do it!


----------



## audreyannlow (Mar 5, 2007)

I'm just getting started in real tracking too! There are lots of classes around, but I don't have time. For now, I'm just gonna hire the neighbourhood kids to lay tracks for us.


----------



## golddogz (Apr 27, 2006)

You will love tracking. Paris earned her TD last weekend so now we are training for her TDX which promises to be a real challenge! Good luck!


----------



## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I think this is something Brooks would really enjoy. Thanks for the detailed info on method. 
When he was just a few months old we began enjoying playing a game in the house where I would show him a toy, then I would tell him to wait. I walked all over the house leaving the toy somewhere along my route, then walked back to him. He then was told to find it, and would go sniffing all along where I had walked until he found the object.
I think what he knows now could be transferred to actual tracking skills.


----------



## skyqueen (Jun 14, 2007)

Hey there we did tracking with or previous dog a mut I got an indefinite listing priveledge frm the AKA as a Flat coated Retreiver and put a tracking title on him, it was great fun. I thinnk my Golden would be better at it cause she is more "nosey" -she uses her nose more than my other dog. Go for it, any dog interaction is worth it and fun.


----------



## Golden River of Dreams (Feb 25, 2010)

River and I started tracking today! I watched a few you tube tutorials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_OvTBEQ9B8&feature=related
I set up two courses, the first one was a total failure due to my mistake of putting an extra big reward at the end. Riv couldn't concentrate on the smaller cookies in each foot print I had to point out each one. The next track River did wonderfully. I had taken bigger steps which helped a lot. River was looking awesome! Then later I let him out of the house and he went right back up to the second track and started tracking again all on his own! I'm not sure if we will ever go for titles, but it seems like something River might do well in.


----------



## Golden River of Dreams (Feb 25, 2010)

So can the alert be anything? I thought that the dog was not allowed to pick up the item so I was going to teach him to lie down next to it...But River would prefer to retrieve it.


----------



## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

Do you have a copy of the AKC Tracking Rulebook? Here is the link, page 12, Section 23, Passing Performance, states in part that the dog must clearly follow the track and clearly indicate OR RETRIEVE (my emphasis) the article.

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RU9999.pdf

Good luck tracking! I love it! I've been to two tracking classes, taught by two different instructors and learned so much at each. I have a friend who I meet about once a week and we track together--she has a Westie, very smart--a MACH2, CD--and she is hoping to get another title on her. I am aiming for a TD at the end of the year with Mac.


----------



## dberk (Jul 5, 2011)

I did tracking with my Maddie - she took to it like a duck to water. I think she just liked pulling me around. Put her harness on and she is off to the races. 

Didn't work with my Max - he would rather just stay next to me and his nose is a dud. He can't even find his treat in his own crate.


----------



## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky (Feb 22, 2011)

Hi Meg B--

I am totally thinking about doing some tracking with my puppy! We are trying all sorts of things. I found a tracking club nearby, but they don't start doing stuff until later ...after the hot, hot, hot summer. I am looking forward to it, and I think Bella will be marvelous at it. Her sniffer works O/T! She finds all sorts of hidden stuff that amazes me. I've been playing "find it" since we got her at 8 weeks, to just get that nose working really well. Maybe she just has a natural good nose, who knows! I tell ya, all her senses seem so strong. This little girl can spot a tiny bug in the last light of the early evening and chase it down--that is her sight working. She stops and heavily observes her surroundings and the activities of others (no matter the creature), and then that nose! All these fabulous senses get her in trouble sometimes! I just love it when you can see her sitting there and her nose is bobbing in the air and you know she is onto something! I'd even consider SAR, but I don't think *I* want to do that!

Good luck!!! I hope you and your dog find something great to do together!!


----------

