Learn How To Teach Your Dog To Track

We all love that our dog knows how to do special things, such as doing pirouettes, bringing the newspaper or picking up objects.  Although the act of sniffing is a natural animal instinct, it is very difficult to teach a dog to bring a particular object.

It’s difficult, but not impossible. In this article, we’re going to give you some tips to awaken that instinct that may be dormant in your furry.

How to awaken the tracking instinct in a dog

Teaching our dog to track is much more valuable than just teaching him a new trick. It is to awaken an innate ability that may be dormant in your animal. It is very important for the dog’s development and socialization that its instincts are stimulated.

Look for an odor-free place

To start teaching a dog to track it is very important that we look for a place that is not very busy. Prefer places with less odors and where not many animals have passed before.

As the dog learns, it will know how to differentiate the odor you want to track from all the others. But in the beginning, you should start training that way. Choose a place outdoors, as it will be harder to find something at home.

Think about your olfactory ability

Dogs have an extremely developed sense of smell,  but this sense is not the same in all animals. Consider your pet’s olfactory ability and choose a tracking zone suited to it.

There are dogs that can sniff and track at greater distances, while others can only do so at shorter distances. So choose a place and space according to your furry’s capabilities.

On the other hand, the games will be of great help to make learning easier. Even being a natural instinct, games will be useful when developing it.

Wake up early

Experts advise going to the tracking site before 6:00 am, as the sun has not yet risen and the vegetation has not begun to emit moisture.

Added to this, at this time, the place will be free of footprints and smells that can interfere with your dog’s work.

lots of space

A park near your home is the ideal place. To develop your puppy’s tracking ability well, prefer wide spaces. Then comes the best part.

Spend some food on the grass. Don’t forget to restrain your dog to prevent him from eating. Make a trajectory with leftovers of food and, if you want to surprise and amuse your animal, hide a toy greased with some of the food.

One suggestion is to use canned food at the beginning of training because of the strong smell and the ease of spreading it on toys. After a while you can use some feed.

Let’s go ahead!

It’s time to show your dog that the game has started. Release the collar and let him sniff freely.

Use the command “Grab”, “Go” or “Forward” to let your dog understand what you want. Remember that the game should be simpler at first, but as you practice, you can increase the difficulty.

You can, for example, use foods or objects with a more subtle smell, making them more spaced apart. You can also make turns with the food trail, hide it behind bushes or whatever else you have.

Just don’t forget to use positive reinforcement, as yelling and scolding will get you nowhere and will take you further away from your goal.

Finally, train your dog often, otherwise the animal will forget everything it has learned and take a step back instead of advancing.