At what age do most people start teaching tracking? I've heard it mentioned to start as early as possible and make it a game. Hotdogs on the track and such. My pup likes to sit and look at me, unless of course she has found a cricket or grasshopper to chase. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Chris,
What type of tracking will you be doing? Sch?

I guess the closest correlation would be police tracking, altough I don't want a bite apprehension. My goal is to be able to put her on a track and find either a hunter/poacher in the woods or a lost hiker/hunter.

I do however want to teach area searches for articles as a means of evidence recovery. I would aid in locating spent shells, guns ditched by night hunters, etc.

Only know sport tracking. Probably won’t help you but this post might help someone else. Have your puppy hungry. Lay a track early in the morning when there is still dew present. Temp not too cold or hot. Lay a track into the wind. Find thick grass that if you stepped on it you could see the footstep yourself. Put a flag at the starting point and lay a pad by stomping a small square a couple of feet lengths each way. Put a small pile of hotdogs in the middle of the patch. Start walking a straight line into the wind and dig deep with your heel and press down firmly with your foot. Put a hot dog bit in the heel. Keep legs close together and lay heel toe, heel toe. You do not want your pup to have to walk to get to the next footstep. At the end of the track put another small pile of hotdogs. Take your pup to the start pad. Calmly and quietly tell him to track while pointing down at the food. Just before he is done walk with him and point to the first footstep. Praise calmly. If he lifts his head before he is done calmly point to the next step with the track command. If he looses interest before finishing. Either the track was too long, too hard or he was not hungry enough. Super basic.

I just wanted to make sure that I made it clear that my post does not fit this thread. I just thought Chris would be interested in my training as I am his.

OK now we're getting somewhere. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I had heard of footstep tracking of course, just never had it explained in the "... for dummies" format. I teach a Lab to track by letting a duck or pigeon wander off so this was a foreign concept to me.

Thanks and rest assured I'll have more questions.

Chris-Who's saving money for videos.

On the subject of videos... Ed sells a couple that I would highly recommend on the subject of tracking. One is a very inexpensive overview of KNPV ("Visiting Holland's KNPV Clubs") that starts off with 40 minutes of tracking and scent training at the Rotterdam Police School. There is some amazing footage of tracking dogs in there, and some of the tracklaying methods are thought-provoking.

More specifically, check out "Training Police Tracking Dogs or S&R Dogs--Tracking Through Drive (Level One - Country Tracking)". This is a more expensive tape, but I'm pretty sure that this is EXACTLY the kind of information you need. The tape was made with the assistance of the RCMP.

Pete Felknor

I started my GSD at four months of age (when I got him). Once I had developed a bond with the dog I would have someone hold him while I ran and hid behind something. Then they would release him and he would come to me. Next, I would run to the same spot, they would turn him around, and then I would move to another spot. He would run to the first spot (where he last saw me) and when I wasn't there, he would begin to track me. Everytime he found me I told him "good seek, good, seek" and praised him. It doesn't take very long at all for them to learn what the command means, then you can start them on other people.

No food, no toys, just you and your dog.