03/24/2025
What I do as a tracker?
And by “tracker” I mean either someone using a dog to do trailing, tracking ( experience in scent theory) -or -a person trained in visual tracking such as : Sign cutting, or tracking as it is generally known, which is the step by step following of an animal, person, or thing.
Including : track interpretation , expertise in vegetation disturbance, determining direction of travel by specifics in wind direction and in indentations in tracks , etc.... it takes years of training, hard work, and dirt time.
We interpret animal movement and behavior which reveals wildlife sign as well as the subtle evidence of the lost target dog presence.
*While following reports of sightings from phone calls is a big part of lost pet recovery, it is not “tracking”.
It’s called “ tracing”
Much like contact tracing. That too is highly valuable. Everyone in a search is extremely important.
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I’ve spent my life doing tracking as well as trapping, and done numerous trainings, certifications , and field work on and off for 44 years as an adult under various mentors, and 10 years as a child under the guidance of folks who were master trackers in Michigan as well as a few friends who where trappers to relocate wildlife . Additionally, I worked with those who do Blood trailing in deer hunting with K9s
I also worked locally with the late Dean Whitwam , who taught me a great deal about tracking / trailing with K9 -Bruno and K9-Brutus.
I was fortunate to train K9 -Ian, with Tom Brenneman on some occasions. That was an amazing time. I learned infinitely more that I ever could have on my own.
I am going to be doing some intense training from the master of training Tom Brenneman with Stevie and I can’t wait.
At present I have a bloodhound,Stevie , and in the past , Vernie, German Shepherd , Ian , and others before them, who did trailing and it evolved into trailing for lost pets.
I studied one on one with Kat Albrecht (an award-winning former police bloodhound handler, detective, search-and-rescue manager, and police officer-turned-investigative pet detective). (Google her books).
I am certified with Missing Pet Partnership ( MPP), Kat Albrecht , specifically . Now known as MARN
-*Member and certified MARN
MISSING ANIMAL RESPONSE NETWORK , Kat Albrecht .
*Kanas Fur bearer harvesters trapping license- live trapping
*licensed in Kansas an Michigan as a trapper.
*Member of National association of Trappers .
*Trained in visual tracking
*Tracker in advanced land navigation and advanced animal tracking.
*visual tracking for K9 handler, for the scent-discriminating canine handler .
Finding latent footprints
Aging tracks
Signcutting search tactics
Night tracking
team formations
*FEMA -Incident Command System training level ______3 and 4.
Which is a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of an emergency.
*Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). To mitigate the impact of an event, accelerate the recovery process.
Used with search teams.
*Integrating visual & canine tracking resources.
*Many Field simulations of a hunts for man an or lost animals
•All the years I've done groundwork in trailing and tracking , trailing/ tracking with a K9, have been influenced and guided by studying some of the people that I find great man trailers and naturalists, wildlife biologists ,as well as working along side wildlife trackers for many years.
*Will be doing continued education with my new bloodhound , with Master trainer and tracker/ trailing instructor, Tom Brenneman .
•Studied and followed the work of Jeff Schettler
•Studied and followed works of Jon Young- expert tracker, deciphering the language hidden in the vocalizations and behaviors of common song birds to assist in locating a target animal or know what predators are present.
•Studied and continue to read from the literature of Fernando Moreira - professional tracker.
•Real life dirt time seems to be the best teacher but without the many people I’ve learned from it would have never been the same.
Initially trained as a dog trainer with a mentor with AKC. Certified in 1978
***Member of IACP
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CANINE PROFESSIONALS
