For a dog to be eligible to enter a tracking trial it must:
- be registered with a Canine Control Body affiliated with the ANKC
- have passed a Tracking Qualification Test
Required Equipment
The dog must be in a suitable harness and on a lead of a minimum length of 10 metres.
Tracking Qualification Tests
There are usually several Tracking Qualification Tests held each year and may even be on the same day as an Official Tracking Trial. Competitors enter the trial in the normal manner, but mark the entry “Tracking Qualification Test Only”.
The test involves:
- 300 metre track with one 90 degree turn (must be over 100m from the start).
- The track must be at least 10 minutes old, but not older than 30 minutes.
- At this stage the handler is able to nominate the tracklayer.
To pass the dog must:
- Find the track layer.
- Be considered to be tracking by the judge.
- No grades will be awarded, just “Pass” or “Fail”.
Tracking Titles
The following are the exercises you are required to complete in order to qualify for the Tracking Titles Tracking Dog (TD), Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX), and Tracking Champion (ChT).
Tracking Dog Test 1 (Known Person)
Test 2 (Unknown Person)
Tracking Dog Excellent Test 3 (Unknown Person)
Test 4 (Unknown Person)
Test 5 (Unknown Person)
Tracking Champion Test 6 (Unknown Person)
A maximum of two tests can be worked on by any one dog on the same day. For the TD and TDX titles, the dog must qualify under at least 2 different judges.
Once a dog has passed a test, it is then only eligible to enter the next level of testing, and once the dog has qualified for Tracking Champion it is no longer eligible to enter Official Tracking Trials.
Test 1
Tracklayer: Known Person
Length: 800m
Turns: At least 2 angle turns
Articles: 2 placed on track
Track Age: min 30 minutes
max 60 minutes
Pass:
- Finds or indicates at least 1 article.
- Finds tracklayer at the end of the track.
Test 2
Tracklayer: Unknown Person
Length: 800m
Turns: At least 2 angle turns
Articles: 2 placed on track
Track Age: min 30 minutes
max 60 minutes
Pass:
- Finds or indicates at least 1 article.
- Finds tracklayer at the end of the track.
Test 3
Tracklayer: Unknown Person
Length: 1000m
Turns: At least 4 angle turns
Articles: 2 placed on track
Track Age: min 1 hour
max 2 hours
Pass:
- Finds or indicates at least 1 article.
- Finds tracklayer at the end of the track.
Test 4
Tracklayer: Unknown Person
Length: 1000m
Turns: At least 4 angle turns
Articles: 2 placed on track
Track Age: min 1 hour
max 2 hours
Diversion Track:
Track crossed once by a known person approx 30min after original tracklayer passed.
Pass:
- Finds or indicates at least 1 article.
- Finds tracklayer at the end of the track.
Test 5
Tracklayer: Unknown Person
Length: 1200m
Turns: At least 5 angle turns
Articles: 3 placed on track
Track Age: min 1 hour
max 3 hours
Diversion Track:
Track crossed twice by one or two unknown person’s approx 30min after original tracklayer passed.
Pass:
- Finds or indicates at least 2 articles.
- Finds tracklayer at the end of the track.
Test 6
Tracklayer: Unknown Person
Length: 1200m
Turns: At least 6 angle turns
2 acute - greater than 45 degrees (>100m from start)
Articles: 3 placed on track
Track Age: min 90 minutes
max 3 hours
Diversion Track:
Two diversion tracks laid by one or two unknown persons, laid according to the judge’s direction, but at least 30min after the original tracklayer passed.
Pass:
- Finds at least 2 articles.
- Dog must positively indicate the articles (sits, stands, drops, picks up article, or at least pause).
- Finds tracklayer at the end of the track.
Rule books containing more detailed explanations of all of the exercises, equipment, scoring and judging can be purchased from the Canine Association of Western Australia (CAWA).
© Graeme Baker