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Tracking Information

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Tracking Index

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What is Tracking?

Tracking is not easily defined. All dogs can locate the source of an odor, for if they could not, they would not have been able to find their mother's teats to suckle on, and later on they would have not been able to find prey (food), dens, or mates. In the domesticated dog, humans define the process of tracking as that where the dog follows a specific trail of odor where it was laid on the ground surface. In other words, the dog must follow the exact pathway that the person (or animal) left as it moved within an area. This definition distinguishes tracking from trailing. In trailing, a dog need not follow the precise pathway the human (or animal) left as it moved; instead the dog should follow the scent left behind and that scent may be in the air or on the ground. In trailing, a dog does not have its nose down along the actual pathway, but instead may air scent and may simply follow an air trail to the individual's location. In trailing, the dog must be able to distinguish a particular odor wherever it may be (air or ground) amongst a variety of other odors so that it can follow that odor to its source. In tracking, however, the dog must be able to follow ground odor where that odor may be simply that of the individual (as would be the case on hard surfaces such as cement or asphalt) or where that odor may be a combination of both the individual's odor and that of crushed vegetation from where that individual placed his or her weight on plants.

In search and rescue work, most K-9 teams use trailing as it tends to be the faster way to locate a missing individual. Tracking is actually a more difficult task because we are asking the dog to not only discriminate the odor of the individual being followed from other odors that may be present (such as small animals that may have been on the same pathway or crossed the pathway or other individuals that may have crossed the pathway), but also we are asking the dog to follow, as closely as possible, the footstep path taken by the individual being followed.

Ultimately, tracking is a team sport. The dog does not need to be trained to follow odor -- he or she can do this naturally and with far greater precision than we humans can. We, the human part of the team, must effectively convey to the dog which odor we want them to follow and then must trust and believe our dog when he or she is committed to a track pathway. We must also learn the messages our dog gives us when encountering a change in direction of the pathway. We must also help organize the dog's search when they lose the track. Otherwise, we have to sit back and allow the dog to do his or her job -- in this sport, the dog is in control. Our role is to train ourselves to be able to read our dog's messages to us and to help, only when necessary, the dog solve scent problems along the way. We do both of these tasks by first teaching our dogs the "game" (what we want them to follow) and by then presenting the dog with many different tracking situations and problems so that the dog will learn how to solve whatever problems it encounters while tracking. Initially, we learn our dog's body language by observing our dogs along known and well marked tracks so that we can pick up the subtle cues the dog provides when it encounters corners, or has to follow odors down or up hills, or along forest edges. We train the dog to problem solve, but ultimately, we have to learn from our dogs what they are telling us. Therefore, you cannot force a dog to learn to track -- you must motivate the dog to want to track what you would like them to track with you on the other end of the leash.

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Why Track?

In so many areas of training, we ask the dog to listen and distinguish our words (commands) and then to perform some behavior that may be something natural or something completely foreign to a dog's natural behavior. We ask them to respond to visual commands (hand signals) or our pointing (marking) towards an object. We ASK or we COMMAND the dog. But in tracking, the dog is doing something that is extremely natural -- he or she is using a highly developed sense of smell to follow an odor. We can't even fathom what the dog's odor world looks like; it is something completely foreign to us. We are the weak link in tracking. The dog knows what it is doing and must convey to us what it knows. We simply harness the dog's natural instincts and abilities for our own purposes and then train the dog to play our "game." This game can be extremely rewarding and fun for the dog. When both the dog and his or her handler have trained together well, watching the team follow a track is a beautiful thing.

Training tracking requires a level of trust on the human's part of the team that is not normally seen in other sports like obedience, rally, water, or agility, all of which are driven by humans providing instructions to the dog and running the show. In tracking (or any other kind of scent work),the dog runs the show and the human part of the team is along for the ride. The human end of the leash has to learn to trust their dog's ability to problem solve and, as a result, the dog and the human bond can be strengthened greatly. The dog also gets a great deal of joy out of doing something that comes naturally to it, even though following tracks can be extremely mentally tasking. There is nothing more rewarding to us than seeing our dog wagging its tail when it has found the final article and solved the track. And there is nothing more rewarding to the dog than seeing its human teammate be thrilled at the dog's success in solving the track.

