Guys --- I have a 6 month old Dobermann pup. I would like to start her tracking wounded game-- namely, deer AND pigs. Any of you guys that have real, hands-on experience, your advise and tips would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks-------oso

....P.S. .... I have fresh blood, heart, liver, kidneys, etc. from recently harvested pig. What preparation / quantities do you use for each schooling session ? The pup followed me when we tracked the above mentioned pig, but I don't have the luxury of trackin a fresh shot animal 3-4 times a wk.

i would get a harness for the dog so the leash is not pulling on his neck, also the dog will know when he has the harness on it is time to track . always believe the dog his nose is better than you think you are.in the beginning I did not believe in my dog he was right more times than not. learn to read your dog his actions will tell you a lot about the trail. ask questions if tracking for someone else how far was the shot, were do you think you hit, most will say perfect lung, then why are we using a dog, perfect hit don't go far. time from shot to when you start tracking is critical the sooner you are on it the better. learn the look of different blood types, flesh wound, guts, liver. you cant find a dead deer if it is still alive.good luck

Tracking Dogs for finding Wounded Deer by John Jeannenney.

www.born-to-track.com

[email protected]

Bowmania

PS 160+inches, too bad it wasn't shot with a bow.

Feather, I myself have a pit bull and been considering to teach him to track. He's couple of years old so I don't know if the old "Teach an old dogs new tricks" applies. Fill me in on as much input as you can please. Thanks.

Tony

Bridger has 17 whitetail and 4 bear "finds". Actually, found more, but I'm pretty fussy about exactly what I call a find.

Bowmania

Gee, THANKS guys ! .... really good stuff...I had to laugh about "if it's double-lunged, why are we tracking it...?" and "you can't find a dead deer if it's still alive" .... hee-haw ! ....been there and done them..... QUESTION: If you DON'T have your dog leashed, how do you get the dog to alert you as to where the animal is....? .....yeah,...."keep him leashed"....right? Also: with the saved blood and organ material that I have, can I do any worthwhile training other than a fresh, well-shot animal ? Thanks, guys.

Bowmania ... great buck ! Looks like a arra' kill to me !

Any dog usally will trail check laws though. Get a hold of Jerry Russelll if you have questions he should be able to guide you in a direction. I have had my Setter find some but do to laws I keep her on check cord in areas that specific laws and trailing dogs apply. She's come up with a couple.LOL

Not just a bird machine.LOL

depends on the dog,, leash is best,, if the deer is still alive and leaves the country,, your dog could get lost if not leashed,,,, yes you can practice with the dog on a scent trail any time,,just need to have a reward at the end,, I used a deer hide with a hot dog inside for the end of the trail,,, and as suggested,, I always let the dog chew on the find a bit on a real deer,, gut shot is the easiest to find,, cause the scent is so strong,, but you and your dog will get the hang of it with experience,, I had a terrier that would bark treed when she found,, but my rottie was quite mouth,, so had to keep her leashed,, she did drag me through a briar patch and get away a couple of times,, but was lucky to recover her,,

My dog has found quite a few deer now and here are a couple of things I have learned. You have to trust the dog. Don't force the dog to go where you think the deer went. If you knew where the deer went, you wouldn't need the dog. A long trailing leash is a must if you're going to use a leash. With the long leash, you can go around brush that the dog goes through and pick up the leash again. A 30' leash is about right.

Reward after a successful find! Food and or play time. Encouraging words, tone, body language.

Find a local NAVHDA chapter (North American Versitile Hunting Dog Association). They are a non-breed specific group of hunting dog training nuts, and, my experience is that you will find humble, expert help there! Yeah, it's mostly bird dogs pointer and retrievers, but there are also many who greatly value and teach/train/work the blood tracking and trailing skills with their dogs. These guys are a great lot and you'll fit right in...very puppy oriented too. Look 'em up on line. Lota luck!

Thanks guys ! ...... every post is a wealth of knowledge and LOTS of common sense. BRADSMITH: hide and treat is a GREAT idea... at the end of a "training run". Wish me luck and much thanks to all yall again.

I would make sure you don't drag a hide use it only as a reward at the end of the trail. I used one for my dog and he learned to track elk instead of wounded elk. I had a hard time breaking him of it. I found liver to be the best they like eating it, and It makes a good drag.

That's not me, just my dog - he has a rep and I get calls. As you can see in the picture it's a arra' kill, but compound not bow. (we were here first - I had that term trad)

Everything you ask is in that book. One of the best sections is laying out a blood trail.

Plus it gives you a compound that you put in your blood and it doesn't coagulate.

