I've been realy pushing hard surface tracking with my dog and have been using the article aproach with good sucess. When I take the articles away in the next few months I will use the "waking in socks" approach. Recently, I have met a trainer who swears by the scent in a bottle meathod where you wet the stinky t-shirt, wring it out in a spray bottle and spray it along the track.

Has anyone used this with much sucess?

Kevin.. I try to lay at least one training track for my dog every day. When we do a hard surface tracking I try to stick to hard surface only as I want to build time and length into the intense concentration I see without the distraction of a surface change for right now. Low humidity is not a problem here, but odd wind currents are. Once he is on track he does well keeping fairly close to the track and will occasionally moove off of the track to check for pooled scent along curbs and walls of buildings. I would like to see better starts on hard surface, they have been a little too hectic for my liking. I have been downing him right on the track at the starts and waiting till he is extreemly calm and focused before I am allowing him to begin the track. I'm thinking that your t-shirt drag will help build his confidence at the start of the track. I'm leary of using a scent article at the start of the tracks as I don't want to make him dependant on them. I do however like to use them as motivation for the dog during the legs of the track.

Ive used the scent in a bottle and have had good results.I set the sprayer on stream and bend over and put the scent exactly where my footstep is.From there I go to barefeet or socks and from there to putting the scent on my boots, the last thing I do is go to spraying clean water on the ground in front of me and walking thru it.As you probably know you need to be using distilled water with scent in a bottle.

Hey Guys

Have a look at the postings under SIAB (POLICE TRACKING one above) and see if the conversations there help. I am also looking for more information to start a young puppy. If anyone has any experiences (both positive and negative) or comments, can they post them.

Thanks

Bill Johnson
Cairns Police Dog Squad
Queensland, Australia

In my patrol school my trainer used the scent in the bottle. HE used a pump deck sprayer on stream. We did them after sundown to help with the evaporation. We would start just as the water marks disappeared. It seemed to work good. We progressed muck like the post by David Morris ending with walking in boots through clean water to using no water and scuffing your feet.