How to Train Your Dog to Track Humans

Hello Haelie, I suggest playing the "Find ____" game. First, clip a leash on your dog. Have your mom sit across the room or several feet away. Tell her to "Go Find Mom" and lead her over to your mom. When she gets to her, have your mom give her a treat. Repeat this until you can say "Go Find Mom" and she will go to your mom without being lead. Your mom can make a little noise as a hint if she seems confused. When she can go to your mom in the same room, practice this randomly throughout the day when your mom is close by. If she won't do it, have your mom make a noise as a hint or you walk her over to your mom, then have your mom reward her when she gets there. When she can consistently do this while your mom is within eye-sight, start practicing it while your mom is in another room close by or further away outside. Give her hints by having your mom make a little noise or walking Amora to her if she cannot figure it out after seven-seconds of trying on her own. When she can consistently find your mom in any room or the house or outside, and has learned how to persistently search for her until she locates her, then have your mom practice the same thing with you, telling Amora to "Go Find Haelie". Practice Amora finding you just like you did with your mom, starting in the same room with her first, and gradually adding more distance as she improves. When she has learned what "Go Find Mom" and "Go Find Haelie" mean and can do both well, then practice the commands on a long leash on walks, parks, fields, and dog-friendly stores. Have the person she is supposed to be finding hide somewhere nearby when she is not looking, like the next isle over or behind a bush. Tell her to "Go Find Mom" or "Go Find Haelie" and give her hints if she needs them. When she finds the person, give her lots or praise and rewards. When you need your mom, you can tell Amora to "Go Find Mom" and when Amora arrives without you, your mom can tell her to "Go Find Haelie" so that she will lead your mom back to you. If you practice having your mom automatically telling her to go find Haelie every time she finds your mom at this point, she will likely begin to lead your mom to you automatically, even before your mom tells her to. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Sadie, I would use a variation of both the clothing method and the spray bottle method. For the spray bottle method, I suggest using the fur of another dog instead of sweat and sprinkling that along a trail with rewards (practice with the same dogs fur until pup has learned that scent well before using a other dogs also to teach this). For the clothing method, work on teaching pup to also locate by sight by having another well mannered dog who will stay in place quietly hide for pup to find. Send the other dog out to their spot (preferably without having to walk the dog their so that your scent isn't on the trail), and then command the other dog to down stay and have pup track them by scent and sight. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Morgan, First, teach him the Speak command. Check out the article linked below for methods to teach Speak: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak Once pup knows that command, practice Find It games, and when he finds what he is looking for, command Speak and give a reward when he barks. Practice this over and over again, until pup is very good at it. Once pup is good at Speak in that context, when he finds something, wait seven seconds before saying Speak or offering a treat - to let pup start guessing how he can get the treat. If he speaks during that time on his own (in hopes of a treat), praise and reward with a treat. If he doesn't, after seven seconds, command Speak, then give the treat when he does. Practice finding something, pausing for seven seconds, then commanding Speak, until pup will consistently speak on their own before you command Speak; at that point, you can phase out the Speak command altogether - and pup bark on their own at the end of finding something. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hi! You can begin yourself with the basics. I will give you the steps to get started. If you feel it is something you want to continue to do on your own, there are articles online about advanced tracking. It is also recommended you work with a trainer for advanced work. Your puppy is young enough that it should be fairly easy to get started with the basics. Although it is a good idea to have other commands mastered. Sit and stay at the least. Below are some steps to get started. Start Early in the Morning To teach scenting a track, you need some treats and a grassy area, such as a baseball field or park. Although hot dogs are not the most nutritious food, I find they work best, and you won’t over stuff your dog’s belly. Begin early; many people start by 6 a.m. before anyone has walked on the grass. Create a Treat Track Have your dog sit or lie down and stay. Take a couple of inch-long pieces of hot dog and use your shoe to mash them into the grass. Make sure to crush the grass under the hot dogs, which will release a grass scent. Then, with the hot dog residue on the bottom of your shoe, walk a straight line away from your dog. Every six or ten feet, drop a piece of hot dog. Stop after about 20 feet and drop one of your gloves or one of your dog’s toys; your dog needs to find something at the end of the track. Drop another piece of hot dog on top of the item. Command Your Dog to Find the Treats Go back to your dog and release him from his stay, encouraging him to smell the ground where the hot dogs were. Tell your dog “Find it!” and let him sniff. If he begins to follow the track, praise him quietly by saying, “Good dog!” and let him lead the way. Don’t be too enthusiastic or you may distract the dog from his sniffing. Also, don’t try to lead him; let your dog figure it out. At this point, your dog is following several scents: the trail of hot dogs, which helps motivate him, the crushed grass where you mashed the hot dogs and the crushed grass where you later stepped. Your dog is also following your individual scent, which he knows well because he smells your scent every day. But now your dog is learning to combine the scents, to follow them and to find the item at the end of the track. Start Increasing the Length of the Track When your dog successfully completes this trick, make another one by taking 10 steps to the side. If your dog is excited and having fun, you can do three or four short tracks per training session. As your dog improves over several sessions, make the track longer, add curves and corners, and drop several items along the way, but put the hot dog only on the one you want him to find. When making tracks longer or adding curves, use small pegs, stakes or flags to mark the track so you can tell if your dog is off track. Air scenting requires your dog to find someone by sniffing the scents wafting through the air instead of following a track. Most search-and-rescue dogs have both skills; they can follow a track, but if people walking over the track spoil it, they can also use their air-scenting skills. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Thank you for writing in.