K9 Professional Tracking: A Complete Manual for Theory and Training

Train your dog to reliably follow a human scent trail

Learn:

• How to pick the right dog for tracking
• What equipment you need
• How to lay both simple and advanced tracks
• The science of scent and your dog’s nose

A well-trained tracking dog can be the deciding factor that determines success in both criminal investigations and search-and-rescue operations. When the stakes are high, demanding the highest level of performance from your K9, you need training methods relied upon by police forces and SAR teams around the world.

Dr. Resi Gerritsen and Ruud Haak show you how to train your dog in clean-scent tracking, a proven method that trains dogs to follow a particular scent on a track, while ignoring cross-tracks and other odors.

In K9 Professional Tracking, you’ll learn how to train a clean-scent tracking dog you can count on. You’ll also learn to fully understand what your K9 is and is not capable of in the field. With the right knowledge and techniques, you’ll be able to train tracking dogs to the highest professional standards.

Dr. Resi Gerritsen, a psychologist and jurist, is an international judge for the International Rescue Dog Organisation (IRO) and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). Along with her late husband, Ruud Haak, and other colleagues in Austria, Resi developed a new method for training search-and-rescue dogs that revolutionized the field after producing stellar results in disaster zones around the world. She still trains her dogs for search and rescue, detection work, and Schutzhund.

Ruud Haak was the author of more than 30 dog books in Dutch, German, and English, and for over 40 years he was the editor-in-chief of the biggest Dutch dog magazine, Onze Hond (Our dog). Ruud travelled the world with his wife, Dr. Resi Gerritsen, teaching their unique methods to police departments, search-and-rescue organizations, and other dog trainers. He passed away in 2023.