|
PCOTC's
Tracking Trial Chairman - Joanna Giddings
Tracking is a fun and interesting activity to engage in
with your dog. Basically, a person
walks through an outdoor area and leaves an article or articles for the dog to
find. 
The dog finds the article by
following the scent left by the person who walked “the track.”
If you are interested in AKC Tracking you should
contact the AKC for their rulebook on this sport.
The American Kennel Club’s “Tracking Regulations”
covers the regulations related to the TD (Tracking Dog), TDX (Tracking Dog
Excellent), and VST (Variable Surface Tracking) titles.
You can reach the AKC in several ways:
The American Kennel Club – 5580 Centerview Drive,
Suite 200, Raleigh North Carolina 27606-3390 or
on the Internet at www.akc.org
.
If you are Tracking with a mixed breed, don’t be
discouraged. The American Mixed
Breed Registration (AMBOR) will work with you to find opportunities to test
your tracking dog using AKC rules. They can be contacted at (805) 226-9275, at ambor@amborusa.org,
or www.amborusa.org.
Port Chester Obedience Training Club conducts
two AKC Sanctioned Tracking tests every fall, a TD and a TDX. This year, our tests will be conducted on October 21, 2001
and observers are always welcome. Volunteering
at such an event is an excellent way to become familiar with the sport.
If you would like information about Port Chester’s Tests
this fall, contact Joanna Giddings at jegiddings@yahoo.com
There is a local training club, the Hudson Valley
Tracking Club, whose entire focus is Tracking!
For more information, contact their
membership coordinator:
Marilyn Gates
60 Nelson Lane
Garrison, New York 10524
Two web sites of interest for obtaining more information
about the sport, locating articles on specific areas related to tracking
training, and finding out about where Tracking Events are in the northeast are
listed below.
http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/mrussell/TCV/.
- Maintains a calendar of events in the northeast.
http://www.epick9.com/sta/
Provides links with other pages on tracking subjects of interest.
SOME
SUGGESTED READING:
Beginner
books – with some introduction to advanced training
Tracking
Dog: Theory and Methods
Glen
R. Johnson. Second edition.
Arner
Publications, Clark Mills NY,
1977.
ISBN 0-914124-04-8.
A
classic. The schedules can be
rigorous unless you have ample time to implement them.
Tracking
From the Ground Up.
Sandy
Ganz and Susan Boyd.
Show-Me
Publications, St Louis
MO, 1989
Gary
Patterson. Sirius Publishing,
Englewood
CO, 1992.
Schutzhund
oriented but can be applied to AKC tracking as well.
Good application of conditioning and reinforcement to tracking training.
Enthusiastic
Tracking: The Step-by-Step
Training
Handbook. William (Sil)
Sanders.
Rime Publications,
Stanwood
WA, 1998. ISBN
1-892119-22-6.
Practical
Guides
The
two handbooks below are short practical guides for both beginning and advanced
training.
Tracking!
A Practical Guide for TD and TDX.
The Tracking Club of Massachusetts, 1992.
Available for $8.00 from the Tracking Club of Massachusetts
438 Lowell St, Wakefield MA 01880.
Bring
Your Nose Over Here
Wentworth
Brown. ASAP Printing,
Albuquerque
NM, 1982.
Available
for $5.00 from the Weimeraner Club of Northern Illinois,
6971 North Tonty Avenue, Chicago IL 60646.
Advanced training - TDX
Tracking
Dog excellent: a Handbook.
Sandy
Ganz and Susan Boyd.
Show-Me
Publications, St. Louis MO,
1989
Advanced training -VST
Component
Training For Variable Surface
Tracking.
Ed Presnall and Christy Bergeron. PawMark
Press,
Katy
TX, 1998. ISBN 0-9663092-0-0.
Scent
For
a greater understanding of scent and scent training in general:
Scent:
Training to Track, Search, and Rescue.
Milo
D. Pearsall and Hugo Verbruggen, M. D.
Alpine
Publications, Loveland CO, 1982.
ISBN
0-931866-11-1.
Scent
and the Scenting Dog.
William
G. Syrotuck. Arner Publications,
Canastota
NY, 1972.
ISBN
0-914124-03-X.
|
