The dog I laid track for passed its tracking test!

I spent three hours round trip for two consecutive days, walked around in a muddy field full of cow poop, and built some new map-making skills, but in the end, it was even worth getting up at 4:00 in the morning to do it all. The team who walked my track consisted of a 15-year-old girl and her long-haired standard dachshund. The dachsie nearly headed to the middle of the field instead of toward the edge, where the first leg of the track had been laid, but after making her first turn she never set a paw wrong. The last two legs of the track were absolutely beautifully run: the dog had its nose down the entire time and the girl had to run to keep up to her working dog. She let out a huge whoop of joy when she saw her dog lie down to indicate he'd found the glove--both judges and I yelled our congratulations across the field before joining her at the track's end. Next year, I'd love to be testing a dog at our trial--tracking is very neat and the dog breeds present at the trials would probably surprise you!

 

Oh, that sounds so cool! I would love to do something like that! I have two dachshunds and a beagle I bet they would rock!

 

Yes it sounds so exciting.
It will be nice to be able to watch it in person and join the cheering audience.
Congrats for such successful event.

 

Sounds like a very interesting way to spend the early hours of the morning. There must be a lot of techniques involved in laying the track. What makes the dog follow the track you laid down?

 

Dogs are trained for months to follow a track laid by another person. By the time they come to a tracking trial, they can follow a 400-yard course and have been certified to enter tracking trials by demonsttrating their tracking skills to a qualified trainer or judge. Laying a track for a trial requires going out with the two judges that will be testing the dogs on the day before the trial and following them as they walk the course that they have mapped. While laying the initial course, the tracklayer counts steps on each straight line of the course (a "leg") and marks the corners with flags. After the judges have set the course, the tracklayer walks the course a second time--or even a third time--drawing a map and making note of things in the environment that will help him or her find the course later, once the flags have been removed and if the dog and handler need help finishing.

The day of the trial, the tracklayer walks the track one last time, leaving one article with his or her scent at the first flag. If the track is for a beginning dog that has never earned a tracking title before, s/he leaves the second flag in place to give an indication of the direction the dog must take. All of the other flags are removed as the tracklayer walks the track that final time. After the last flag is removed, the tracklayer drops a glove or another article to mark the end of the track--the dog must indicate this article to show that the track has been completed and to qualify.

A tracklayer is not allowed to scuff his or her feet while a track is being laid, to give the dog a better idea of the course. Neither is the tracklayer allowed to leave other hints, such as broken brush or dropped articles other than those required for the test. The dog must pass on skill and training alone. Any dog can learn to track--but watching a dog that has a scent move confidently along the track that was laid is a thing of beauty.