Article by Sandi Atkinson
By smelling the ground, a tracking dog follows a scent trail laid when someone walks over the ground. In any tracking test, the dog must keep closely to the original track and not wander too far from it. It is not search and rescue, where the only thing that matters is to get to where a person or victim is NOW, not where s/he has walked previously. A tracking dog may get some help from air scent, particularly with a young track, but to succeed, it must keep its head down to the ground.
The CKCSC-USA does not administer a tracking title program. The AKC has three different levels of tracking tests: TD (Tracking Dog), TDX (Tracking Dog Excellent), and VST (Variable Surface Tracking). Dogs earning all three titles are then designated as Champion Trackers (CT). Full information on the tracking rules and regulations can be found on the AKC website, www.akc.org. This discussion covers the general characteristics of tracking and specifics of the TD test.
Cavaliers retain enough of their sporting heritage to enable them to be very good tracking dogs. To pass the TD test and earn the title, the dog must find a glove or wallet dropped by the tracklayer, which, for purposes of the test, marks the end of the trail (where the tracklayer walked). A TD track is 440-500 yards long and contains three to five turns. It is aged a minimum of half an hour and maximum of two hours. That means that the tracklayer began walking the track that length of time before the dog is started on the track. The TD track may not include changes of cover (vegetation), go over pavement, fences or other obstacles, water, cross-tracks, nor multiple articles. In tracking tests, a track does not double back on itself, and the rules specify how close the legs may be to each other, other tracks (more than one dog may be competing on the day), etc. The direction of the first leg of the TD track is indicated by two flags, usually about four to five feet high, placed 30 yards apart.
In other dog sports like obedience and agility, the handler directs the dog what to do and where to go. But in a tracking trial, the handler does NOT know where the track goes. All the handler sees is a field. Only if there has been a heavy frost or some snow will some of the tracker’s footprints be visible. The only time the handler knows where the track goes is in training, when the handler lays his/her own tracks for the dog to follow. During these weeks and months of training before a test, the handler learns to trust the dog and to read the dog’s body language, to know when it is tracking and when it is not, when it is on the track and when it has lost the track. The handler also learns how to handle—such as how to hold the lead, stay on the track and not allow the dog to pull the handler off it, when to stop and when to go with the dog.
During training, the handler also learns how to make a map of the track. It is ESSENTIAL that the handler know EXACTLY where ALL PARTS of the track go. For example, if you walked in snow several inches deep and an hour later had to walk the EXACT same path, you could probably do it if few or no other walkers had crossed your path, and the snow hadn’t melted. Now suppose you walk through a grassy field of several acres, without snow, and drop a glove at the end of your track. Perhaps you could find the glove again if you knew it was near a certain tree, and you went directly to that tree. But to succeed in tracking, you must be able to retrace your steps along the entire path BEFORE the glove, starting at the beginning, including all the legs, and hitting all the turns. To do this, you learn to make a map by noting landmarks, lining up two landmarks so you can walk in a straight line, counting your steps, and so on. Yes, it can be complex, but when you start, your first efforts will be limited to very short tracks of maybe 20 to 50 paces in a straight line. You will gradually learn to make maps and lay tracks as your dog gradually learns to follow the track.
Tracking will never be an attractive sport for spectators. Dog and handler must work at a considerable distance away from where any other people may be located, and if the terrain is hilly, may go out of sight for part of the track. The dog wears a tracking harness and is connected to the handler by a 40-foot lead. The hander typically gets no closer than 20 feet to the dog while it is working. The best pace will be no faster than a brisk walk, and there may be stops and starts along the way.
The two judges and tracklayer follow along behind the handler and dog on the previous leg of the track. For a test, judges and tracklayers meet the day before to plot the tracks, leaving flags to mark the start, turns, and end (where the glove is to be dropped) of each track and make maps. On the day of the TD test, each tracklayer lays his or her track at a specified time, pulling up all the marker flags except the first two 30 yards apart and leaving the two articles with his/her scent on them, one at the beginning and one (a glove or wallet) at the end of the track for the dog to find
Tracking is only done outdoors in whatever weather conditions exist on the day. The best tracking weather is cool and damp with little wind, but of course, on the day of the trial it may be rainy, snowy, windy, or very cold. The dog and handler must be prepared to walk through pasture fields where the ground may be uneven and the grass rather long. For these reasons, tracking does not appeal to everyone. Still, there is no comparison to the feeling of success when your dog guides you through a field on a “blind” track to the glove at the end. You have no idea how he did it, but he did it: a truly awesome experience!
The best way to get started in tracking is to attend a seminar for beginners where you can get more information and have your questions answered. The seminar presenter(s) should have had a good deal of experience and be open to working with all breeds of dogs. There should be opportunity for you to lay beginning tracks and find out how to continue on your own once you go home. I can recommend Donna Thompson and Julie Hogan. They are based in Virginia, but may do seminars in other parts of the country. Ask your local all-breed clubs who does tracking in your area. No harm in reading books, but books will only get you so far. There is no substitute for getting out there and doing it. You will probably want to practice at least three times a week, more if possible.
Since 1977, 14 Cavaliers have earned the AKC Tracking Dog (TD) title and two the Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX). The first TDX was in 1984, second in 2005. The 13th TD was also in 2005, just a week before the TDX. A dog with titles in agility, obedience, and tracking is designated a Versatile Companion Dog (VCD) by the AKC. There are several ranks of VCD, depending on the levels of titles achieved in all three performance areas. At this time, one Cavalier is a VCD1, one a VCD2 and one a VCD3.
