[hulkamaniac]

I have a 10 yr old basset hound. I'd like to train him to do some tracking. Nothing serious, but as a game more than anything. The guy has a nose he loves to use I figure I might as well put it to work and give him something to do. The ideas I've seen seem to involve dragging a lure of some sort through the yard in random directions to make a trail. The dog is then given a scent from your fingers, told to track and steered back on course if he gets off. When he gets to the end he gets a treat.

My question is what's the best lure to use? Something smelly obviously, but what are some good ideas?

 

[TooneyDogs]

I might be a little off here as I've never done any tracking but I think what you're talking about is called Trailing. Tracking is following a human scent (footsteps) while trailing is more like scenting for downed birds/following a trail. Hunters use scented dummies like quail and pheasant for the lures.

I did find a couple of articles that might interest you:

http://www.basset.net/track.html
http://www.dogplay.com/Activities/tracking.html

 

[hulkamaniac]

I appreciate the reply. I didn't realize the two were different. Basically I'd like the dog to be able to follow a scent (any scent is ok) to the end of the trail.