This is probably the most complex discipline; it is one of the rare areas in which, man, no matter how powerful can not intervene. The sense of smell has become for modern man completely abstract whereas it is the primary sense for the dog. His entire life in fact is based on his sense of smell: social relations, food, play etc.
A good tracker must have many qualities: concentration, endurance, courage, strength and vitality.
Dogs use two types of smells:
Suspended odors: when a human being moves he is surrounded by a halo of odorous molecules that move with him and rest suspended in the air like a cloud. These molecules stay suspended only a short while then a few of them fall to the ground. When a dog is trailing a suspended odor’s he does it with his head held high. It’s easy for a dog to follow this kind of trail because it is fresh. To us it is an invisible cloud but to the dog it’s like a marked path.
Odors on the ground: Suspended odors will fall more or less rapidly to the ground depending on the climate. Some of the molecules will be destroyed or scattered by the wind. However, this smell is much more resistant than the suspended cloud and will last on the ground much longer. Some dogs can follow this trail between 12 to 24 hours after a human has passed, but it is the exception. This lighter smell requires a bigger effort on the part of the dog, who must search with his nose to the ground and must concentrate in order not to lose the trail he is following. The ideal time to track a trail is like a dog’s nose: fresh and humid.
Tracking training is done just like the training of avalanche or disaster rescue dogs. He learns his job at first by seeking out his master. A stranger to the dog (so that he should not feel secure) is necessary in order to hold the lead. The owner will move away from his dog while calling him and dragging his feet in order to leave a stronger trail. He advances around 160ft like this, in a straight line, and then he hides. As soon as the dog’s owner is no longer visible our “assistant” gives the order to “search”. At this point he lets the lead hang loose so the dog can search without pulling on the lead. In this basic exercise the dog barely uses his nose, especially since he saw his owner hide. But as in all types of work one must start slowly and increase the difficulty progressively. As soon as the dog finds his owner he should be warmly congratulated and rewarded enthusiastically. It takes a lot of time to train a tracking dog; the exercises will have to be repeated numerous times before moving on to the next level. Eventually the owner will complicate the trail by making right angle turns. The next step is for the owner to hide while out of sight of the dog and then the time between the creation of the trail and the beginning of the search is progressively lengthened. Once the dog can follow these trails without any problem the owner is accompanied by a third person. At the end of the training the dog will track only unknown individuals. It is important that every time the dog successfully follows a trail he be warmly congratulated and rewarded in order to give him the desire to do it again. The reunion with his owner usually is the biggest and best reward for the dog.
At each stage the exercises should not last too long, one must never reach the point of fatigue or boredom for the dog. In order to facilitate the transition from search for his owner to search for a stranger it may be useful to use a friend of the dogs.

SAM DES GARDIENS DU PACTE

son of Numba et Oméga

Sam and his friends…

Sam at work!

Sam in action under the Gardanes sun