re: Deer Blood Tracking Dog

You live in Calhoun ?

I track for the public. The books cover the basics, but honestly it all comes down to the individual dog. They either have it or they don't.

On the flip side, it can be the most well-bred tracking dog on the planet, but if you only take it on a few double-lungers each season, it won't make a good tracking dog for public use.

Louisiana is an on-lead state, but I track off-lead. All 3 of mine have a rock solid handle and a reliable recall with the Garmin collar tone function. Just makes it more efficient when tracking through briars, across creeks, and when you're tracking a deer that's mortally wounded but still alive.

I'll also add that's its way less trouble and much cheaper to just get someone that already owns finished dogs to come track your deer. Tracking dogs are so popular now thats its practically its own sport.

The issue is that 99% of the dogs tracking deer now are glorified culls. 4 years ago, maybe 25%-30% of my tracks were to go behind another dog that couldn't find the deer. This season, about 90-95% of my calls are for tracks that at least a couple dogs have already attempted and failed.

Hunters no longer care about getting the best dog for the track and patiently waiting for it to show up. It's now all about who can get there the quickest.

Most trackers with good dogs now charge minimum $200 just to put their boots on for tracks that require going behind another person's dogs.

ETA: I have Lacy dogs. Great working dogs that are absolutely terrible pets. Think of a dog that's basically a half-sized Catahoula with the personality and drive of a Belgian Malinois, and no off-switch.

I’m definitely looking forward to it. How old were your dogs when you started working with them on tracking?

If I get my dog in February or March can I use purchased deer blood to start?

Could I thaw out deer meat from the freezer?

I've trained my 4 yr old beagle. He had the drive from when he was 8 weeks old. It's a great time dragging a scent trail and then letting him follow it. I have him on lead the entire time, though.

This may be a stupid question. I have read that as you progress you use a hoof to give the scent of the interdigital gland. If you train them on this, will this not throw them off the blood trail,

Just to add a story: I've got a 3 year old lab that I've been slowly training to track over the past few years. Any deer we kill we let him find, even if we see the deer fall. He has gotten obsessed with it. The problem is he was 112lbs at the last vet visit with no fat. Biggest lab I've ever seen. Long and long legged.

He is usually really very obedient and handles well. Main job at home is to make sure the couch doesn't float away. However, if he knows he is after a deer he will drag you through the brush, around trees, etc on a lead.

He knows where all our stands are and if we come get him from the kennel at the camp he tries to make a break for it and will backtrail you to the stand you were on. Like a black bowling ball tearing through the brush. Last deer my son killed, I went back to get the dog and he got past me coming out of the kennel. My son said if he didn't know that the dog was coming, he would have thought a bear was charging through the woods at him at night. Dog found the deer on his own.

He is the same way with hogs. Will jump up and down when we catch hogs in a trap. We have wild ducks that come into the pond in the back yard. He doesn't care anything about them. The ducks aren't even scared of him anymore.

I don’t know for sure if this makes a difference but I think it might.If I kill a deer that runs any distance after being shot I cut off the lower part of the leg and give it to her.
She’ll eat everything down to bare bone-hide,hair and hooves.My theory is she gets the interdigital scent from the hooves.
She has only trailed 1 deer that didn’t bleed and she did a good job,just a little slower than a deer that bled.

I don’t track for the public.No telling how good she might get if I took her on more tracks but I just turned 73 and I don’t feel like going out at midnight,driving all over the country.Besides,it would cut into my hunting time.

Jagd Terriers

Both of mine have been labs. Neither one would bark on a dead deer but bark almost every breath on one that was alive. The one that I have now I think would fight to the death. Both were very easy to train. I would work with him 15 mins twice a day starting around 3-4 months old. They took to it pretty quick. Also like many have said put them on every track you can. Even if it’s 25 yards in the bushes.

One thing that I learned very early on is when you do start tracking for people, make sure YOU are the only one packing a gun. People get excited. That’s the reason we hunt. No deer is worth getting your dog accidentally shot. Nobody ever plans on it happening, but in the heat of the moment it can. My first dog almost did early in my tracking career. From that day forward I am packing the gun. I have no problem giving it to you to shoot once I catch my dog but until then it’s mine. Every once in a while you are going to run across somebody who will buck you on this. They don’t want anybody else shooting “their” deer. Usually once you explain why and let them know that how it’s going to be or you are leaving they come around.

Also, the garmin collar really is a game changer. I started with a bell on the collar. Moved up to one of garmins first models that strapped around the middle of the dog and sat between his shoulder blades. The alpha is so far ahead of that it isn’t comparable. I have always had big labs. (100lbs +) A leash is out of the question when either one gets on a trail. Once you get into it you will love it. I would rather go on a track than shoot one now. Especially to find one for a kid. They get so excited.