With a keen sense of smell – 100,000 times stronger than humans – dogs are often used to find lost people and animals, drugs, avalanche and disaster victims, and even to detect cancer.AKC Tracking is a canine sport that demonstrates a dog’s natural ability to recognize and follow a scent and is the foundation of canine search and rescue work. Unlike obedience and agility trials, where dogs respond to the owner’s< commands, in tracking a dog is completely in charge, for only he knows how to use his nose to find and follow the track.

Getting started in tracking is easy, and you won’t find a more willing participant! A puppy instinctively uses his nose – training your dog to track simply hones his natural ability. And since all dogs have a natural ability to follow a scent, any breed is capable of learning to track.

Tracking requires very little equipment.You just need a harness, a 20-to-40 foot lead, a ew flags to mark your track and an open rassy area free of obstacles such as roads, ditches or woods. There are some great reference books that provide step-by-step instruction to help ou train your dog for tracking.