We have recommended on numerous occasions for people to take up tracking with their dog, just as a hobby. Many pet owners believe in order to perform tracking with their dogs they must be bloodhounds, shepherds, or labs. But that is not always the case, especially if you just want to track for fun, nothing serious and hopefully involve the entire family. Yes, their are many dog owners out there that get into tracking on a much more serious note, and are involved in search and rescue groups, clubs, organizations, sport trials, or AKC tracking. This is a wonderful thing but some dog owners just want an outlet for their dogs energy! Tracking is an awesome way to achieve that, you not only are getting them exercise, they are also using their brains!

So we decided to put tracking on our miniture daschund “Chuck” to show people that tracking can be taught to many different breeds of dogs if they simply have the drive to find. Chuck is very food motivated so he caught on quick, the kids love hiding from him, and I have to admit I laugh everytime I’m following behind him and watching his ears flap in the wind! We have also trained several mixed breeds (one lab mix ended up joining a search and rescue group since she did well and her owner really got into it) and border collies and other herding breeds to track and burn off that built up energy. Some of our clients have commented that their children, neighbors, or other family members hide from the dogs and have a blast participating and watching the dogs work.

You don’t have to be a marathon runner to enjoy tracking with your pet dog. Many pet dogs track at a steady pace where you can keep up with a fast walk or slow jog. We can teach you the fundamentals of tracking so that you can understand the behaviors your dog is displaying in front of you while on a track. If you are interested in tracking but do not have a dog yet or don’t have a dog that is cut our for tracking, don’t forget to check your local shelter or humane societies…you may be surprised what you can find there. If you are interested in tracking for fun with your pet please call or email us for details and we will be happy to set up a FREE evaluation to see if your pet has what it takes to do tracking for fun!