Tracking in the UK

[Alkemist]

I don't think that there are any of the tracking qualifications in the UK that a lot of the continental Weims can do. Does anyone know any different?? I know about TD (which is a working trials tracking dog, and UD also has a track in it I think) but if your dog can't do a 10 minute out of sight down, or a 6 ft scale, then you don't get recognition for the dogs tracking abilities. What does everyone on the continent do for their tracking qualifications?

Nina and Jensen

[marjolein]

To earn a tracking-qualification in Holland, all you have to do is tracking. The tracks are 24 to 48 hours old and differ in lenght from 500 to 1500 mtr's.
The tracks are laid by dropping drops of blood. You're only allowed to use 125 ml's for a track of 500 mtr's in lenght. I assume you can use 375 ml for a track of 1500 mtr's, but I'm not sure about this.
You also have to pass the shot test, but that's only once. You fail this test if the dogs show fear of the shot.

[Alkemist]

Mar, I might pick your brains now in the future as I wouldn't mind doing something like that! I think I rememer from another time that they use pigs blood? What do they locate at the end of the track and what do they have to do? Hope you don't mind me awsking so many questions.....

Nina and Jensen

[marjolein]

No Nina, I don't mind your questions at all!! I love this, so the more I can talk about it, the better it is .
As you might know, we've just came back from England for the mating, and we met Tasha there (she's on Gareth's forum). I taught her the basics so if you ever need help, I'm sure she will help you out.

At the end of a track there's a roe skin. The dog is not allowed to do anything with that, but for finding it, he gets a huge reward. We usually buy food we never give to them.
Somewhere halfway the track, there's a woundbed. You simulate the place where the roe rested. So there's some more blood at that spot and some hair. Maybe even a piece of bone from a roe.
I use deer blood for tracking, but you can use whatever you can lay your hands on I think!!!

[smokeybear]

Working Trials in the UK consist of CD (no track), UD, WD, PD and TD with tracks varying from between 1/2 hour old and 3 hours old with up to 30 legs in them which must be completed in 20 minutes with articles placed on them eg a matchstick, stone etc recovered.

There is no blood to help the dogs, and they can only use the disturbed vegetation and residual scent of the tracklayer (if any) to follow which, depending on the tracking surface can be extremely difficult eg rolled plough, dry stubble etc.

The dogs must then find 4 articles in a 25 m square in 5 minutes.

They must be steady to the gun, complete heelwork at fast, medium and slow pace with no commands, sit stay for 2 mins, down stay for 10 minutes (out of sight), bark on command, complete a sendaway of up to 200 - 250 yards and redirect (or more than one redirect) of the same distance.

Clear a 3ft hurdle, 9ft long jump and scale a 6ft wall twice.

The dog must qualify in open stakes before entering Championship stakes and obtain a minimum of 70% of the available marks in each section and 80% of the available marks overall to gain the letters CDex, UDex, WDex, PDex, TDex after its name.

It is like the 3 day event for horses your dog must not only be able to demonstrate good nosework, but also good agility and control.

[lisacoull]

I think it's a shame that in the UK there aren't just tracking qualifications, particularly as weims are so good at it ! I would like to see some tracking only competitions because I HATE that damn scale jump in WT !!!

[Alkemist]

Lisa that is what I was thinking - and I hate those damned stays!

Nina

[syrinx]

Here in Oz, tracking is following the scent of a person. At the lower levels, it is a known person, and there is an object to be found along the way. Then as you progress, the person is unknown, there are more articles, the distance grows and there are other trails that cross the track. That gets you TD, TDX and tracking champion. Tracking is just tracking.
Obedience is a seperate thing. There is no tracking, but the nose is used in higher levels with scent discrimination, where one handled object is put amongst others, and they must choose and retreive it. For this you get CD, CDX, UD and I think UDX, maybe not, and OC - obedience champion. They are bringing in a lower award as well after January, sort of a good citizen kind of level, but that's not what it is. Here we have a broad jump, and a jump that I think is less than three feet, it depends on the height of the dog. No scale. I only see pics of GSDs doing stuff like that, and usually old pics. I don't know if anyone does that sort of thing here. We also have retreiving obedience, I think probably because hunting is banned, they had to give us something. I have no idea what that involves, but will find out as I want to do stuff the dogs want to do, as they have run around show rings for me long enough.
I will be asking lots of questions in the future about stuff like that as the real stuff is what I want to focus on next year.
Wendy