Crossing over an obstacle and then relocating the track

Many times the authors have encountered unusual obstacles while tracking. One of us was once obliged to shinny over a huge fallen tree in the midst of an FH track. The dog scrambled across and immediately recovered the track and set off down it. Even in Schutzhund III competition, dogs are not infrequently required to track across dirt roads, ditches or sharp inclines. It is best that we carefully teach our dog how to negotiate these small disturbances in track scent before it encounters them in a trial.

The handler lays his track across the obstacle (a dirt road, for instance) very carefully, leaving distinct footsteps all the way up to it, heavily scenting the road itself, and even laying a bait right in the middle of it. A few feet on the other side of it, he leaves an article.

The first few times that he takes his dog over such an obstacle, he helps the animal across and makes sure that it finds the article easily. Once the dog shows an understanding of its task, the handler simply gives it a lot of line. He lets the dog cross the road, cast about on the other side until it recovers the track and then follows it down to the article.

Soon the dog will develop a useful strategy for crossing obstacles without losing its composure, even when they are virtually devoid of scent.