Tracking is a canine sport that demonstrates a dog’s natural ability to recognize and follow a scent. Unlike obedience and agility trials, where dogs respond to the owner’s commands, in tracking the dog is completely in charge, for only he knows how to use his nose to find and follow the track. Tracking requires very little equipment. You just need a harness, a 20 to 40 foot lead, a few flags to mark your track and an open grassy area free of obstacles such as roads, ditches, or woods. Before you enter a Tracking Dog Test (TD) your must have the dog certified by an AKC approved or provisional judge.

A dog can earn three AKC Tracking titles, each has an increased degree of difficulty. The TD (Tracking Dog) title must be earned before competing for a TDX (Tracking Dog Excellent) or VST (Variable Surface Tracker) title. A Champion Tracker (CT) is awarded only to those dogs that have earned all three tracking titles--TD, TDX, and VST. To earn a tracking title, a dog needs to pass the test in which he is exhibiting only once.

The TD track is from 440 to 500 yards long with 3 to 5 turns and aged from one-half to two hours. A dog must indicate a glove or wallet placed at the end of the track. Tracks are plotted in an open field with uniform cover. There are no obstacles such as roads, ditches, or woods. The start of the track will be marked with a flag. A second flag is placed 30 yards from the start flag to indicate the direction of the first leg of the track. There are no other flags in the field.

The TDX track is 800 to 1000 yards long, with 5 to 7 turns, and aged from 3 to 5 hours. The track also has two sets of cross tracks and has some of the aforementioned obstacles. The start is marked with a single flag and the dog must determine the direction of the first leg. There are four dissimilar articles for each track, one at the start and three more on the track.

A VST is from 600 to 800 yards long, with 4 to 8 turns, and aged from 3 to 5 hours. The articles must be one each of leather, cloth, plastic, and metal. The VST track must also contain three different surfaces with one turn on a non-vegetated surface such as concrete. This test demonstrates the utility of the tracking dog to work in an urban environment.