Tracking Dog Training for
Police and Search & Rescue

Learning How to Lay a Training Track for Police Tracking Dogs and Search & Rescue Dogs

Urban & Suburban Tracking: Training Police Tracking and Search & Rescue Dogs

3 DVDs

Review 2 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

Hi my name’s Dean and I am a Police Dog Handler with the Cambridge shire constabulary dog section England. I have a 6.5 year old GSD and a 2 yr old yellow lab drugs search dog. I have had a lot of success with my GSD over the years with tracking, approximately 18-25 successful tracks with bodies on the end. He is to date the most successful dog we, have although we have dogs that have been working for 4 years with no success whatsoever. This is seen as the norm within the dept, which is total bullshit, as we both know! I purchased your RCMP tracking tapes a couple of years ago and myself and 2 other like-minded officers took it upon us to adopt the methods used. Boy did we come in for some criticism. So much so, that we were told on our appraisals that we were disruptive, despite younger in service handlers being interested in what we were doing. Of course the instructors totally poo-pooed the tapes and the claims, but the truth was they were not happy that some handlers had found new methods off there own backs and that they were not fit enough to adopt this style of tracking!

Good luck,
Dean

Review 3 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

February 29, 2000

You win, I have realized that you really know what you're talking about. I just received my tapes on TTD. They are absolutely too most basic and common since approach to tracking. Why other people use other methods I just don't know. I found out that our club believes in trailing and not FST. I tried one track with my dog today and was absolutely amazed at how she lost the track and then circled and pick it back up. You have a lot of good ideas in it. Keep up the good work of producing quality videos and don't change the way you narrate them, keep being yourself. I can't stand videos where they are "professionally prepared but they are afraid to make a stance and stand up for it. After eleven years as a paid firefighter/paramedic I clearly see when someone is just bullshitting or really know what they are doing.

Thanks Much,
Mark C

Review 4 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

February 23, 2000

Ed,

This is Mike W of the Gaffney Police Dept. in SC. Several weeks ago, I ordered the Tracking videos from you, and I'm pleased to say that the videos were all that I expected (and then some...) and I've applied the principles in the video to the weekly maintenance training of my police dog, Kantor, and the results have been astounding, to say the least. Medium to long distance tracks aren't a problem for him, except that he chooses to stop every fifty yards or so to mark his territory. I figure as long as he leads me the right way (most of our training tracks have been unknown tracks...) and finds the guy at the end, he can mark his territory wherever he wants.

The ultimate test came a couple of weeks ago. There was a little bit of snow and ice on the ground, and there was a moderate breeze (15 m.p.h. according to the NWS). To make a long story short, we had a felony assault call, with the suspect fleeing the scene right as units arrived. The responding units called for us to track the suspect. Regardless of the cold wind, after our pre track ritual (where the dog marks his territory and craps) we began the unknown track in the direction of the suspect. I was unsure about the direction the dog was leading me until we got to a construction site where I found fresh tracks. The dog continued to pull harder and harder until approx. 200 yards later, when the suspect came out of some woods with his hands in the air, begging me to not let the dog go. I just wanted to let you know that the tapes that you produced have been a huge help to me and my partner, and I would recommend these tapes to any police dog handler whose partner is having trouble with unknown tracks (or as I call them, real-life tracks) when your K-9 tracks perfectly in training, but not-so-good when the real call comes in.

Thanks a million...

In any case, thanks for the videos and the help...

Mike W

Review 5 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

November 30, 1999

Hi, Ed! Just a note to say that I've almost finished viewing the 3 police tracking tapes (RCMP style) and the 4th tape on hard surface tracking that you produced in Holland. They are absolutely fantastic! I consider myself very knowledgeable on matters of K-9 search and rescue and the training of area search (air scent) dogs, but no one has ever showed me tracking like this! I used to believe that all tracking was done at a slow walk behind the dog... luckily I didn't pass my ignorance on to my new dog. With your tapes, I have begun to train him properly, and he's taking to it like a fish to water, as they say! And so am I!

Thanks!
Steve U & GSD "Radar"

Review 6 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

March 23, 1999

Ed,

I was first exposed to some of your training methods last summer while attending a K9 Trainer/Instructor School in Richmond, British Columbia. My instructors there were Brian AMM and Bob EDEN.

I presently work with a medium sized police department in Arkansas. I worked with Narcotics Detector Dogs for 3 1/2 years in the US Navy, and have been working a Patrol/Narcotics Dog here for a little over 4 years.

I have trained with several agencies from Florida, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and the RCMP.

