Which Dogs Are Suitable For Detection Or Tracking

Which Dogs Are Suitable For Detection Or Tracking

This is a question we get asked a lot. Which dog is suitable for detection work. Which dog is suitable for tracking. The answer mainly depends on your goal.

Every Dog Can Learn To Search And Track

In principle, you can teach any dog detection work and tracking. Over the years, I have worked with many different dogs. Even our Pomeranian Danger follows a track and searches for a trained odor during detection work. During seminars, I also see dogs of many different breeds doing this type of work.

That does not mean that every dog is equally suitable. The heavier the goal, the more important the right characteristics become. There is a big difference between training for fun, sport, or real operational work. That is why I find testing a dog very important.

Some Types Of Dogs Have Clear Advantages In Tracking

German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois are often used for this type of work. These dogs usually have:

• strong drives
• a fast learning ability
• a lot of perseverance
• strong prey drive

This makes them suitable for use in, for example, police, military, security, and SAR teams.

There are, however, clear differences between these breeds.

A German Shepherd often remains calmer when it loses the track. It stops, thinks, and tries to pick the track up again.

A Belgian Malinois usually has less patience. It can become restless when things get difficult. On the other hand, it often has more drive and always wants to keep going.

For me, the ideal tracking dog is a combination of these qualities. The calmness of a German Shepherd with the drive of a Belgian Malinois. Crossbreeds between these two breeds often perform very well in tracking work.

In this video you see the difference between a pet dog and a working dog. Both are able to follow a similar track,
but with the working dog you see the true motivation we are looking for.

Detection Work Sometimes Requires Different Choices

For detection work, shepherd-type dogs are in principle also very suitable. However, in practice, other types of dogs are often deliberately chosen.

Shepherd dogs can appear less approachable to the public. Especially in public spaces such as airports, train stations, or events, they can be perceived as impressive or intimidating. Using other breeds takes this into account.

The size of the dog also plays a role. In small spaces, a large dog can be impractical. A smaller dog can then be an advantage.

I once trained a Jack Russell for the police to search for narcotics. On a large ship, he could reach places where a large dog could not search.

That is why, in detection work, you often see breeds such as:

• Labrador
• Springer Spaniel
• Beagle

These dogs have a strong desire to search. They enjoy working for their reward and strongly associate that reward with the work.

What Is Your Goal

The most important question remains what you want to use the dog for.

If the goal is operational work with police, military, customs, or a SAR team, a well-considered choice is required. In that case, you choose breeds that have proven themselves in this type of work.

But even within a single breed, there can be major differences.

A dog must be confident and social. For me, however, the most important trait is prey drive.

A dog with strong prey drive continues to work for its reward. When training is built up correctly, the dog remains motivated to search and track, even under challenging conditions.

If the phone rings in the middle of the night and it is raining, a dog with little prey drive will often show that this type of work is not for him.

What Do We Look For When Testing A Puppy

When testing puppies for detection and tracking, I mainly look at prey drive.

A puppy that picks something up and tries to crawl away with its prize shows that it wants to possess it. This is a strong indication of suitability for tracking and detection work. Within our puppy test, we pay a lot of attention to this.