| About Tracking |
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A track is a scent trail or scent path left behind as a person or animal walks or moves, along the ground. There are a lot of varying views and theories on what forms the scent track and without becoming too complicated, it is generally accepted that the track is formed in two ways: Ground Scent Partly from ground scent, that is the scent of the ground disturbance left where the person or tracklayer has walked, and composed of odours emanating from the bruising and damaging of grass and foliage, the crushing of roots and the scent of soil bacteria and moulds, released where the surface of the soil is broken. As the track ages, there is also the scent of the decay organisms working on the damaged roots and plants. Body Scent Then there is what we call body scent, this is the personal scent left by the tracklayer and formed by the normal body odour which he leaves in the air around him and where his hands or the skin of his legs or body have brushed against scrub or grass, and also from any particles of skin, hair, clothing, fluff or shoe leather that is shed along the track.
The trained tracking dog is expected to smell an article belonging to the tracklayer and from this scent, find the person's track and follow the track till he finds the end of the track. The dog must also find and indicate any object dropped along the track by the tracklayer. Under present rules, in a tracking trial, the track may be from twenty minutes to three hours old. For the up to date rules follow this link to the ANKC website.
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