This article deals with laying a good foundation for training your dog to track. Even if you have a dog that has already started tracking this article may help solve a few problems you might be experiencing.

Dogs are natural tracking. Their desire to hunt and find things is ingrained into their genetics. Add specific groups like the hound group to that and you get dogs like the Bloodhound. The canine equivelent to Superman in regards to the power of smell.

	One of the biggest mistakes people make when training a tracking dog is they get in the way of nature. They try to "guide" the dog or they end up guiding the dog without ever really knowing they are guiding the dog.

When I said, "people get in the way" what I mean is, they tend to help the dog. One way is by setting easy tracks from the start. The straight line track that is aged for 30 seconds is not helping a tracking dog learn anything. Another way is by guiding the dog using the leash or long line.

When I set a track I age it for 20 minutes. In most dog sports the entry level tracks are aged around 20 minutes so why not start that way? I still help the dog by laying the track early in the morning or after a good light rain so the dew or rain water traps the scent of my foot prints longer. While this is helping, the dog is not being aided by me in a way that will harm the dog while on the track. In other words, the dog will not come running to me when they can't find that turn or when the article is just in front of their noses but they are a bit confused.

Before the track is laid, I walk my dog to a place a few hundred yards away from where I want to lay the track and I play with them for a while. Then I put them up, go lay the track, and let the track age. After the track has aged to the desired time I get the dog out, and start the track.

Here is where our training is a bit different from other trainers ...

I lead the dog to the start of the track and I drop the leash and walk away.

You what? I walk away and stand a few yards back and let nature take its course. Once the dog is on on the food I placed in my foot steps it is just a matter of letting the dog use what nature gave him to use. His beautiful nose.

No talking to the dog, no cooing the dog, no playing with the dog on the track, none of that. I do talk to those people around me and if the dog comes to me for attention I ignore them. When they get back on the track I continue talking. After the dog has been searching for 5 minutes or so I walk over, grab the leash, and release the dog. Then we play.

If you don't want to drop the leash, use a 30-60 foot long line. Also, use food you know the dog i highly motivated for this will help keep them on the track. Of course, use common sense, don't let them run off if you are tracking near a busy road or something.

Why take these steps? First and foremost I play with the dog before and after to make a positive association with tracking. If you just grab the dog, track, then go home, the dog may start to dislike the idea of tracking.

I don' talk to the dog or handle the dog because I want to allow him/her to figure it out on his/her own. This creates a dog that relies on himself to figure out the track. If he/she gets confused and I help him or her, this only teaches the dog to look to me.

When you take yourself out of the picture the dog learns to think. This is how I teach and approach dog training in general. I want a dog to figure things out and problem solve. Not a robot who responds to leash corrections or "Aaaaaaattttttbaaaaattt" voice corrections.

Tracking can be fun or it can be hard. If you try to get too involved in the foundation aspects of the training you will find your dog will miss turns, lose their way, and when they are really stuck they shut down because you can't help them on a real track.

In our tracking video we demonstrate with our 7 month GSD pups (Ace is still available by the way) switching from our foundation track to a serpentine style track with food in every other foot step. In the beginning you want to place food in every step.

The video lesson is if you have already started your dog on tracking. If not, stay tuned for the next video lesson which deals with laying a foundation track and teaching the dog to be self reliant.

If you are interested in checking out the Tracking Fundemental video lesson you can do so here.

I'll conclude with a few keys to keep in mind when starting your dog in tracking.

1. Do not introduce new treats or rewards here. Use the tried and true motivator here.

2. Don't sweet talk the dog or get involved. Just let them track.

3. Play with the dog before and after tracking. Make it fun for them.

4. Let the track age for the amount of time a novice track would age. If you are training search and rescue you can vary the time.

Article by: Jason Mann ~ http://www.TopDogTrainingSolutions.com
Copyright 2010 Top Dog K9 Training Solutions. All rights reserved. Feel free to use this article on your site so long as the content stays exactly the same. You may not use the images.