Air Scent-Anyone use or teach this???? - Page 1

     As most of you know, I have a few nice dogs, and recently acquired a nice young female, 'working line' girl.
(and I got to say, she is a real treat to have and spend time with.)
     She seems rather gifted in the art of "air scent". Do you play on this, or do you divert to  the ground? Can you do both?
     In the 'real world', "scent," would seem the more logical direction. You may be called ONE time to locate a missing child, (never would be better) BUT!!! If you were called, for the sake of a "breed worthiness" brag, COULD YOUR DOG FIND A MISSING CHILD...Missing person????????????
     So really, what I am asking is, 'Is the BEST RESULT' for a tracking title, to be able to find food and a title, OR, a missing person????
    (I'm sighned up for some one on one training with a professional dog trainer, and really want insight as to WHERE to go WITH the training, and not just with one dog).

 Sport and SAR venues will typically want the nose down. However, having said that, I agree about the practicality of air scenting for speed reasons. I sure as hell would rather have the dog who's good at air scenting looking for me than the footstep tracker if I'm lost! 

I have one male who is excellent and accurate at airscenting. He's a natural tracker who has been tested on many different surfaces over different distances and is always accurate. I decided that since he obviously knows more about tracking than I do, I'll allow him to find whatever it is any way he wants to. I admit, I made this decision knowing I would never be able to use him for SAR work because I unwittingly admitted he has done bitework and the clubs around me don't allow any bite trained dogs for SAR. Totally stupid, but that's another topic.

Typically, my dog airscents first, then puts his nose down for a while, and then when he gets closer, air scents again and makes a bee line for the object of the track, which is why I say I'd rather have him looking for me than a footstep tracker who is going step by step; he figures out where it is and cuts across the shortest distance, sometimes cutting tracks where someone took a 45 min walk into a 10-15min track. Useful in a real situation, but how you'd "train" for it, I'm not really sure, or at least I'm not really sure how you'd proof it. 

I am lucky to have a dog who was always accurate; if it was windy and he went too far, he self-corrected almost immediately. Due to the DDR dogs I've known, I'm not surprised your girl is good; they tend to be effective "thinkers" despite being excited about a track, bite, etc. 

I believe the RC Mounties use Air Tracking and thier sucsess rate is like 3x that of most US PDs.

Footstep tracking is used in Schutzhund because its a temperment test.  Its the least efficient method of tracking unless retracing the exact route the person took is more important than finding the person.

The SAR groups I've interacted with [which is a very small number] use trailing and airscenting.
The MWDs I knew used airscenting.
I have no familiarity with what PSDs use.

The first experience I had with tracking was an AKC seminar.  They allow both ground and air scent.  It was actually interesting to watch the dogs do both.  If they lose the ground scent they cast and it was cool watching them pick up the scent on the air and follow it back to the ground.

Can you do both?

It's typically said that it's easier to certify your dog in trailing first, then airscenting.  My understanding is, there are few dogs that actually are certified in both.  Usually, it's one or the other.

Tracking, trailing, air scenting. In my days of doing S&R we were teaching the dog to find the person using mostly nose and dog was allowed to switch between these modes of tracking trailing and air scenting based on conditions and need of the dog. For dog this  is natural and dog knows the best how to use his nose. Government and lawyers( FIMA) in their infinite wisdom decided that dog must do one or the other. I think that is infinitesimally stupid. But what would you expect?! Efficiency?
Prager Hans 
http://www.alpinek9.com

You do not need to teach the dog how to  air scenting but you need to teach  to use air scenting It depends what you want to do friendly or unfriendly search. If it is a friendly search. then  person is placed up the wind and you are crossing the scent cone.  Dog is rewarded if he finds the  victim  by air scenting the victim plays fetch  with toy.. In police search you may for example award the dog when he indicates that he is in the odor (lifting nose) by agitation and bite.
Contact me if you need to know more.
Prager Hans
http://www.alpinek9.com

 Hans wrote:

dog was allowed to switch between these modes of tracking trailing and air scenting based on conditions and need of the dog. For dog this is natural and dog knows the best how to use his nose. Government and lawyers( FIMA) in their infinite wisdom decided that dog must do one or the other. I think that is infinitesimally stupid. But what would you expect?! Efficiency?

Exactly!!! Ridiculous, isn't it, that we as humans think we can teach a dog how to do use its nose? Or that we know a better way for them to do it? 

I'll say it again (from my last post) I decided that since he obviously knows more about tracking than I do, I'll allow him to find whatever it is any way he wants to.

Dogs KNOW how to track. All we can take any credit for is showing them WHAT we want them to track and finding a way to communicate that to them. 

I believe that one practice and "the other" is distinguished in the purpose for terms of certification, rather than assuming that the dog should only use one practice or the other, when it's natural that they will proceed with both.

SAR isn't a "sport" that requires some consistent measurable standard in a uniform scenario with robotic precision, but it is necessary to have some form of measurable standard.  So, they simply divide the disciplines based or search pattern "types".

Since various breeds are eligible for certification, we know for example, you won't get a lot of airscenting behavior from a bloodhound, which would be a better trailing prospect.  Even among a single breed example in german shepherds, there are naturally some that are better fit for one search type as opposed to the other.  One of my boys is exceedingly best at airscenting, the other is a natural at trailscenting, but they each use both disciplines.