Tracking Dobermanns.....

If as Dobermann owners you are looking for another facet of enjoyment within the Fancy, working with your Dobermann in tracking can be a most enjoyable experience for you and your dog. The Dobermann's hunting and retrieving ability, his energetic nature, his sensitivity, and his affectionate feeling toward his owner, and his desire to please, all enter into the potential of his being a superior tracking dog.

As you look at your ten year old veteran, or your nine week old puppy and think "not now", well! why not now? Tracking to a dog of any breed is an instinctive thing, and any Dobermann could track his owner-friend anywhere without any preparatory training. If you wish to prepare your Dobermann to enter an AKC tracking test all you have to do is to work with him to build up his incentive and enthusiasm for the prescribed task, and above all else you must work with your dog, and learn how to follow him for the time when victory is in sight.

Tracking is considered to be a type of obedience exercise and a dog that passes an AKC tracking test earns the title of Tracking Dog (T.D.) after his name. Obedience should be team work between dog and handler. Tracking must be team work. The one thing that must always be remembered is that you are building his enthusiasm and in the meantime you are learning to read your dog as you follow him. I am sure by now you have thought of many reasons why you just couldn't do it. Getting up early? One of the best times to work together is in the early evening just before his feeding time. No grass? One Dobermann I know was trained in a suburban area by working on sidewalks and neighbor's lawns, and passed the AKC test in his first attempt. The time span between the start of training and the T.D. could be as short a period as a month, or perhaps six months. This will depend on you. A dog can be started at any age, and need not have any other obedience degrees.

Once you have decided that this delightful experience with your dog is for you, read the sections in all three chapters of the AKC Obedience Regulations that pertain to tracking.

To read the complete article written by Marjorie Salisbury, Tracking and Obedience Judge, please click here to download the informative PDF version of Tracking And The Dobermann.