Tracking requires very little equipment. You just need a harness, a 20-to-40 foot lead, a few flags to mark your track, and an open grassy area free of obstacles such as roads, ditches, or woods. The Tracking Dog Test (TD) is a non-competitive test in which your dog follows a path to find article(s) dropped along the way. (Before you enter a Tracking Dog Test (TD), you must have the dog certified by an AKC-approved or provisional judge.) A dog earns a TD by following a track 440 to 500 yards long with three to five changes of direction. There’s no time limit as long as your dog is “working.” The dog is not allowed off lead at any time. The dog must follow the path the tracklayer has walked and find the article(s) dropped along the track. Judges follow the dog and handler to determine if the dog is on or off the track. If the dog follows the track and finds the article(s) placed on the track, he earns the tracking title for the level at which he is exhibiting.
