Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
Training a dog to track involves directing long-ingrained instincts once used by dogs to hunt in packs. Tracking involves combining several kinds of scents to develop a path toward a goal or object. While tracking is easiest to teach when a dog is a puppy, older dogs can still learn this skill with a little extra time and practice.
German shorthaired pointers (GSPs) are the typical canine hunters that explore and seek the unknown. Their innate canine instincts combined with good training cause them to perform all the gundog roles to the point of excellence. They make great pointers, trackers and retrievers of fur and feather (in both field and water), and they are truly versatile hunting dogs. The breed's perception of danger comes from their training to develop hunting talents and their inherent hunter instincts.
Training of an explosives detection dog begins with standard obedience and goes on to incorporate the specialized training. Dogs are trained to detect the odors of explosive substances in vehicles, mass transit environments such as airport terminals and railway stations, baggage, vehicles, cargo and buildings.
Dogs are able to learn scent identification for police investigations. The dog is given a scent article, or an item with a suspect's scent, and then identifies the suspect. Before a dog is able to start reliably performing scent identification, it must have appropriate training in the tasks and learn identification skills. Scent identification is mostly natural for dogs, but they must learn to track the scent over a variety of materials and identify it on different objects.
Many dogs can be trained to track a person or thing's scent. This means the dog is able to follow the scent of something until he finds the object that has omitted the scent. This skill can be used to find a lost person or object. It can also help a dog to find its way home if it gets lost. By using a small amount of food, a person can train their dog to track based on scent.
Tracker dogs are highly skilled animals that are trained extensively to follow a person's scent. Evading a tracker dog is hard--the dogs will track for a long time and can catch a scent from a long distance away. The best approach to avoid being successfully tracked by a tracker dog is to confuse the dog, throw it off your scent and gain as much distance as possible. A more realistic approach is to slow down those tracking you in the hopes that whoever is tracking you calls off the search.
Training a detection dog is a lengthy process that starts when the dog is about 3 months old. Food training is one of the most commonly used methods. It is a positive command system that rewards a dog for finding a desired object. A fully trained detection dog can be used to find explosives, according to the Canadian Landmine Detection Dog Society website, as well as narcotics and missing people.
Military working dogs are highly driven dogs that must have at least rudimentary tracking skills. Training a tracking dog is done slowly, methodically and carefully in order to ensure that the dog understands scent theory. Before beginning tracking training, the dog needs to know basic obedience.
Dog owners may want to train their dog to detect scents to prepare the dog to act as a search-and-rescue dog, to help law enforcement officials detect illegal substances, or to work as a hunting dog. Most dogs detect scents naturally but need guidance in performing a scent-detecting task at the time and in the manner that its owner needs. Professional dog trainers have developed exercises which, if practiced with the dog repeatedly, will train a dog to direct its instinctive scent ability to detect scents in a controlled and useful manner.
Tracking dogs have been used for years for hunting, sport and search purposes. Dogs are naturally attracted to scents and will follow them in search of the source, making tracking training a fairly simple exercise. Some dogs, however, pick up bad habits and need to be re-taught how to track properly. Correcting dog tracking does take a bit of time and effort, but a properly completed track is well worth the effort.
To train your dog to track is to expand on what your pet already knows and is already doing. It is asking your dog to develop what is already his strongest sense --- his sense of smell --- and to allow you to communicate to him to what it is you want his nose to lead him. Once your dog is trained, it's important that you trust him and you trust his nose. According to the Pharaoh Hound website, when mistakes are made in tracking, it's usually the handler's fault, not the dog's.
Scent-trained dogs do search-and-rescue, find missing children and assist in locating bombs and illegal drugs. Teaching your dog to follow a scent is simply developing a natural ability in the dog, whose sense of smell far exceeds that of most other animals. In addition to scent training your dog, you must train yourself to work with your pet. Scent trained dogs can sniff the air, follow a trail on the ground, or pick up scents from plants, grass and dirt.
Scent train a dog by getting the dog interested in the item that will be tracked and using a clicker when the dog picks up the item. Consult a professional for help scent training a dog with advice from a professional dog trainer in this free video on dog obedience.
