How does a dog know what direction to go with a track?

this is a really good subject . i think when a young dog comes back looking perplexed like that the natural thing to do should be the last thing we do . instead of getting aggravated , even if we know which way the hog went we should encourage them and try to send them the right way and give them time to figure it out .

in rolling country or any country for that matter that scent will swirl and drift around in funny ways . beleive me i made a real ass of myself to a whole bunch of puppies before i understood how scent really worked and travelled.

sorry for the detour , as for the ? ithink thats what might make the difference in a find dog and a help dog when you get right down to it . i also beleive that puppys allowed to run loose learn ALOT of this stuff before they are ever even started . JMO