Canine's can sniff out illegal drugs and track fugitives. They're also invaluable to search and rescue teams. Tracking is a sport of sorts and this week in Waterville a group of dogs and their handlers are testing their skills hoping to get even better at what they do. Eight teams are taking part in Camp Pawmark at Colby College.
The American Kennel Club estimates that a dogs sense of smell is one-hundred thousand times better than a human's, an advantage the camp pawmark dogs will try to capitalize on as they follow an individual's unique scent across campus to build a skill called variable surface tracking. "About 7-thousand people have tried to earn what's called a variable surface tracking title in the last 15 years and of those 7-thousand, 244 have been successful, so it's an extremely hard title to earn." says instructor and Pawmark co-founder Ed Presnall. The dog training expert travels around the US to offer the camp. Presnall says while many of these dogs won't go on to the next level the week-long course is also about teaching teamwork and building relationships that everyone can benefit from.
Canine Camp
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