I'm interested in/new to tracking!
How do I get started?

We have one sainted club in northern california that offers intro classes (both urban and field) but they are always full (they are VERY popular and very good)  – www.sacramentodtc.org.  One thing you might contact them about is whether they take auditors, because you can learn almost as much from just watching as from doing, at these classes.

 

The other thing to do is to drop into tracking tests near you to spectate, or maybe even see if they can use you as a worker/volunteer (that’s the way to get “front row seats”).  At tests, you can see the sport in action, see and hear people talk about strategies and techniques, and get started with networking with the tracking community.  That’s where you’ll hear about anyone offering classes or groups getting together to train on an irregular basis.  If you are interested in doing this, contact the club offering the test and they'll hook you up with that test's volunteer coordinator.   A pretty good list of upcoming tests is available at https://www.bumpsays.com/Home/tracking .  Now, it turns out that the summer is off-season for tracking; urban tests don’t start until December and field tests don’t start until January.  But you can have a look and save the dates!

​

Here’s some good general intro/info links to read up on tracking:

++ http://images.akc.org/pdf/events/tracking/beginners_guide.pdf . 

++ https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/tricks_games_sports/canine-sports-tracking/

++ https://www.akc.org/sports/tracking/getting-started/ .

 

Here are a couple people who have offered tracking classes in the past:

++ Kamrin MacKnight on the SF peninsula

++ Debi Best in Auburn area

 

Good luck!