Terminology
Blood Tracking Terminology:
| Note: These terms are those used by Alaska
Game Search, and are in general agreement with the
concepts used by blood tracking organizations in Europe
and the Lower48. |
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Age: The length of time between the deposit of
blood or other sign (hair, bone, etc.) at any point along a
training line and a handler/dog team commence tracking that
line.
Ø
Blood tracking: The behavior of a dog, using its
nose, following a line consisting of some amount of animal blood
on the ground or vegetation, as distinguished from tracking a
healthy animal that leaves only scent, tracks and other signs
not associated with a wound or injury.
Ø
DAL: Demonstrated Ability Level – a means of
categorizing successively more challenging training and
experience requirements satisfied by specific dog/handler teams.
Ø
Down-stay: A dog behavior in which it assumes a
prone position in response to a command from the handler and
remains in that position until released by the handler. There
are no specific requirements for the dog’s posture or the nature
of the commands used by the handler.
Ø
Found: Typically, an animal that is located by the
dog and handler in a situation such that it is either dead or
able to be dispatched.
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Handler: A person who manages the activities of a
specific dog during the process of blood tracking. At any
moment, the person holding a leash attached to a dog is that
dog’s handler.
Ø
Line: The path followed by a wounded animal from
the point where it was shot or hit and the point where it is
found or the track is abandoned. A path may be defined by
successive deposits of blood, hair or bone, by the animal’s
scent, or by other signs.
Ø
Live track: A line created by a game animal that
has been wounded or injured. A live track has no human scent,
but will have animal scent not found on a training track.
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Lost lead: A situation in which a leash or check
cord is attached to the dog but is not being held by the handler
and the end of the leash or check cord is beyond the reach of
the handler.
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Run (training or live): All or part of the process
of using a blood tracking dog and handler to follow a line.
Ø
Sign: Any organic matter deposited by an animal or
disturbance of the natural environment by the animal. May
include blood, hair, bone, tissue, scent, droppings, hoof
prints, beds, bent grass, broken twigs, overturned stones,
dislodged bark, etc.
Ø
Sort: The act of analyzing or “reading” an area of
blood or other signs, and unnatural disturbances of that area,
to determine what took place and what line an animal took when
moving out of the immediate area. Sorting may be done by both
the dog and the handler.
Ø
Track: The path taken by a dog/handler team in
attempting to follow a line. An accurate track follows the line
precisely
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Tracking Group: Everyone who accompanies or
attempts to accompany a dog/handler team during any portion of a
run.
Ø
Training track: A line formed by the manual
deposit of blood, hair or bone along a route used to simulate a
line left by a wounded animal.
Ø
Wound bed: A confined area where an animal spent
some period of time lying down in order to rest, and where a
concentration of blood or other wound-related sign is found. |
