Balto/Trailing

Trailing

The Trailing exercise editor

Trailing is a discipline where the dog follows a specific person's scent trail from a known starting point to find that person. Unlike Air Scent which uses airborne scent, Trailing uses ground-deposited scent and follows the actual path the subject took. Balto's Trailing exercise log captures the trail details, scent article information, subject behavior, and the outcome.

Starting a Trailing Exercise

If you haven't already started a Mission, follow these steps.

1. From the Welcome page, press and hold the begin training button to start a new mission
2. Configure the mission details (date, location, DR number) and tap Start a new task
3. On the Exercise Configuration screen, select Trailing as the training type
4. Tap Set Task Details to begin the exercise

Otherwise, you'll be skipping steps 1 and 2.

The Trailing exercise has three sections that scroll vertically: Trail (Setup), Subject, and Review.

Trail Section

This section captures the details about the trail itself.

Trail Type

Select the type of trail:

• Dog Training — Standard training trail for the dog
• Team Training — Training trail involving multiple team members
• Double-blind — Neither handler nor person directing knows the trail
• Negative — Trail that does not lead to a subject (training for negative response)
• Line-up — Multiple candidates with the trail subject among them
• Other — Any other trail type

Trail Layer

Enter the name of the person who laid the trail. This may be different from the subject the dog is trying to find (though typically they're the same person).

Trail Age

Select how old the trail is when the dog begins working:

• Fresh to 1 Hour
• 1 to 2 Hours
• 2 to 4 Hours
• 4 to 8 Hours
• 8 to 12 Hours
• 12 to 24 Hours
• 24 to 48 Hours
• Other

Trail Layer Other

If Other is selected for Trail Layer, use this field to specify the relationship or details.

Trail Laid

Enter the date and time when the trail was laid in YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm format, or tap the Now button to use the current time. Accurate trail laying time enables proper aging calculations.

Trail Length

Select the approximate length of the trail:

• Under 100 yards
• 100 to 400 yards
• 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile
• 1/2 mile to 1 mile
• Over 1 mile
• Other

Trail Length Other

If Other is selected, use this field to specify the exact length.

Crossings

Check all features that the trail crosses during its course:

• Gravel Road
• Paved Road
• Trail
• Bridge
• Railroad
• Fence
• Creek/River
• Intersection
• Door
• Other — Use the adjacent text field to specify

Crossings provide useful training context since different surface transitions present different challenges for trailing dogs.

Subject Section

This section captures information about the scent article and the subject.

Scent Article

Select the type of scent article used to start the dog:

• Hard Object — Item carried by the subject (keys, phone, etc.)
• Soft Object — Clothing item or fabric
• Bagged Item — Article preserved in a sealed bag
• General Start Area — Last known location rather than a specific item
• Footprint — Subject's footprint as the scent source
• Car Seat — Vehicle seat the subject occupied
• Other

Scent Article Other

If Other is selected, use this field to describe the article.

Article Contaminated

Check this box if the article has been handled by people other than the subject. Contamination affects how the dog should be expected to perform.

Article Collected

Enter the date and time when the scent article was collected in YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm format, or tap the Now button to use the current time.

Subject Behavior

Select what the subject is doing at the end of the trail:

• Standing in view — Visible and stationary, easy to find
• Sitting — Seated on the ground
• Prone — Lying on the ground
• Roaming — Moving around the find area
• Running — Actively moving away
• Hidden — Out of sight
• Standing — Standing but not necessarily visible
• Elevated — In a tree or other elevated position

Subject Located

Enter the date and time when the dog located the subject in YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm format, or tap the Now button to use the current time. Combined with the trail laying time, this allows calculation of total time elapsed.

Review Section

This section captures the outcome and notes.

Subject ID

Select how the dog handled subject identification (relevant for line-ups or trails with multiple people present):

• Correct ID — Dog correctly identified the trail subject
• Delayed ID — Dog identified the subject after some delay
• No ID — Dog did not make an identification
• Missed ID — Dog identified the wrong person

Summary

Select the radio button that best describes the trail outcome:

• K9 Located subject/area w/o assistance — Dog worked the trail independently to a successful find
• K9 Located subject/area w/ casting — Dog needed casting (handler-directed searching) to complete the trail
• K9 Located subject w/ minimal assistance — Dog needed some handler help to complete the trail
• K9 would have failed to locate subject — Dog could not complete the trail successfully

Notes

Free-form text area for activity notes and remediation plan. Use this to document specific behaviors, problem areas, and training plans for next time.

Finishing the Exercise

When you're done recording the exercise:

1. Scroll to the bottom of the screen
2. Tap Finish & save exercise
3. The exercise will be saved and you'll return to the mission

Tips

• Record the Trail Laid time accurately — this is the most important variable in trailing training records
• Note all Crossings the trail passes — different surfaces and features create different challenges
• For double-blind trails, have the trail layer write the actual route somewhere so it can be reviewed afterward without compromising the blind nature of the exercise
• If the dog has difficulty at specific crossings, note this in the Notes field for targeted future training
• For line-up exercises, the Subject ID field is the key outcome measure
• Use the Interactive Map's track analysis feature to compare the dog's GPS track against the trail layer's track for detailed deviation analysis