Schutzhund Tracking

 

I think one of the first things you should understand about tracking for Schutzhund is that you are not "teaching" the dog to track per se.  Your first reaction to that might be "What are you talking about?"  Let me explain.  Dogs are born knowing how to track.  Your job is to teach them what to track, i.e., the trail that starts at the start flag, and to do it because you tell them to, not because there are hot dogs in every footstep and the dog hasn't eaten in two days - and how in the sense of having a deep nose and not stopping to check every interesting scent along the way, etc..  Think of it as a scent discrimination exercise - this is the trail - this is not - this is an article laid by the tracklayer, this is not.  If you keep this in mind it will simplify the idea of tracking for you and help you focus on a particular goal, (i.e., the training, like any other, is a series of small steps which build on each other and move you and your dog forward) depending on where your dog is on the learning continuum.

Understanding this concept will carry you a long way in your tracking work.  While this may be a very simple idea in its essence, achieving the goal, having a dog that stays focused, tracks footprint to footprint all the way around and lays down correctly (sits, or stands) at each article, does not drag you to the starting flag, does not bolt forward after an article or corner, etc., is not easy and takes a long time to get right.   Throughout the website  I may say the same thing several different ways, not because I think people can't understand , but more often than not because there are nuances in the telling that reflect the specific context or dog to which I am referring.  Remember, every dog and every situation is different.  What works for one dog may not work for another.  Having said that, I will also say that the techniques I present here have worked with many, many dogs, different breeds, and dogs of different ages over the course of many years.  If you apply the methods presented here, and are conscientious, I am certain you will be successful.

The purpose of this site is not to provide a shopping list of do's and don'ts to follow religiously. It is to get you to think like a dog trainer, to figure out problems on your own and have success with your dog. Having said that I will also ask you not to run off and reinvent the wheel. There are reasons for everything presented. Start by understanding the concepts, ideas, and techniques. Apply them and then go from there. If I fail to make something clear to you, write me and ask about it.
So how do we get your dog tracking?   Let's begin with some important things you should know about.