TRACKING
Tracking is where the dog must go into a paddock where there is a “lost” person, and the dog must find that person without being told where to go by their handler, who should not know where the track goes in a competition.
The challenge to tracking is that not only does the dog need to get to the end of the track, they also need to find the articles of clothing (usually socks) that are dropped along the way.
Tracking is something that all dogs can do, regardless of size or breed. It is a natural instinct for a dog to use this ability from birth onwards. Dogs have an amazing sense of smell and naturally track for food or anything else they might find of interest. A dog doesn't have to be taught to track, instead we use this natural instinct to teach them to track a particular scent as their "job". The hard part of tracking training is convincing your dog to follow the scent that you want - not the bunny, the ‘roos, the cows, the sheep, or any other of myriad different scents found in a paddock.
Tracking is done in rural areas, where there are 8 tests to complete in the long grass amongst the rabbits, kangaroos, sheep and cattle.
There are three titles to be earned, getting progressively harder (much like other sports): novice tracking (TD) is made up of tests 1-3, excellent tracking (TDX) is made up of tests 4-6, and tracking champion (T CH) is made up of tests 7 & 8.
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WHERE TO TRAIN OR COMPETE
In the upper south-east corner, there is Evergreen tracking Club, their tracking trials are held mostly at Tansey (west of Gympie) or sometimes near Toowoomba, they also do search in various locations. Their site is: http://www.evergreentrackingdogclub.org/
In the general south-east area (mainly Mundoolun near the Gold Coast for tracking and the general Brisbane area for search) is All Breeds Tracking Club, who don't currently have a website.
There is also Caboolture Sports Dog Obedience Club who are based on the Northside of Brisbane http://www.caboolturedogobedience.com.au/
Heading back up the coast, Gympie Dog Obedience Club share the tracking grounds with Evergreen at Tansey http://gympiedoc.com/wb/
The next one north is Rockhampton Dog Obedience Club who do tracking close to Rockhampton
http://rockhamptondogobedience.com/
Then there is Magpies Mackay & District Dog Obedience Club who do tracking & search in & around Mackay http://www.mackaydogobedience.com/
Finally there is Townsville who do tracking & search in & around Townsville http://www.coct.com.au/
Trials can be found on the Dogs Queensland website, and commonly need to be entered by email (not online)