Sniffing for Footprints: why Tracking is not always Tracking

The tracking posts on this blog raised some questions I would like to answer. Some asked if they could start with tracking for search-and-rescue. And some questioned if treats laid down on the track itself is proper tracking training. Before I can answer these questions, we first need to clear something up.

Basically both questions reveal the same misunderstanding. "Tracking" is a commonly used term for dogs following a scent. But sometimes tracking is not tracking. There are different styles involved. These styles are air scenting, trailing and - actual - tracking. Each style fits the task we want the dog to perform.

Air scenting

With air scenting the dog focuses on air born rafts. This is used when there is no specific track - like when you are searching for drugs, money etc. Or in rescue situations, like searching collapsed buildings for survivors. With air scenting the dogs usually scent for a specific category of scents, not necessarily individual scents.

When searching for a missing person, the point is to reach that person as soon as possible. Even when the track itself already has evaporated. Sometimes following the exact track or trail is not the fastest way to get to the person, as the picture on the left illustrates perfectly. Air scenting would still give success in those cases.








Trailing

With trailing the dog is focused on the rafts of a particular person that have fallen down along that person's route. They sniff for an individual scent belonging to an individual person.

Because of the wind they usually follow the track close, but not exactly. Dogs can trail quite fast and trailing is therefore ideal when the goal is to reach the person as soon as possible.

With trailing the handler usually has a scent article of the lost person they want the dog to find. We not only want to to find "a" person, like when air scenting, but also want to find the exact person we are looking for. They should be able to pick them out of a group if necessary.








Tracking

With tracking we want the dog to slowly and methodically follow the exact track of a person and indicate the objects they find along the track. They focus on the ground and use deposited rafts and disturbed surface to follow the track. This gives the characteristic nose down posture we know so well.

Because the scent of a disturbed surface sustains a lot longer than human scent, tracking dogs have the ability to follow the oldest of tracks, from which human scent already has disappeared.

In K9 police work tracking is used as they also set out to find any evidence a criminal might have "lost" along the way. Finding evidence is almost as important as finding the criminals themselves.










There is no "best" way. But depending on the task at hand, one of the specific styles will fit best. Dogs can master multiple styles.

Which brings me back to the first question. Can we teach our dogs tracking for search-and-rescue? The answer to that would be a no. When we are searching for a missing person, we want to find them fast, and a tracking style is too slow to be an option. When there is still a track available we can use trailing, or when too much time has past and the track has evaporated, we can use air scenting.

On the second question about using treats on the track during training sessions, the answer would depend if we are talking about trailing or tracking. With tracking, treats on the track are needed to learn the dog to slow down, and also to let the track itself become the reinforcer. When the reward would first come at the end of the track, all dogs would rush ahead to get their reward. Using treats on the track and no reward at the end creates trackers - no treats on the track and a reward at the end creates trailers.

Kenzo is getting quite savvy in both air scenting and tracking. And since last month's nosework camp, we have been training a lot with following the individual footsteps as required in tracking, and getting his focus back on the track. Before nosework camp, I trained Kenzo without treats and a reward at the end which explains the problems we encountered. It made him move towards a "trailing" style, not "tracking". Her is the last video from yesterday's session, and you can see the progress he made. He is very focused and moves his nose from one footprint to the next:

What do you think? Does it make sense to follow only trailing or air scenting style in search-and-rescue? And what is your opinion on using treats when training tracking?

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All illustrations are from the excellent book about scent, "Scent and the scenting dog" by William G. Syrotuck. If you want to know more about the world of scent this is definitely the book to read. It is obligatory material on police K9 training schools. It is not so much a training manual, but more a thorough description of what scent is all about, and what your dog can do with it. After you have read this book, even a routine dog walk will never be the same. Welcome to the dog's world of scent!