Police Dog Tracking/Trailing

[Tim Connell]

OK: Another conversation starter...

How do you start your police dogs on their tracking/trailing?


There seems to be a wide variation in how people start their dogs, from an IPO style track, that they then expand to hard surfaces, to "scent in a bottle", to HITT, to laying tracks barefoot, to various combinations thereof.

Some don't like the hydration, but I have my own opinions on it...

How we do it:
We use a modified version of the HITT method, for police dog type tracks/trails.

We start them on a scent pad with heavy bait, to reinforce good nose down behavior, and as soon as that is solid, we transition right to a hard surface track.

Pavement, concrete, hard pack, dirt, grass, then woods. (leaves, pine needles, forest floor material in our region) The theory is train them on "most difficult to least difficult", so the dog starts tracking on the most difficult surface it will ever encounter.

We also track in snow of course, if in season.

We start the dogs on hard surface as soon as they exhibit good nose down behavior, and concentration for the task. Very dependent on the individual dog, but they usually progress quickly.


What are you using?
Opinions?

[cliffson1]

I think a lot is based on what age are you going to start, what are the drive levels if its a older green dog, and the commitment of the handler. I like to start puppies on food and grass surfaces, once the dog is firmly threaded in to understanding the command you use and has built up distance endurance enter many of the things you mention Tim. Now a green dog of 18 months or older, it is much easier to start earlier with the multi-faceted approach especially if the dog has great natural hunt drive. All dogs will track/trail as you know because of the superior olfactory tools, but the more varied and difficult the tasks the better the foundation and natural drives need to be in sync. Lastly, of supreme importance is the commitment of the handler in working the dog. Police officers are like anybody else in that many don't make a continuous and thorough commitment to tracking/trailing....there are a lot of hiccups as you vary terrain, difficulty, and objects to be foundor tracked...but the officers that make the commitment or are obsessive about tracking usually get there with their dogs regardless of the approach....just some thoughts.

[Tim Connell]

Originally Posted by cliffson1

I think a lot is based on what age are you going to start, what are the drive levels if its a older green dog, and the commitment of the handler. I like to start puppies on food and grass surfaces, once the dog is firmly threaded in to understanding the command you use and has built up distance endurance enter many of the things you mention Tim. Now a green dog of 18 months or older, it is much easier to start earlier with the multi-faceted approach especially if the dog has great natural hunt drive. All dogs will track/trail as you know because of the superior olfactory tools, but the more varied and difficult the tasks the better the foundation and natural drives need to be in sync. Lastly, of supreme importance is the commitment of the handler in working the dog. Police officers are like anybody else in that many don't make a continuous and thorough commitment to tracking/trailing....there are a lot of hiccups as you vary terrain, difficulty, and objects to be foundor tracked...but the officers that make the commitment or are obsessive about tracking usually get there with their dogs regardless of the approach....just some thoughts.

It does seem that people either love scentwork, or hate it. The two extremes, it seems.

Agreed, a lot depends on the individual dog, and it's drives.

[DFrost]

I start tracking using footstep like they would in Schutzhund. While it's as boring as watching paint dry, it does give the dog a good foundation.

DFrost