We are waiting for the newest member of our home.  He will not be available until Dec 27.  But I have been reading all the different posts and sights.  I never really gave thought to the blood tracking until yesterday I shot a buck and can't find him.

I am new to the hunting dog world and see the verstility of this breed.  Is it natural for the dog to do both?  How are you sure when you want the dog to look for birds it is not tracking deer and vice versa?  How do you train them seperately and will it take away from their bird capabilities?

Thanks for the response!  I have looked into NAVHDA.  I was considering buying the premium package to get the training Green book and so on.  I have already read an old book I found at hunting camp by Henry P. Davis.  But I want to make sure that I do this right.  Everything I have read so far all makes it sounds like your just letting the dog do what it does naturally and then "tweeking" its responses.  I bought the dog from a place called Warriors Mark Kennels.  They are a hunting preserve and stated that the parents hunt all the released birds as well as grouse.  He also stated that the father just went to Idaho with him to hunt all their wild birds.  I am mainly interested in Phesants (live 2miles from Stocked game lands in Pa) and then finding those PA grouse on purpose instead of them scaring Me to death when I am deer hunting.  NOW really interested in this blood tracking.  Will the NAVHDA books give Me a good start, to get the dog to track wounded animals (nose to the ground) But know when and how to switch to head high bird dogging? 

I have also seen the Perfect start videos as a good rookie tool.  What else might you folks suggest?

While natural ability is all a hunting dog needs I do a bit more than "tweek".
You can not teach a dog to keep it's nose down. It either does or does not.If all you are interested in is recovering shot/wounded game then most dogs can do that by air scenting.Most any GSP can trail/track a running bird or drag.A dog that has inherited the right stuff will know instinctively when to air scent and when to track.The quality of the nose and mental balance helps,too.Some lines are to hyper to calm down to concentrate on a track.
Certain lines are breed for blood tracking, mainly the Deutsch Kurzhaar, the breed that the GSP originated from. The German testing system has a special tests for blood tracking and a Master Utility test (VGP)which includes blood tracking, in fact, the entire test hiinges on how well the dog does in this catagory.The breed was bred so well over 100 years ago that it has been near impossible to rid most American lines from the founders' original purpose.
NAVHDA itself was designed with the American hunter in mind,altho the system was derived from the German system.NAVHDA is versatile but geared toward American type hunting. For instance, NAVHDA does not encourage rabbit hunting. If you want a rabbit for your drag portion of the test you must bring your own. There are members in chapters who do hunt fur, you will have to seak them out. Chapters with DDs and DKs,GLPs, the German breeds, will be doing this with their dogs. You may not want your dog tracking live deer. It also may be illegal in PA?
A dog who has inherited the right stuff will know when to air scent and when to track. You can not teach this, It is instinctive.EPs for instance were bred from day 1 to keep their head up and no true EP man will encourage nose down. The head crank is very desired for this breed.
Blood tracking is done with the dog on a leash, tracking at a pace that is comfortable to the handler, no faster then a brisk walk and for some that is to fast.
I will look for the links to blood tracking and post then for you.

Francine

Thanks, it is illegal to hunt deer with a dog in Pa.  I do not want to do that.  But if I hit a deer and can't find it I can go get the shotgun and go "bird hunting in that area"  I do not want to hunt fur with the dog mostly upland birds but if the finding of an unrecovered deer is an additional benifit of the dogs ability so be it.  I just don't want to go bird hunting and have a dog tracking deer. 

List_house,

where are you located in PA?   We are just outside of Muncy.

Deb

Flygirl-We are in Midland, Pa.  Right on the ohio river where OHIO,PA and WV all meet.  Where is Muncy?

Eric- I hope that you butchered the deer and were just throwing out the scraps?  Good to hear that the dog tracked without any training. 

I would like to make sure that the dog is hunting birds when I want him to and blood tracking deer when I want him to?

Muncy is just east of Williamsport in central PA

Wish I could, can't convince the wife and kids it is just as good!  Congrats on the Doe.