Congratulations to Nancy and Hendrick for getting their first tracking title! Hendrick was a previous graduate of the Full-Service Training at The Doghouse, LLC. Nancy had a specific training goal for him, and that was to be a tracking dog. German Shepherds are known for their natural tracking abilities. Tracking for the competition of IPO (formally known as Schutzhund) is when a dog follows the course of the track methodically and intensely with its nose deep in the scent. A judge scores the dog’s performance, and the maximum number of points that could give is 100.
Tracking in Florida can be challenging year-round and especially during the summer months. We use different training strategies such as freezing the food, tracking flags, and laying our tracks before the sun comes up to help with the heat and fire ants on the food. Like any skill you want to perfect, practice is the key. Tracking is a very natural exercise for dogs because dogs in the wild survive by hunting and tracking down potential prey. We have taken this technique in which the dogs are naturally able to discriminate terrain and created a competition with rules for the sport of IPO. Competitions are held all over the nation and in other countries. It is amazing to watch these dogs generalize tracking on various terrains, weather conditions, and different ages of the track itself. The dog is also required to indicate 3 articles by laying down over them. Corners and the speed at which the dog tracks are also judged. You can get penalized for handler help, so the dog must work independently of the owner.
Contact a trainer at The Doghouse, LLC if you are interested in teaching your dog how to track either for sport or to bring out the dog’s natural abilities.
