guest blog by Maureen Fielding, K9Leadership
Fritz is a loveable, very high energy German Shorthaired Pointer. You can see in his photos that he does not even have time to put his bum on the ground in a sit. Instead his is "spring-loaded" for a fast takeoff like a sprinter at the start of a race. If you have the opportunity to watch him walk with his handler, you will see that Fritz runs on the spot, taking tiny steps forward and back so he follows the rules of "no pull on the leash". He needs to track just to drain some energy. Fritz is a very fast tracker and his handler has learned to work with his manic style, which is kind of like Marlin fishing and tracking combined. Thus, I call this "cartoon tracking" as it is very entertaining to watch!
Dogs with very high energy need to track because physical activity alone does not drain energy in these dogs. They may only become more fit from physical activity, like athletes. These dogs need to combine mental challenges with physical activity to feel satisfied, as well as a handler who can keep up with them.
Urban Tracking, Variable Surface Tracking or Hard Surface Tracking area all terms which refer to tracking in urban environments with varied surfaces for the dog to track on. Dogs learn to track on surfaces such as grass, mulch, gravel, asphalt, concrete, brick and even rocks and sand. They learn to transition from one to the next as they follow a track down grass, up a concrete sidewalk and into an asphalt parking lot. They learn to differentiate the scent of the person they are tracking from a myriad of cross tracks from other people as well as the scent of the article left by the tracklayer as opposed to all the other bits of garbage along the way.
For more information on tracking, contact Maureen Fielding of K9Leadership.
All photography by Petra Mayer, PPP-Photography.
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