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Subject: Lola Wants To Track Whitetails

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auwallace

Mobile, AL

MH
Posts:235

10/02/2008 5:57 AM
Lola is almost seven months and in Nov. it will be deer season here in Alabama. I'm going to train her to track wounded deer, i'm getting too old to be on my hands and knees for three hours turning over leafs to see if there's blood on it. My question is should i focus on blood or the actual deer scent. If you use blood, how do you keep it from coagulating? My plan was to take the tail or appendage from one of the first deer of the year and some blood. Then work with her at home and set up very short fake trails, heavily praise her when she completes it, then extend the length. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

pixie bee

MH
Posts:4449

10/02/2008 6:15 AM
Has she done any drags or tracking on birds or rabbits? I would strat there to see her concentration level. But it is not neccessary. What I do with the deer blood is I pour it into 4oz empty water bottles and freeze them. I don't worry about it coagulating, it only clogs the cap, but when the clumps drop on the ground it is a nice treat for the dogs. I tap a hole in the cap and drip the blood every 2-3 steps. I only lay overnight tracks. The scent is better with the dew on it and it teaches the dog to ignore other tracks that may have crossed it. You can leave the tail or part of the hide at the end. You would want to keep the dog on the leash and get her to go slow.You want her head down, you don't want her air scenting it. Start small and work your way to at least 600 yards. Start on short grass and then in the cover you will be hunting your deer in. Very,very important - mark all your tracks!!!! If she is off the track give her about 50 yards to see if she gets back on herself other wise go back to where you last remember seeing blood and start there. Blood tracking is fun but can be a challenge for some dogs. Keeping the nose down is a bred in trait. good luck and have lots of fun! Francine

"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle

auwallace

Mobile, AL

MH
Posts:235

10/02/2008 7:05 AM
i've worked with her in the house since she was a little one, dragging treats across the floor and letting her try to sniff it out. Right now i'm over scenting in the backyard to make sure she gets the idea, which is follow the scent and get a reward. I'm just using quail scent at the moment. But i want to teach her that deer scent is where the money is at. I'd love to quail hunt, but unfortunately they are becoming pretty scarce in south alabama.

Trey

SW Iowa

MH
Posts:516

10/02/2008 10:02 AM
Check with your state and see if it is legal to track deer with dogs, it isn't in most of them. That said, LOL. I didn't start with Jess until he was older, had done lots of tracks and drags and tacked a few hundred running pheasants. I did the first one just like a drag, took him to the blood at start and let him go. It worked, but then I went back and did a few harder ones, I started with a a drag of a fresh deer skin. Then moved to the blood in a bottle, and did what Pixie described, left the skin at the end, had to stake it down or he would retrieve it. I do not do it on a line, and I don't worry about where the dogs head is when he is doing it.

pixie bee

MH
Posts:4449

10/02/2008 2:30 PM
Who says you can't take your dog for a walk in the woods?

"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle

auwallace

Mobile, AL

MH
Posts:235

10/02/2008 4:18 PM
I was wondering what state would permit you from using a dog to track wounded game on private land?

CCCCRNR

Missouri

JH
Posts:22

10/06/2008 2:12 PM
rules by state and training info can be found on these sites http://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/ http://www.deersearch.org/

unbridled

Posts:6

10/24/2008 6:14 PM
I'd definitly use blood instead of just deer scent. If you can get blood from a deer that didn't drop immediatly, that'd be best because when an animal is wounded, they give off a "panic" scent in addition to the scent of just the blood. It is also really good to get her on a trail of something that is already recovered. Hopefully you can get a hunter to mark the blood trail by tying flagging in the trees or high on brush so you can see it but the dog won't notice it. It's best if you don't mark the trail so she's not following your scent. Make sure there is a reward at the end of the trail. She might also follow the path the animal was dragged out of the woods too. By the way, she might end up frustrating you if you want to use her for hunting birds too if she starts trailing deer instead of birds. This is another reason to use blood or wounded game scent so she isn't just chasing any deer she smells.

Rugergundog User is Offline

Saginaw Michigan USA

MH
Posts:395

11/28/2008 9:50 AM
Do NOT teach your dog to track based on the body scent of the deer. It will get confused and or chase deer in the field. Blood, blood blood! is what you want. But on a side note. Train your dog to track a variety of things. After a bit it will understand the command and track the initial smell you expose it to. Like a bloody arrow or pool of blood, pile of feathers. etc.

Saginaw Michigan Brittany- Ruger GSP- Kilian

pixie bee

MH
Posts:4449

11/30/2008 9:57 PM
Most dogs will track or chase deer in the field. A dog must be trained not to track and/or chase. Training a dog to track fresh deer scent makes no difference in the equation. Francine

"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle

Rugergundog User is Offline

Saginaw Michigan USA

MH
Posts:395

12/30/2008 6:58 PM
Just had my 8 month GSP make a failed attempt to chase a deer. May not be the most gentile method of training; but my dogs always wear a beeper, ec when in the field. As i did with my Brittany, when the GSP locked on to the deer and moved a muscle to go for it he got a lightning bolt from from the sky! His EC correction was to say the least a quick burst much higher than normal. Only took one time for my Brittany to learn to not even look at deer. After todays lesson im pretty certain my GSP learned just as fast.

Saginaw Michigan Brittany- Ruger GSP- Kilian

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