Tracking and scent work cover a lot of ground. A dog may follow a person or animal, work a planted trail, locate an article, search for a living subject, detect remains, or find one specific odor.

Every sport, organization, and working discipline has its own rules. This page is not one of their rulebooks. This is the equipment and approach we use to teach a dog to work scent carefully, locate the source, and clearly tell the handler what it found.

Wood, leather, felt, personal belongings, and other materials can all be used as articles. The material depends on the exercise and what the dog is being asked to locate.

Finding the article is only half the job. The dog must also stop and clearly show the handler where it is.

The little orange flags do the bookkeeping: trail start, corners, articles, anything you need to find again. You can get them custom printed. Ours carry the MHW shield. But when you need a hundred of them, and you will lose half in the field, buy bulk.
The marking flags

Ventilated metal tins hold a controlled odor while allowing the dog to locate its source. They can be placed inside a box, hidden around a room, moved outdoors, or incorporated into a larger search exercise.

The search changes, but the final requirement stays the same: locate the source and give the handler a clear indication.

Following a trail and locating one specific odor are different jobs. When the goal is target-odor detection, controlled scent kits make the exercise repeatable and allow the difficulty to increase one step at a time.

The inexpensive starter kit is useful for basic practice. The Leerburg multi-odor kit provides a more complete setup. These kits are used for target-odor work, not for creating a footstep trail.

Some exercises begin with a scent pad and some do not. A scent pad is a defined starting area created by working the ground with your feet.

Depending on the exercise, we may use disturbed ground, food, a scent article, or another controlled source. The goal is to slow the dog down, engage the nose, and teach careful work before moving away from the starting point.

You do not buy the pad. You make it with your feet.

The Viper K9 biothane tracking line gives the dog room to work while keeping the handler connected. Thirty-three feet of waterproof hunter-orange biothane, a solid brass snap, and no handle to catch, tangle, or drag through everything growing in the field.

The right line length depends on the exercise, the terrain, and the dog. This is the long line we use when we want clean movement and plenty of working room.
The Viper K9 biothane tracking line

The Kensington 30-foot flat nylon lunge line has something the tracking line does not: a handle. That makes it useful for everyday practice, planted trails, and situations where we want a clear stopping point at the end of the line.

Different job, different line. We use the equipment that works for the exercise in front of us.
The Kensington lunge line

The Redline K-9 tracking harness has five adjustment points, a padded breastplate, and a rear attachment point that allows the dog to pull forward without hauling against its neck.

Fit matters more than the name of the sport. The harness should remain secure, allow free movement, and stay clear of the shoulders and armpits while the dog works.
The Redline K-9 tracking harness