Tracking Articles

[speedy2]

I am also interested in tracking. What is the difference between IPO and ANKC? I think my girl will be brilliant at tracking- but I am curious as to how a trial works? Basically my understanding is a track is layed and the dog has to find the article, and the either drop/pause? Is this right? What happens next?

Any articles would be great- checked out CAWA website and all i could find was info for training judges. Just want to know the rules etc!

I clicked on the link that speedy2 posted about Dennis Helms- but page is no longer there.

you can also try http://www.trackingclubnsw.org.au

basically your dog has to follow a track by scent, indicate articles left on the track by either dropping, sitting, standing or at least pausing ... take the turns the tracklayer has taken, ignore any other tracks that may be on your track, and find either the tracklayer or the article at the end.

the tracks are graded, and become more difficult as the dog progresses.

where are you? it's a hard sport, and trying to learn it all by yourself can be difficult. it would be good if you can link up with a club or other tracking people.

sorry the article by Dennis Helms is not there - it's a good one. try this as an updated link - http://www.schutzhund-training.net/trackin...ngarticles.html

also check out the links pages on some of the websites listed here and in previous posts.

speedy2

[africandreams]

I"m in WA. I know that there is tracking training up at Gnangara (correct me if I'm wrong)- this is a good hour from my house on a Saturday morning.....

[speedy2]

I"m in WA. I know that there is tracking training up at Gnangara (correct me if I'm wrong)- this is a good hour from my house on a Saturday morning.....

Hi

You have to be a littel strange to enjoy tracking. I'm tracking a greyhound at the moment, so I'm stating upfront that I'm very strange!

I've tried to teach my dog tracking by myself ... and failed. Unless you know what you're doing with tracking, and can solve tracking problems, you're better off with help. That might mean some travelling.

You generally have to travel for tracking. I've travelled for 4 hours to a tracking trial I wasn't even entered in, and that meant leaving at 3:30 in the morning! At my club we often have people travelling 3 hours plus to come to training. In America I have known people drive for 10 hours to a trial in which they were the reserve, didn't get in, and drove for 10 hours home again.

You always have to get up early, you often get wet, you sometimes get muddy. You develop a really good technique for going to the toilet behind a tree. You get cold. And you drive a lot. But the joy of watching a dog, yours or someone else's, track and indicate articles and ignore decoys and take turns is incredible. And the frustration of trying to work out why the dog did that (and how to fix it) is also incredible.

If it's too far on a Saturday morning to go to tracking training ... then it's probably too far to go to tracking trials, or to good tracking areas. You might be better off with another sport that doesn't require so much strangeness.