Bowmania

Training the dog is the easy part. The hardest part of learning to track with a dog is learning to read the dog and to put your trust into him. Their nose is incredible, and your own blood trailing trailing skills can't compete.

oso, get the book that Bowmania suggested (tracking dog for finding wounded deer) it is a very good read,step by step training from puppy to finished dog. a well trained dog will save you & your friends a lot of game. PM me if you want I will give you my number. been training blood trailing dogs sence the 70s.Forrest

N-Idaho, Bowmania, Drahthaar...ALL you guys --- thanks so much for all the info and help. Really great tips and ideas. Thanks again, Steve

Ditto what Whip states. In addition, it's very tough for YOU to learn this situation. Wind coming from the west and blood trail going straight north, dog turns from the north to go west, but you see the blood trail continuing to go north. Mark the spot and follow the dog. The animal probably circled to the left (west) and died. Your dog body checked him.

I've been caught in this more times than I care to admit. Now, Bridger thinks I'm an idiot.

Bowmania

Bowmania -- these tips are the gems that I so very much appreciate -- reminds me of when I started working on my own windmills --- none of the old-timer windmillers would give out even the smallest piece of advise or education...... then, I FINALLY found a guy who was humble and generous -- I would have eventually figured it all out, but he GREATLY expedited the learning process. Thanks again. Steve

....dang! .....WHAT KIND (BREED) OF DOG WAS MAGNUM ?!?

Reminds me of Bridger's first trail. I didn't have glove on. The lead beat the "H" out of my hands.

The guy who shot the deer said, "It was fun shooting the deer, but it was more fun watching Bridger do the blood trail".

Bowmania

it is up to the dog trainer to set the pace you track. you the handler are alfa not the dog. Forrest

yeah ,, you just think you the alfa,, when the wounded deer jump up,, and your 100 # rottie thinks his job is on the line,, better hold on for deer life :):)

Oso,we own and operate Shiloh Ranch Hunting Camp where we employ the use of a blood tracking dog to recover wounded game for our guests. We recently lost Sage, our veteran tracker and we are now in the process of training a new pup. If you are interested, I am documenting the entire process on a thread over on the Bowsite Whitetail Conference. Here's a link to that thread: http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm? threadid=436707&messages=26&forum=4#3901920

Our pup is only ten weeks old but yup can use the same methods on your six month old pup.

-Cheryl

Before you do anything read "Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer" by John Jeanneney. I have no affiliation with them or book sales, just found this to be the greatest all around resource on this specific topic. I trained a jack russell terrier, and my father trained a mountain cur who is fantastic.

First check your local game laws with regard to using blood tracking dogs (they are all different). Most require the dog be on a lead, so you will want to train that way. You basically start out with short liver drags, because pups have a natural curiosity to the smell. Over time you change over to blood at greater distances between drops, increase the length, and complexity of the drags by changing directions, using different terrain, weather conditions, times of day and night, and length that the drag has been resting.

One of the more difficult things to get the dog used to is all of the human scent left at a muffed shot site, b/c everyone has trampled everything to bits, and scattered scent all over; and keeping them from tracking non-target animals.

Use scent control precautions when laying out the drags so that the dog is not following your scent instead of the blood.

At the end of the track lay a small piece of meat (for the dog as a reward) under a small piece of hide. The greedier the dog, the better blood dog you've got (remember his reward is meat, and an "ataboy"). Some dogs are afraid of a large hide laying there when they reach the end, so start small, and work up to a full sized deer hide. When he/she reaches the "animal" reward them like they found a pot of gold, give them the meat, and they will be hooked (and so will you). It is a dog's natural instinct to follow a wounded animal, so all you are doing is reinforcing that behavior, and they will be as excited as you will at the end of the track.

Get him on as many blood trails as possible, even if the deer drops in sight go get him and let him find it, reward him when he does. Tell your buddies to call you when they shoot.

Our new pup is progressing rather nicely. Here she is at eleven weeks old after her first real bloodtrail. We shot this little piglet and watched it fall after about thirty yards. We took Kai out to the first drop of blood and put her on the trail. She followed it, nose down all the way, and never strayed more than a foot off the track before correcting herself and coming back to the trail. It's an awesome feeling that makes my heart swell with pride, watching a pup do what it was bred to do!

It is as many of the above have said. I take my dogs hunting with me. They learn they are not allowed to chase but when put on track they find the animal. My last dog Tucker was a lab chow mix. I have literally seen him nose to nose with a 9 point buck and did not chase but wanted to play, the deer just walked away. Time patience and determination are key. At 3 years old I never put a leash on Tucker, one heck of a dog. Annie is starting to show promise. Will not chase a running rabbit without permission, haven't worked on deer yet but she is only a year old. Time PATIENCE and WORK WITH YOUR DOG not against it. Trust your dogs nose even if you think they are wrong they usually will prove themselves.

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