New this spring:  Yankee Tracking Training sessions!

Dogs already know how use their noses to track — we just need to teach them the rules of the game! Dogs can track through fields, woods, urban parks, and school campuses. AKC offers the opportunity to earn beginning and advanced tracking titles in both rural and urban environments. Yankee will offer a Tracking Dog Urban (TDU) and Variable Surface Tracking (VST) test in August.

These training sessions are for club members looking to start or practice AKC tracking with their Goldens. They are for dogs and handlers at all levels from new beginners to advanced. Puppies and seniors are welcome.

There will be experienced trackers available to offer assistance appropriate to you and your dog’s level of training. 

The first sessions will be on Sundays, April 19, April 26, and May 10th in either Harvard or Devens MA.  Each session is limited to 6 dogs so every team can receive customized suggestions. There is the option to schedule additional sessions in May/June and to use both field and urban sites.

There will also be sessions in Durham or Dover NH. Each of these sessions is limited to 4 dogs. April 19 and April 26 will focus on field tracking; May 30 will focus on urban tracking.

Come try tracking! Your dog will thank you.  Register for one class or all classes.  A $10 fee applies to each class.  (Sorry, but due to the limitations of our registration software, each session must be registered for and processed separately). 

Click the session you would like to attend:  If the class is full, please add your name to the waitlist, as cancellations do happen frequently.  

Massachusetts:

MA: Tracking Training Session 1  (April 19, 2026) 

MA: Tracking Training Session 2   (April 26, 2026)

MA: Tracking Training Session 3   (May 10, 2026)

New Hampshire:

NH: Tracking Training Session 1  (April 19, 2026)

NH: Tracking Training Session 2  (April 26, 2026)

NH: Tracking Training Session 3  (May 30, 2026) 

Please contact Roseann Mandell with any questions:  rmandell@verizon.net

What is Tracking

Tracking is an activity in which a dog follows the scent of a human being. The dog begins at a person's known starting point and follows that person's path, finding and indicating any articles the person dropped along the way. Tracking dogs are used to find lost persons, but tracking can also be a fascinating and enjoyable sport for you and your dog.

Tracking Tests

There are three levels of AKC Tracking Tests of increasing difficulty: Tracking Dog (TD), Tracking Dog Excellent (TDX) and Variable Surface Tracking (VST). The dog that earns all three titles is a Champion Tracker (CT).

An optional titling test, Tracking Dog Urban (TDU), was added in January 2014.