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Deer Tracking Dog

2K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  wachtelhund 
#1 ·
Has anyone trained a dog to track downed deer yet? I'm gettin ready to start. Any tips?
 
#4 ·
Thanks for that link L & O....


There is a guy (and also a lady I think as well) here at the site that has trained their dogs to find deer...If I can think of their names I will post it here. I think they do it for gas money and the training opportunity. I am not sure if someone would pay to have you come and not find their deer? Who knows... maybe they would?
 
#5 ·
Maybe you should spend more time practicing, then you wouldn't need the dog.

Just trying to help.
 
#7 ·
Never heard of it!:D But my dog and I did stumble on this buck that my nephew shot.....his first! Good blood trail and in the snow...but still a great find!


Being a German Breed...Blood trailing is one of the roles of the wachtelhund.....Pretty incredible standards for the test scenarios as I have read! Kaiser found this coyote my BIL shot during bowseason....I can honestly say that without Kaiser...we would have been lost and would not have found it!


Bella is my female........I have used here for several finds....here is a couple!

Opening day bow kill



I am not going to say that these were 3 mile trails....pin drop to pin drop......most were dead within a 100 yards or so...but that is how you get your dog confidence! SUCCESS!!! The coyote was about 200 yards and yes, the last 50 or so yards there was NO visible blood! I have gone to the local slaughter house and gathered some beef blood to trail with.....It just takes time and repitition like everything else! I always take my dog when I can to help me recover my game!!! Good luck and please post your progression/results as you go!

FYI...read a story about a search/rescue or cadaver dog (can't remember which) but they talked about how good the dog nose is........They can take a tooth, put it in a ziplock bag, and dump 10 yards of pea pebble on it and the dog can still smell and find it....pretty amazing!

Dave
 
#10 ·
I had a blood hound (blue) that was 100% on deer. If I couldnt find the deer, it was still on the hoof. #1 you must absolutly trust your dogs nose. Dont take the dog where you think he should go. follow the dog. get a nightingale harness. people will give you big money to have you find deer. $50 tip in 10 minutes. I would go for free but "accept tips" negotiate something before you start cuz once its on its on. never hurry. Tell who ever it is waiting for you to relax and get the hell away from the scene and let the scent get out. You will never get a gut shot deer unless it dies and some times this will take 3 days. My longest trail was 1 and 3\4 miles The 1st half mile I had drops of blood then nothing at the 1 mile mark I found a pin head of blood and I knew the dog wasnt b\s ing Me. I got her all stoked up again and off we went. when the dog found that deer I thought all was lost she wouldnt go no further but she would keep going round and round. I sat down to give her a good lovin and some praise for a good try and she wasnt havin it. She went behind a small hill 10 yards away and started baying. I went to get her, and there was My deer. Once your dog understands the Idea TRUST THE DOG #2 put signs up at local sporting goods shops. I would Like to write more if you need any info let Me know. Spice
 
#11 ·
Firefighter said:
Has anyone trained a dog to track downed deer yet? I'm gettin ready to start. Any tips?
I have a tracking business I run in the fall. I am on my second dog who I am training. He is still young yet but well on his way to being a great tracking dog.

JYDOG you can be the best shot in the world and still make a mistake. I spend alot of time making sure my equiptment is right on. I shoot all summer and fall and shoot the dart system league in the winter and still made an error this year. So how much time do you need to put in to have enough practice? We are all human and sometimes fall to human error. *&$% happens---I for one am glad I now do what I do so that I can help others out in recovering their deer for them...it is a small price to pay to recover a deer that you have spent so much $$ and time to shoot in the first place......;)
 
#14 ·
I had a Chessy that was trained to track deer. I trained him myself and it was very easy to do. All that I ever used was deer legs and deer blood, find a dead deer and get some. Make the dog chase a tennis ball with blood on it in tall grass. As soon as the dog gets good at that start draging anything with deer blood about 200 yards. I used a long fishing pole and string to make sure the dog wasnt tracking me because after they know the game they will track you. Drag over brush piles and around in circles and you will see the dog is after you or the drag. When the dog is after the deer scent you will have a deer hunting machine.Do a few long runs like a mile or two and you will be supprised how fast it will be before the dog gets it. Go to bow shops and put out the word that you need deer to track and your phone will be ringing. When your dog gets what its doing it will probably take less than 3 minutes to find any dead deer,even if it goes a mile. Even if their is no blood a dog will know which deer to chase, even if you see deer running your dog will stay on the trail of the wounded deer. Im not sure if you need blood or not I always thought the deer was putting out a scent from being wounded because he found them when there was no blood. Make sure people dont wait 3 days to call you because that usually ends up being a gut pile at the end of the trail. You are supposed to have your dog on a leash and it will slow the dog down but if you dont you might end up with a dead dog or never see him again. You take your dog and find a buck that couldnt be found for a stranger, it really dont get much better.
 
#15 ·
I shot 4 deer this season so i saved a lot of blood, pieces of hide, hoofs (for interdigital tracking) and a whole liver. I'm so excited for deer season as it is, now the thought of training a dog has put me over the top!!! My girlfriends gonna kill me, LOL.
 
#16 ·
Firefighter said:
I shot 4 deer this season so i saved a lot of blood, pieces of hide, hoofs (for interdigital tracking) and a whole liver. I'm so excited for deer season as it is, now the thought of training a dog has put me over the top!!! My girlfriends gonna kill me, LOL.

put the deer blood in a squirt bottle thats makes a easy way to lay out a blood trail

scott
 
#17 ·
Firefighter said:
Has anyone trained a dog to track downed deer yet? I'm gettin ready to start. Any tips?
Hello, I'm new here and just noticed this topic. I own Deutscher Wachtelhunds and train them to blood trail wound game. I also have a Deutscher Wachtelhund forum, but can't mention the URL address because I have not made 15 posts here yet. One of our owners asked how to train their Wachtelhund to blood trail. I laid out the training steps in a fairly concise post. If you are interested google Deutscher Wachtelhund Of America. At the bottom, left hand side of the home page there is a link to our forum, look under Wachtelhund chat.

dave@deutscherwachtelhund.org
 
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