How to Avoid Dog Tracking

Tracker dogs are highly skilled animals that are trained extensively to follow a person's scent. Evading a tracker dog is hard--the dogs will track for a long time and can catch a scent from a long distance away. The best approach to avoid being successfully tracked by a tracker dog is to confuse the dog, throw it off your scent and gain as much distance as possible. A more realistic approach is to slow down those tracking you in the hopes that whoever is tracking you calls off the search.

Things You'll Need

  • Camouflage
  • Stream
  • Food or garbage
  • Metal tool
  • Commonly used track or walkway
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Stay close to ground with camouflage on top of you if forced to stay in one position for a time. Lay low for as long as you comfortably can, and remain as still as possible. The camouflage will help to force your scent into the underlying vegetation instead of into the air where a tracker dog may pick it up. Do not smoke or light any fires in this time. Bury all food or garbage underneath you with the metal tool to avoid scent transference. Do the same with urine and feces.

    • 2

      Use streams to throw off the dog. Enter and exit the stream at as many different points as you can. Backtrack to confuse the dog and to send it onto the wrong scent trail. Do not wade too far into the water as on exit you may disturb vegetation enough to give the handler an idea of where you realistically exited. Do not spend too much time backtracking and crossing streams; while it may slow down the dog for a short time, it will also slow you down.

    • 3

      Drop food or garbage where you have backtracked to confuse the dog. Handle food or garbage with gloved hands to avoid transferring your scent.

    • 4

      Keep to commonly used trails or walkways, if any exist. The variety of different scents will be greater here and may slow the dog slightly. This will help to throw off a handler looking for freshly disturbed vegetation or ground.