Tracking is a great way to channel your dogs energy and challenge their mind. There are different avenues of tracking from sports trials (earning titles), to search and rescue (professional working dogs), to dogs who only participate for fun and energy release. Tracking as a dog sport is intended to exercise the mind and body of your dog. Tracking is an ideal activity for dogs which have high drive (motivation and energy for a task) and require a means for release. Any breed of dog can do tracking and many dogs will excel at tracking where they have failed at other dog sports. Tracking challenges your dog with a task, they utilize their innate physical and mental abilities to the fullest extent, as nature had intended. In this book, we focus on Tracking as a sport or for fun. We use techniques and methods used by professional tracking and trailing dog handlers. We cover everything from laying your first track, progressing your training and troubleshooting. Learn about scent, how it moves and how it is affected by the environment so that you can start to understand your dogs behaviour and support them. Understanding scent also makes it easier for you to make well planned practice tracks for you and your training partners.
