WHAT IS GUIDING?

            Guiding your dog in a tracking test will most surely lead to the dreaded whistle and failure at the test.  Unfortunately, this subject is also not described well in the tracking regulations and is a source of confusion for new trackers.  Although this list will not be all inclusive because it is a subjective judgment of the tracking judges, I hope to give you some thoughts on what to avoid doing at a test, or for that matter in training.

• One of the most important things that you can not do, and should avoid in training your dog is to turn around and walk away from your dog.  Your dog must be 20 feet in front of you and you must at all times face your dog.

• If the track is visible, and your dog is tracking off the visible track, not following your dog and staying on the visible track can also be considered guiding.  This is especially considered when you are at a test where there is snow cover, or when there is lush grass after a heavy downpour.

• Holding a dog’s line and not allowing them to continue tracking where they are headed is also considered guiding.  This is most commonly seen at corners, and when you see the next leg of the track.  The dog must be the lead partner in taking the next leg of the track.

• Any correction of the dog made with the lead, or even verbally can be construed as guiding so must be avoided, especially in a certification or a test.

• Backing up.  This is a very gray area of handling your dog.  While some backing up, when the dog is searching or coming toward you is allowed, it must be very minor backing up, and not seen as assisting the dog in finding the track.

While we all hope for that dog that knocks us off our feet to take the track and to find the corners, that is not always the case with the softer personality of many Golden Retrievers.  Our mission in training is to set up rewards to have them pull us down the track so that we don’t have to resort to efforts that can be construed as guiding our dogs.