BEYOND TD

            So you now have your Tracking Dog title and wish to continue tracking, but do you start TDX or VST?  Part of your decision of which title to pursue may depend on the time of year, where you live, and what land you have available to track on.

            To train for TDX work, you must have a field that allows for at least a 1000 yard track with obstacles that might include fallen trees, ditches, rocks, fence and tree lines.  Aging a TDX track has a time of 3-5 hours.  Your cover should range from cut grass to tall cover and offer a variety of varying cover changes.

            VST on the other hand, is multiple surfaces such as cement, sand, asphalt, cut grass, curbs, parking lots, steps, brick sidewalks, open side roofed buildings, sides of buildings or just about anything that you would encounter in a city type setting.  If you have access to a University to track at, they offer all of these and more.  Aging is about the same, and length is 750 yards.

            TDX work still requires that the handler be 20 feet behind the dog, except when going over obstacles and through tree lines.  VST requires that the handler only be 10 feet behind the dog.

            If you live in an area where it snows, you can practice TDX work all winter depending on how deep the snow gets, but with VST, the salt used in parking lots and roads is a hazard to your dog’s nose in winter. 

            Multiple articles are used on both types of tracks, but in VST, plastic and metal are added as an acceptable article. 

            Cross tracks are well defined in TDX work and specifically laid out by the tracklayer.  In VST, the cross tracks are naturally occurring with the public crossing your track naturally.

            One flag is used for each start in the TDX and the VST type tracks.  In TDX, the flag is a large one generally seen for TDs.  In VST, the start flag is a surveyor type flag.

            One of the unique things about the progression of titles in tracking is that after you get your TD, you can choose whether to pursue the TDX or the VST title next.  All three titles, TD, TDX and VST must be obtained to achieve the title of Champion Tracker.