Trail Dawg question.????

[BANDERSNATCH]

Last Tuesday morning was nice and cold and a buddy of mine shot a large buck at around 8:30am. Well, he thought he had missed. Around 11:30am he gets off the stand and finds blood from what looks to be a good hit. He trails this deer about 200 yards and the blood grows thin. He calls me at around 12:30pm telling me that he'd like some help. I bring my dog....she trails the deer another 100 yards....then apparently loses the trail. We fan out and don't find anything. Long story short, we found the buck Sunday......only 10 yards away from where my dog and I walked through. My question is: How long should an average trail dog be 'expected' to trail a wounded deer?

Bandy

 

[wildlands]

When you ask how long they should be expected are you talking about the distance or the age of the track. I lay practice tracks around1800' and age them normally from 8 to 12 hrs. I have laid a few that I waited for 24 hrs on. The first deer I tracked this year we went alnosst 3/4 mile, but I have heard of a few going several miles. I have not had to put her to the test on any more long tracks and as far as age most of them have been under 4 hrs old.

 

[Glenn]

Wildliands,

What about a good coldnose dog? And would blood have to be present in order for a dog to track? I have talked with a couple of people and their dog's will track a wounded deer just from the scent of the wound.

I can't wait to start training my pup that I am picking up tommorow. I will have lots of questions.

 

[wildlands]

Hi Glenn, I did understand were you were going with this question.

What about a good coldnose dog?

There are certain dogs that are just better at the old cold lines if that is what you were asking. I saw were you made it too wwwthetroutbum.com to the message board. There are a lot of great people on there that can help you get started. Tracking dogs or trailing dogs or blood tracking dogs just depending on what you want to call them will go with out any blood to track a deer. Most of the calls that you will get are when the visible blood has disapeared. It is belived that a wounded deer will give off a different smell than a healthy deer. There will always be something there for the dog to smell. Start your pup as soon as you get it. All you are wanting to do early on is to get it use to the smell. Small 10 -15 feet long lines with a treat of some kind at the end. Gradually as the interest gross in the blood trail you can make it longer. When you get to were you start laying the line out of your yard find a dirt field to lay your lines in. By starting out in a plowed field you cause the dog to take the scent in deeper. They have to work closer to the ground and slower to make sure they do not miss anything. Just do not over do the training and make sure that you make it fun. If your dog does not so any interest in the blood just give it some time. If you have any more time left in your hunting season then let your dog smell any deer that you shot. Save any liver that you get, this makes good treats along the line. By placing small treats along the line you also make the dog slow down to show you the treats , blood spots , wound beds and other things that will help you determine how bad the deer is hit later on. This will be very helpful when you need some type of confirmation that you are still on the track of a wounded deer. Good luck with the training

 

[BANDERSNATCH]

wildlands,

I'm talking about the 'age' of the trail. I put my dog on a trail that was approximately 4 hours old....my beagle did track but didn't find the deer. (This deer was found only 10 yards from where we had been)

I also put this dog on a several-hours-old track this weekend that she didn't follow well. The deer was not hit hard....not blood at all that we could find in over 80 yards of running. all I could find was a very small piece of meat....

I've had good luck with beagles in the past.....what breeds do you recommend?

when I 'trained' my beagle I would drag pieces of meat through the yard and she absolutely runs through the trail. Of course, the trail is fresh. Perhaps I should wait an hour or two before letting her trail?

Bandy

 

[wildlands]

Hi Bandy, I would just try using a spounge to dab some blood along a trial to see how your dog does. Age the track over night put the dog on it and watch. If the dog does not do well then I would go back to the basics. Start with verly liberal blood trails that you age for a few hours. You can leave small pieces of meat, hide or a tail so that your dog stops to show you them when it is tracking. This will help you find small blood spots when you get a real call to track. Do you bird or duck hunt? If so then a Drathar would be a good choice, these are very versitile dogs. But your beagle should do just fine if it shows the interest and you train it year round. You need to keep the training up all year so that the dog will know what you exspect of it when deer season comes. Go to www.thetroutbum.com there is a message board on there. You can find out a lot of information on different breeds of dogs that are used for tracking. Good luck with your dog.

 

[BANDERSNATCH]

I must admit, I get slack on the training when the season ends. I'll have to make a habit of working with her throughout the year. Overnight? Wow....that seems like a long time to work a trail. I'd be happy if I could count on my dog working a trail that is less than 5 hours old.

Thanks, I'll check out the site.

Bandy