Tracking

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Tracking

Tracking

Tracking with Bruno
A dog’s sense of smell is his number one sense and using his nose is a very important part of his daily routine.
Many years ago, before dogs were domesticated, their noses were the main tool in their survival kit. They obviously had to eat and that meant finding or catching their meals and they also needed to know what was happening in their immediate environment – their sense of smell was vital for them to perform all these functions.
Today, our dog’s attachment to man has resulted in their survival being far less dependent on their own abilities, unfortunately, their natural instincts are still very much intact and need to be catered for to avoid boredom and many unwanted behaviours. Nose work /tracking urges the dogs to use their natural hunting and searching drive and motor patterns which is a huge source of mental release and also a good way of exhausting high energy dogs.
Getting a reactive dog to focus on detecting a scent often helps that dog to tolerate other dogs in close proximity to him. Hyperactive dogs also benefit from the use of nose work in their training programs.
Dogs rely on their owners to give them this important mental stimulation they would normally get in the wild from searching for or tracking down a food source or investigating what is happening in their environment. Games where the dog has to find toys that have been hidden, or even tracking and searching for items that have been concealed, all contribute to the stimulation of those natural scent (nose work) instincts that are so vital to both our dog’s emotional and mental release.
Nose work games can also be great fun for children in a family environment as they interact and form a bond with the dog.