So what is tracking? It is an extremely fun sport for the dog and the human teammate. It is a sport that showcases your dog's scenting ability and your own ability to trust and work with your dog.

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What is Scent?

Scent is defined as a distinctive odor or perfume. When talking about human scent (or even scent of a prey species), you can think of it as being a distinctive odor derived from each individual's genetic makeup and the chemical activity that the genetic makeup causes within the individual's body. Because every individual differs genetically, we each have a unique individual scent. Additionally, we humans have microscopic mites and bacterial fauna living on the surface of our skin, which adds to our own odors, and we use different types of deodorants, lotions, laundry detergents to wash our clothing, etc., all of which further modifies our body odors.

Dogs can follow these individual and unique odors because all living creatures slough off dead skin cells (known as "rafts"). Humans drop thousands of rafts per second and up to 2 billion rafts per day. These rafts are approximately 0.014 mm in size, have negligible weight (~0.0000000245 oz), and have a shape similar to that of cornflake cereal. These rafts will not only bear our characteristic genetic odor, but also the vapors from all of the things that modify our characteristic odor. Thus, our scent is a complex mixture of a number of chemical odorants.

When tracking, a dog follows this complex mixture of odorants found in our skin rafts. However, this scent picture can be further modified by the surface upon which the skin rafts are found. For example, when tracking on vegetation, additional chemical odorants will be presented to the dog in the form of crushed vegetation (the destruction of plant cells with their own characteristic genetic odor) and the decomposers in the soil (usually bacteria) that will begin breaking down the damaged vegetation. When training "green" tracking dogs on vegetated surfaces, the handler does not necessarily know if the dog is learning to follow the pathway of crushed vegetation, the pathway of skin rafts, or the pathway of both combined. On hard surfaces, there is no vegetation and little to no bacterial presence, so dogs are forced to follow the odor of the skin rafts that have fallen upon that surface as the tracklayer walked by. Because there is less "scent" information available to the dog, the VST trial for tracking is much harder and has a lower pass rate than the TD trial held on a vegetated surface. We, as the dog's teammate, must keep in mind changes in the odor picture ("scent") on different surfaces so that we can help our dogs overcome sparse scent pictures.

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Beginner’s Guide to Tracking

The AKC has written a useful booklet describing how to get started in tracking as well as explanations about their tracking tests. Click here to obtain the pdf version.

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Comparison of AKC Tracking Tests

Characteristics	Tracking Dog (TD)	Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX)	Variable Surface Tracking (VST)
Length	440 – 500 yards	800 – 1000 yards	600 – 800 yards
Age	½ - 2 hours	3 – 5 hours	3 – 5 hours
Start	2 flags	1 flag	1 flag
Surface	Consistent vegetation	Fields – variable cover and terrain	Vegetated and at least two non-vegetated surfaces (concrete, asphalt, gravel, dirt, etc)
Articles	Leather glove or wallet at end	Four personal items – one at start two on track, leather glove or wallet at end. No plastic or metal. All drops more than 30 yards from turns, obstacles or cross-tracks	Four non-personal items – one leather or fabric at start, two on track, one at end. Leather, fabric, metal and plastic, one dropped on non-vegetated surface. All at least 10 yards from turns.
Cross Tracks	None	Two widely spaced, two people walk across track	None required but tracks in public areas where unplanned cross-tracks are possible, even likely.
Obstacles	None	At least two (fences, roads, water, hills, gullies, changes of cover, etc)	None, but normal items such as stairs, ramps, etc may be used on track
Minimum Legs	50 yards	50 yards	30 yards (15 yards vegetated on start)
Previous Requirements	Certification	TD	TD + 6 months
Distance from dog	20 feet	20 feet but may shorten for cover	10 feet

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Judge List for the Northeast

The 19 judges listed below are the tracking judges approved by the AKC who live in New England and New York. If your instructors are unavailable and you need help or have questions, you should not hesitate to call anyone on the list who lives in your area. Most members of the tracking community are happy to discuss tracking with anyone who’s really interested in our sport. Like other trackers, the judges will often make time to talk with you about a problem. Please feel free to contact them.

