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Tracking
What Is Tracking?
A dog’s keen sense of smell has been put to use by humans
for as long as the two species have lived together. The dog’s ability to locate other animals
(possible food!) using their sense of smell was probably one of the earliest
motivations for humans to develop partnerships with dogs, and that ability is
still put to use by modern hunters. With
training, a dog’s innate scenting ability can also be channeled to help us
locate hidden drugs, chemicals used in the manufacture of explosives, and
flammable material left over at possible arson sites. Dogs have also been trained to locate edible
truffles that sell at over $1000 per pound, and are used by wildlife biologists
to locate specific types of animals either directly or by locating their
scat. Dogs are also used in search and
rescue to locate people who are lost, people who have run away from a crime
scene, or people trapped in rubble from collapsed buildings and other
structures. Tracking is one set of
scenting skills that may be used in locating people who are either lost or
deliberately hiding. In tracking, a dog
follows the trail of scent left on the ground whenever a person walks
somewhere. Although the trail may be
more difficult to follow in some conditions, it is not unheard of for well
trained dogs to follow tracks that are well over a day old, to remain on the
track of a specific person even if that track has been crossed by many other
people, and to follow tracks over a variety of vegetated and non-vegetated
surfaces. Besides having practical
applications, tracking is an activity that is enjoyable for both the dog and
his human partner. Following behind a
skilled tracking dog provides the handler a glimpse into a complex sensory world
that is otherwise almost non-existent to humans, and forces a good tracking
handler to work in genuine partnership with his dog, trusting that the dog
truly knows more than the human does in some situations.
Collies and Tracking?
Most dogs, certainly including collies, are physically capable
of following tracks left by humans. To
be successful as either a “professional” or hobby tracker though, the dog also
has to be physically sound enough to traverse uneven terrain for some distance,
must have a strong enough work ethic to persistently search for difficult to
locate scent, and must have a strong desire to work with his human partner on a
specified track without being distracted by other inherently interesting
scents. Collies are an ideal size for tracking
- large and agile enough to cover ground at a steady pace, but not so heavy
that they tire or overheat quickly. And
most importantly, collies enjoy working in partnership with their human. They are willing to stick to a task if the
trainer makes that task rewarding, are generally less distracted by the scent
and sound of birds than many of their keen-nosed brethren in the sporting
group, and less easily tempted by the trails of bunnies, mice, deer and other
mammals than their scent-obsessed friends in the hound group. Collie owners interested in tracking should
keep their collie lean and fit (and it doesn’t hurt to keep the handler lean
and fit as well!). If seeking a collie
specifically for tracking or for other types of scent work (search and rescue,
arson detection, drug detection), owners should look for collies that are
easily motivated by toys or food, that enjoy interacting with people, that are
structurally sound, and that are persistent in attempting to get what they
want.
Tracking as a Sport
Even if one never becomes involved in the more professional
applications of scent work, tracking can be an enjoyable hobby that physically
and mentally stimulates both the collie and the handler. Although tracking requires a certain level of
physical fitness in order to eventually put in a mile or two of walking during
a training session, it is a low impact activity that is friendly to joints of
“mature” collies and handlers alike.
Training usually begins with the novice dog literally following a trail
of cookie crumbs until he finds an article like a glove or wallet dropped by
the tracklayer. These beginning tracks
teach the dog to associate the smell of a track with lots of yummy treats, and
to develop a dependable desire to stick to the track rather than exploring
other enticing smells along the way.
Gradually the treats get spaced farther apart, the tracks get longer,
turns are added, the age of the track increases, tracks are crossed by other
people and animals, and obstacles like road crossings, fences, changes in
vegetation, and hard surfaces like pavement are added. In the beginning stages a trainer can lay a
track for his own dog, but eventually it is beneficial to work with other
trainers to lay “blind” tracks for each other and observe whether the dog is
remaining on task and on track.
Beginning tracks can be laid in a decent sized back yard, but fairly
quickly the tracking team will need access to some open fields of at least a
few acres in size. The fields need not
be pristine though, and many tracking enthusiasts do much of their training in
city parks and large school-yards.
AKC Tracking Tests
The
American Kennel Club (AKC) currently offers titles for three levels of
tracking
proficiency, and a dog that achieves all three titles is designated as
a
Champion Tracker (CT). All AKC tracking
dog tests are judged as pass/fail; there is no competitive scoring or
placements given at a tracking test. The
Tracking Dog (TD) title is awarded to a dog that successfully
negotiates a
track of about a quarter mile in length over relatively uniformly
vegetated
terrain. The track must have been laid
between 30 minutes and 2 hours before the dog starts the track, and
must
include 3 to 5 abrupt turns. Before
entering an official TD test the dog must be certified as capable of
passing by
a licensed AKC judge. Certification
involves successfully negotiating a track with all the same elements as
an
official test track, but may take place informally at a time and date
arranged
by the judge and handler. Once a dog has
passed a TD test, it is eligible to enter both Tracking Dog Excellent
(TDX) and
Variable Surface Tracking (VST) tests. A
TDX track is about a half mile long, includes 5 to 8 abrupt turns, is
aged
between 3 and 5 hours before the dog runs the track, is crossed in two
separate
places by people other than the original tracklayer, and must include
at least
a couple obstacles like road crossings, changes in vegetation, steep
grades,
fence crossing or other similar scenting challenges. A VST track
is about 700 yards long, and must
cross a variety of surfaces. Much of the
track must be on non-vegetated surfaces like pavement, packed
gravel, and sidewalks. These tests typically take place in
city
parks, on campuses, or in industrial parks where any number of people
may cross
the track as it ages between 3 and 5 hours.
The presence of buildings that inevitably generate swirling air
currents
also adds to the challenge of a VST track.
A few breeds like golden and labrador retrievers, German shepherd dogs,
Belgian tervuren, and rottweilers tend to earn the most of the tracking
titles
conferred by AKC. But, with the
exception of these few breeds, collies compare very well with other
breeds in
tracking. Generally about 3 or 4 collies
per year will earn a TD title, and on average one collie per year earns
the
TDX. So far only two collies have earned
the highly challenging VST, which along with their TDX’s entitles
these two
collies to the high honor of being designated Champion Trackers.
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