The only training methods that I found that work consistently are those taught by the RCMP. It seems to me that they hold their dogs to a higher standard than the Americans, and the Americans just seem to "get by."

I have used your "Level 1 Country Tracking Video", and plan on ordering the other two as well.The thought, experience, and just plain common sense that is in the first video is an eye opener.

I fully agree on your thoughts behind the American Shepherd, and what the AKC and GSD Club have done for the breed in the United States, and it is sad.

A fellow K-9 person in Arkansas,
Dave S

Review 7 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

January 3, 1999

Dear Ed,
I have a knpv mal that I am going to try and cert in SAR I had put about 25 training tracks into him and he was coming along well I ordered your video on Police dog tracking and all I can say is Thank you the video has helped the last few sessions his improvement has been startling and more important I'm improving and not holding him back. Again thanks from one who has developed "the bug for tracking and scent work."

Regards,
Brad T

Review 8 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

Ed,

I 've been following your info for quite some time through video and the internet. I got to tell you that I turn to you for a lot of my information. I 've been a dog handler for some time now and am on my second k-9. We work in a city area but also often are called to assist rural agencies who do not have dogs. Quite often these agencies do not have the containment or other things we have in the city.

My first dog was Schutz, tracked trained in 1987. Although we had our good finds we lost a lot of people. My new K-9 and I started in 1994 after the death of my first dog. I went through over 480 hours of training prior to putting him on patrol at age 2. We trained him in tracking through drive.. what a change !!!! If RCMP could bottle this and sell it they would be rich!!. I always thought that Schutzhund. Tracking was too slow for police work and often wondered what else there could be. Well now I know. My first track on the street, a subject with warrants fled a traffic stop. We caught him with-in 3 blocks.. the next track, an armed robbery suspect we tracked from the scene, over several surface changes, and right to an apartment where the K-9 began barking and alerting at a sliding glass door. Low and behold inside the apartment was the bad guy laying behind a couch and against the slider. The stories could continue... We just finished another dog in TTD and we have another agency in our area that has a TTD K-9 and out success rates are much higher than others. Some agencies who have tracked off lead as a practice and have seen our dogs track are now changing their tunes. Great stuff.

I am also glad to finally hear someone finally dispell the saying that to have a good police dog it must be a strong alpha dog. That's a myth that some people still believe and causes some agencies to have non social alligators...It's also nice to see someone talk about the importance of fight drive in muzzle work and not prey drive. Well enough said. I guess by now you know I think you put out some great info and what's better is that you have the proof to back it.. I would love a chance to train with you.. In any case I will keep following the training info you put out and keep buying your products. Please keep up the good work. Thanks.

Jason S, KPD K9 Mierko

The RCMP Canine Certification Program

Review 9 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

I have been viewing your videos for some time now and about 3 months ago started to train man-tracking using the video "tracking for police service dogs." What a difference it has made. Before my dobe was hectic and easily distracted while on the track. Now he is calm, stable and a pleasure to track. 3 nights ago I was asked to assist in a track. The offender had stabbed a local security guard and had taken off through a chicken farm and had gone to ground in some very thick scrub. I was asked to assist the local police as all their other K-9 units were tied up with other jobs for several hours. When I arrived the track was 45 minutes old and went right through the chicken pens. Needless to say I was very apprehensive of my dobes chances. How wrong was I?! The track only went about 500 yards when my dobe indicated that the offender was under a 4x4. He refused to come out, so I was directed to engage with my dobe. He was dragged out by my dobe and taken into custody. He was a big boy! 6 feet 1 inch and 340 pounds, and squealed like my 2 year old. My company has already received a letter of thanks from the Queensland police and from the security guards company. The Qld police use the schutzhund style tracking and are now talking of changing tactics.

If I did not use your tape there is no way I would have been able to run this track with the results we had.

Thanks again, you and the tapes are truly a must-have for any serious patrol dog handler.

Stay safe, Jason & Unit (the Doberman)

Review 10 for "Training Tracking Dogs for Police or S&R Dogs" DVD

Hi Ed,

After watching your RCMP country tracking video, my kids and I completed our fifth track with our three-year-old pound puppy (shepherd mix). It was the longest track yet, aged fifteen minutes, had a couple of small turns in it (so that we could line up landmarks for the straight legs) and he didn't see my son walk away (we kept the dog in the car longer). It was totally exhilarating. I thought he was off-track at one point only to find out that my son and I had miscommunicated which path he had taken. The dog was totally correct! When I say "let's go tracking" the dog now gets excited and runs to the car. What a rush!

Hopefully we'll make it far enough to buy the urban tape later on.

Thanks,
Ken