Trailing Dog. Which breed?

[Canebrake]

I'm really interested in getting myself a hound to run a blood trail but I've never had a deer dog. I'm not planning on running deer...just tracking. Is it general consensus that using a coon dog of high pedigree to track deer is a waste.

My buddy manages a plantation in Screven County and he has a yellow lab that does an excellent job but I've never been a lab man myself.

I assume you could train just about any dog with a good nose to do the job and it would simply be a matter of personal preference but I wanted to get some opinions. I'm not sure if I have the time to take on a new pup but was hoping to find a 1-2 year old. Is this too old to lget started on a blood trail?

[Brushcreek]

i know someone who had a blue tick beagle that could trail one in any condition!

[Twenty five ought six]

I had some friends that didn't even hunt, and they had a couple of bassetts that would trail a deer into the next state.

[Daddy Rabbit Kennels]

My Experance, is a JACK RUSSELL, with a small bell on his collar!

They will not give any mouth, but will track real well, with the small bell you can hear them at night and they small so they are easy to keep up with, get the smallest one you can find.

Daddy Rabbit~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>

[Jesse James]

I raise & track Blue Lacys, they are very easy to handle & are very good blood tracking dogs. Not real big , go between 35-50 lbs , good around family & very very smart. Depending on the breed & lines a year to 1 1/2 can learn to blood track if it is in the dog to do it. I sent a pup to up state NY , he`s a year old & found 4 deer last season for his owner ( should have kept that one for sure ) lol

There are many breeds that make good tracking dogs, if possible try to get with some trackers & check out the different types of dogs used & maybe find one that fits your needs & that you like.

Here is that pup with his first, he was around 3-4 months & they had already walked the deer down at around 60 yards . Then they put the pup on the blood to see how he would do & he went right on to the deer.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/CatahoulaKidd/deerseason07005-2.jpg

[boz614]

I have never trailed deer or blood trails for deer, but trail people instead and have/use a bloodhound. I love the breed b/c you don't have to motivate them much to trail b/c it is instinct and they won't quit! My two cents is you can start them later like a year or so, but this will vary from individual dog to another. Many working dogs, such as our detection dogs, psd's, and ppd's actually aren't started until between 10 and 18 months old. I would imagine the introduction training for blood trails would be similar to that of the introduction training for trailing/tracking humans. Again, I have never trained/worked a bloodtrailing or deer dog though.

[wildlands]

Canebreak over the last few years severl good post have been made about this. Here are just a few.
http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=217976&highlight=blood+tracking+dogs

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=162168&highlight=blood+tracking+dogs


There are many more to read through that will answer many of your questions. Picking a dog is like picking a vehicle, personel choice. What options do you want, how are you going to be using it etc. Pcik a dog that fits your situation. Large breeds tend to need more room in the yard eat more which means more of a mess in the yard. Small dogs are easy to transport eat less meaning smaller messes. But then small breeds might have trouble in tall undergrowth, crossing streams or going over logs. Big dogs tend to pull harder but are able to go where needed.

Are you going to have the dog with you all the time and just track for friends and family then most any breed of hunting dog can be trained to handle 8-12 hr old tracks. If you are going to be tacking calls from hunters in your area then you need to look toward more ground scenting dogs that have more of a cold nose. As far as starting an older dog,yes it can be done. We start our pups at 10-12 weeks of age on short drags. by the time they are 6 months old they should be doing 8-12 hr old tracks. Taking into consideration that it will take you about 2 years to get a dog you can trust, starting out with an older dogs cuts down on its span of usefullness ecspecialy if you choose an older dog that has a shorter life span anyways.

A plug for Jesse James breed of choice. I had the pleasure of working with one our members here with his young Blue Lacey. I was very impressed with this dog at such a young age. If they all are that smart then a Lacey might become a very good choice for the common hunter who needs a medium sized tracking dog for personel or family needs.

Now the bloodhound is still the number one dog of choice across the state but they are big and have way more nose than most hunters are going to need, but still a fine dog.

Good luck finding a dog. let us know what you choose.

Ken

[bigrob82]

You want a good trailing dog get with me i breed blood hounds by far the best trackers and my tracking dog is leash broke and has never pulled me it is all in the training just what ever you do get what you will be happy with

[birddog1]

I would look at a DRAHTHAAR they are very good all around dogs that can do more than just track. vdd-gna.org

[Jeff Phillips]

Find a breeder who is raising Dachshunds for hunting. Makes a great family pet and is 2nd to none on a blood trail.

[wildlands]

Birddog1 has it right. If I was a bird hunter or duck hunter and also wanted a tracking dog then a DD would be my first choice even above my beloved Bavarian Moutain Hounds. I have been training with a bunch of people from the vdd-gna southest hunt chapter for several years now. I am very impressed with what all this breed can do. In fact several of these people along with myself are going to Kentucky to track Elk opening weekend.

Ken

[brownhounds]

ive got puppies available. call me at 770-845-4761

[Gabby]

If you do not want a big dog then you might try a Jagd Terrier (German Hunt Terrier). Blood trailing is one of the tasks they are expected to preform over in Germany when they are tested (they also do a gun test, water retrieve and other hunting tests. Very gritty little dogs - they will keep all the varmits off you property.

Gabby

[ghollabaugh]

We have a small mixed breed dog -- jack russell/chihuahua/something. Once you put her on a blood trail, you better have a long rope on her to keep up. No training, just came natural.

[zzweims]

I agree with Ken and Birdog. A DD or GWP (German Wirehair Pointer). Good all around dogs and very tough (I'm suprised more people don't use them for hog hunting). Second choice would be a Weimaraner. They are, IMO, the best trackers of all the pointing breeds and similar in toughness to the DD/GWP. But good ones are hard to find, especially if you are also a bird hunter. I know a guy in Zebulon with nice GWPs who will be having a litter this fall. The kennel name is Wildwire. His name is Earl Fowls at birddogearl@yahoo.com

[woody10]

it helps if the dog will bay the dead deer when he finds it to

[will hunt 4 food]

it helps if the dog will bay the dead deer when he finds it to


+1 I've had a blue tick and am now training some lacys . The blue dog bayed naturally and was easy to keep. The lacy's are easy to teach to do anything so far, but require commitment, they are wide open all the time. They aren't a dog you can put in the pen and forget. However they are one of the smartest dogs I've ever trained. They should bay also they have been practicing on my jack russel since they got here:bounce::bounce: And anything else they find bugs, snakes, cats, etc, etc. They are high energy dogs and require a lot of exercise to be happy.