Mrs. Dana Avison Bondville, VT (802) 297-2551 vtdana@vermontel.net	Mrs. Carole Bolan (Certifications only) Groton, MA (978) 649-6338
Ms. Deborah L. Brown N. Hero, VT (802) 372-4234 nllabs@together.net	Mr. Michael Clemens Albany, NY (518) 456-3429 trackinggod@netzero.com
Ms. Stephanie Crawford Binghamton, NY (607) 775-1996 sacvlf@aol.com	Mr. Robert Cuzner Portland, ME (207) 775-1389 becuz42@maine.rr.com
Mr. Raymond Desmarais Barrington, NH (603) 664-5505 DESENV@aol.com	Mr. Miles Garrod Bedford, NH (603) 471-0360 Kitchener_M@myfairpoint.net
Mr. James Hanson, Sr. Windham, ME (207) 892-7187 ussexchange.verizon.net	Ms. Celeste Kelly York, ME (207) 363-4620 dwolfman@gwi.net
Mrs. Randie Meyer Amherst, NH (603) 673-0182 laekenois@sprintmail.com	Ms. Ilene Morgan Grand Isle, VT (802) 372-4232 islandlabs@aol.com
Ms. Betty Mueller Franklin, NY (607) 829-2187 bmueller@hmpress.com	Mr. Robert Parsons (Certifications only) Boxborough, MA (508) 265-7156
Ms. Salle Richards Beaver Dams, NY (607) 535-9838 sallerichards@yahoo.com	Mrs. Mary Thompson York, ME (207) 363-2492 frshstrt@maine.rr.com
Mr. Arthur Twiss Reading, MA (781) 944-5408 atwiss2@verizon.net	Ms. Doris Viguers Bernardston, MA (413) 648-9437 dviguers@nmhschool.org
Mrs. Suzanne White Appleton, ME (207) 845-2888 gaeakaos@midcoast.com

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AKC Tracking Statistics

2004 AKC Performance Statistics by Breed
Click here to obtain these statistics in pdf format.

2005 AKC Performance Statistics by Breed
Click here to obtain these statistics in pdf format.

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Tracking Poem

A Tracklayer's Lament
By Sarah ten Bensel


Oh, I pity the dog that runs this track.
It started so well but I could not find my way back
The first flag was easy and so was number two,
But things quickly faltered …what's a track-layer to do?


Sixty-seven paces to the far tree-line,
A right past the maple next to the sign,
Then out popped a pheasant, and then a raccoon
A tracker's dilemma but a hunting dog's boon!


I was steadfast and determined despite all my doubt
Besides, I thought, isn't this was tracking is about?


Continuing forward beyond the cover change
The woods appeared to open to a large range.
And from the east a strong wind came.
I referenced the turn and it started to rain


I reached in my pouch to get my rain hat
I fell in the mud on my face, flat.
The mud was thick and deep like a stew.
I emerged from this swamp minus a shoe.


Then through the short weeds that suddenly grew,
I was quickly lost and it was only turn two
"Why do I do this? This sport of tracking and all!
I only wanted my dog to come when I call!!"


I limped ahead to rest by a tree.
"Oh no!" I pondered, "Is this leg three?!"
Do I go left, do I go right, or move straight ahead
What direction did I come from, may be I'll go backward instead.


My tracklaying friends will understand—they are so nice,
What we really need is a global positioning device.
I pulled my out my map I so carefully plotted,
But the hard rain that came had left it all rotted.


I just plodded forward toward a small well
Meandered through thorns—this track's gone to hell!
So I zigged and I zagged through sand and rock.
All this wear-n-tear I was now without the sock


Finally I decided to end this journey-
I placed a brown glove next to an oak tree.
Miraculously I found my way back to my friends.
They were wide eyed and worried. "It's late! Where've you been?"


I smiled and told them about my disaster.
I tried to return sooner but I could not go faster.
In all, I said, I was glad to be back
But I pity the dog that will run on my track.


Happy Tracking!

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