Practical Tracking Standards – Dog & Handler

Any breed or cross breed may be submitted for testing provided the dog is healthy and capable of the required physical exertion.

UKDTR test trails

3 hour trail

Setting 

At the beginning of any test trail there will be a marked 20x20 meter square in which there will be a shot site (strike) from which the track will lead.  

The test trail will be laid no less than 3 hours before the test using scent shoes with fresh (or fresh frozen and freshly thawed) deer hooves and using no more than 100ml of blood, from the same animal if possible.  Blood, hair, bone and hooves from any of the six kinds of deer in the U.K. can be used to make up the trail, but it is preferred that blood, hair and tissue from the herding species is used, and that only one species is used for individual trails. A “find” of skin, hoof or other fresh/fresh thawed deer part will be left at the end of the trail

The trail will be approximately 400 meters long with two turns of between 45 and 90 degrees at some point along its path.  It will be marked along the trail in such a way that only the judges will know its path. 

Judging

On the way to the shot site area the handler must demonstrate that the dog will walk to heel on or off of a short lead. 

The strike/shot site must be found by the handler themselves or using their dog, tracking may then begin.

At the end of a successful track the dog must indicate or carry the “find”

The team will be given only one trail on any one day. There will be three further chances to complete the trail if it is not completed in one go:

EITHER:

 The handler may elect to re-start the dog at any point along the trail if they consider that the trail has been lost. 

OR:

The dog will be allowed to stray no more than 20 metres from the trail before the judge intervenes. At this stage the handler may re-start the dog at a point of their choosing.  

The total of elected or judge re-starts will be no more than 3 i.e. 4 in total including the initial start.  

After 4 unsuccessful attempts, the judge will declare a non-completion, they will inform the handler but will still encourage them to try to complete the trail.  

The handler must display a good standard of control over their dog without excessive use of voice. A fast pace is discouraged but will not be penalised. 

Short distractions by game or other uninjured deer scent are permitted provided the dog resumes the trail immediately. 

If a dog chases game or livestock and cannot be recalled at the first attempt, a non-completion will be called by the judge.

The judge(s) will make notes on the way round and discuss the trail with the handler at the end.

20 Hour Old Tracking Test

Ideally this test should be passed before the dog is two years of age but for the time being older dogs can be submitted for testing.

A pass at the 3 hour test is a pre-requisite for this test and it is strongly recommended that handlers have practised the 20 hour routine with their dog before attempting it as a test.

At some point on the test day but not whilst attempting the tracking test, handlers will be asked to show that the dog can remain stationary and quiet for at least 5 minutes with the handler at least 10metres away.

As with the three hour test, there will be a marked 20×20 meter square in which there will be a shot site (strike).

The Test Track

The test track will be laid no less than 20 hours before the test using scent shoes with fresh (or fresh frozen and freshly thawed) deer hooves.

Blood, hair, bone and hooves from any of the six kinds of deer in the U.K. can be used to make up the trail, but it is preferred that blood, hair and tissue from the herding species is used, and that only one species is used for individual trails.

No more than 25ml blood will be used on the trail and there may be gaps of up to 25 metres with no blood at all used on the trail.

The trail will be approximately 800 meters long and have two 90 degree turns and a small back track (a trail that goes out at some point then stops and comes back along the same route) of approximately 10 metres.

A “find” of skin, hoof or other fresh/fresh thawed deer part will be left at the end of the trail, which must be indicated by the dog in some way but there is no requirement for the dog to “speak” at the find.

The trail will be marked in such a way that only the judges know its path.

The Shot Site Area

On the way to the shot site area the handler must demonstrate that the dog will walk to heel on or off of a short lead. Before looking for the shot site, the dog must remain stationary at a distance while the handler searches for the shot site. If the handler cannot find the shot site, the dog may then be used.

Once the shot site is located the handler must describe to the judges what they think has happened and the best plan of action for a successful recovery. Tracking may then begin.

Under the direction of the judge and during the track, but before the wound couch, the dog must be made to stop by the handler on command, wait for at least 30 seconds, then resume the track.

There will be a wound couch at around 600 meters in which there may be blood, hair or bone, this must be pointed out.
The handler must display a good standard of control over their dog without excessive use of voice. The pace must not be so fast that it would be difficult for the handler to see blood or other signs. Short distractions by game or other uninjured deer scent are permitted provided the dog resumes the trail immediately. If a dog chases game or livestock a non-completion will be called by the judge.

The team will be given only one trail on any one day. There will be two chances to complete the trail

If the trail is not completed in one go:

  • The handler may elect to re-start the dog at any point along the trail if they consider that the trail has been lost.

OR

  • The dog will be allowed to stray no more than 20 metres from the trail before the judge intervenes. At this stage the handler may re-start the dog at a point of their choosing.

The total of elected or judge re-starts will be no more than 2.
After two unsuccessful attempts, the judge will declare a non-completion and must inform the handler. The judge(s) will make notes on the way round and discuss the trail with the handler at the end.