Afternoon hunt interrupted

[mickeys4]

I walked out for an afternoon hunt.I have three outside dogs I've more or less trained to not follow me when I'm dressed in camo carrying a bow.I walked to one of my stands,climbed up,hooked up and settled in for a peaceful evening pretending to deer hunt.After 1 1/2 hours I heard a faint noise coming through the woods.My Jack Russell,Molly(inside dog),had trailed me to my stand a little less than 1/4 mile.She followed my entrance trail then looked up straight at me.I sat motionless and she didn't see me.At least my camo is working.She proceeded to walk around in large circles looking for me.After about 10 minutes she backtracked down the trail headed toward home,Whew!Twenty minutes later here she comes again hot on my trail.I felt sorry for her mixed with a little pride,it's great to be loved.This time I spoke to her and she came and sat at the foot of my stand.The funny thing is she is scared of my bows and will not come out of the house if I have my bow with me.When I came down she saw I had a bow with me and she headed for the house.As I was walking through the pasture I could see her already going through the front yard looking up through the pasture at me.I'm fortunate enough to be able to walk out my door and hunt so I had to laugh it off.I'll go back at it tomorrow and I'll bet she won't try to find me again knowing I'll have a bow with me,she's pretty smart and seldom forgets.Makes one think if a house dog domesticated for probably a few million years can scent your trail hours after you've walked it what chance do you have of fooling a wild animal whose very existence depends on its sense of smell.

[Keith Zimmerman]

Funny story.  I had the same problem with my dogs.  My wife would have to keep them inside while I walked up to my stand behind the house.

[J-dog]

That is funny -

Got the beejeezus scared outta me one morning 20 yrs ago by a friends Lab that had camped out under my stand all night behind his Grandmas. I walked in well be fore sunrise to be greeted by 85 lbs of Lab that thought he was defending himself from some monster?
All I could see coming at me in the light was black and teeth - hearing a charge and growling snarling I thought a bear had me as we had been seeing a big one back there!

He had stayed with me when I hung it - and when I arrived that morning I did not get greeted by him at the house which is his usual MO. Well I found out why -

J

[lpcjon2]

That is funny.Can she track deer?

[mickeys4]

She hasn't been trained to track deer though I have seen her track them after I've jumped them while hiking.She won't track them far she tends to hang close when we're hiking the woods.This was why I was shocked to see her so far from the house by herself.She will wander sometimes with my other dogs but not alone.

[Eugene Slagle]

I've yet to live close to my hunting grounds or on my property to have that but it is good to know, my Bonnie would probably do the same thing till she saw the bow.

[straitera]

Good story.

[IndianaBowman]

Great story. Your right about the noses of wild animals. All this new "scent eliminating" stuff is just like most fishing lures. Designed to catch the hunter. Once of the best hunters I know Roger Rothhaar tries to reduce odor, but recognizes that the only way to get close to deer is to NOT be downwind of them.

[Looper]

My dogs will do that, too.  Taku, my Jack Russell, loves to go with me when I shoot my bow in the yard.  After I loose an arrow, he runs to the target and barks at it.  Cash, my lab/wiemeraner, is an arrow-finding machine. He's also an excellent squirrel dog.  Shelby, my fat yellow lab, moves out of the way when I shoot, but I take her in the woods the most often.  She's quiet and will sit and stay when I need her to.

Shelby will stay in the yard, if I tell her to, but I have to leave the other two inside. They'd track me to the ends of the earth if they got out.  Once, I was take a walk around the woods and the neighborhood behind us.  It's about a 2 mile loop.  I had gone about a mile and was in a little patch of woods when I heard something coming up behind me.  It was Cash and Taku.  The had escaped when my wife opened the door.  They were so proud to have found me.  Pretty funny.

[mickeys4]

I used to have trouble with my three outside dogs,yellow lab,beagle,mixed Australian shepherd, showing up a half hour after I got in a stand.I'd tell them to "git" and they would go off about 30 yards and lay down and snooze killing any chance I'd see a deer.Miraculously they stopped following me after me sneaking out or having my wife keep them in my yard.If I leave the house with a bow and tell them "stay" they will.If I pick up my walking stick they're ready to go.

[wapiti792]

Great story pardner    My dog followed me on a turkey hunt once. A gobbler was coming in hot on my 40 behind the house. I had told my dog Katie to stay as I left after the bird, and she usually listens well. I worked the bird and had shut up to play hard to get. I heard something behind me and it was my lab with her ball in her mouth. I told her to "drop it"! She did, healed to me and laid down. 2 minutes later I killed that bird with my dog laying beside me. The humor came when she tried to fetch it for me. Man I wish I carried my camera back then!

[MCNSC]

Had someones lost coon dog trail me to my tree one evening. It kept walking around so I figgured I may as well get down so I lowered my bow which had fur silencers on it. The dog came over to investigate and bit the fur silencer. I pulled it back up and had to bring it down with me. On the way out I tied the dog to a tree and went and hunted another stand. Called the owner that night ....he was looking for his dog.

[Bowwild]

Good dog!

Back in the 1960's when I was hunting groundhogs with my bow (I was in my teens) I had a great dog named "Jody".  He went crazy when ever I grabbed a fishing rod, bow, or gun.  He knew when I grabbed a bow he was going to the basement because I couldn't have him messing up my stalks. I would walk through our subdivision to a gravel pit/farm -- about 1.5 miles or further. I had been waiting for 30 minutes or so for a certain groundhog to come out of his hole where I would have a 15 yard shot. Then I saw my dog following the trail I had come in on (through pastures and wooded ravines. I hoped the hog would come out before the dog found me.

As amazing as it sounds the hog exited the hole almost exactly when the dog arrived.  Hog dove and Jody and I went on home.

[Friend]

Have a cat that somehow routinely managed to find me. This used to frustrate the dickens out of me. Then one day she climbed a tree right next to me and stayed there perched and together we watched deer right under us until dark. I just figured if the deer didn't care then nor should I. She continued this behavior until we moved in town.

[mambashooter]

[reinmb]

my dads dog does that and sits out about 75 yards away and barks like hes really found something.  it really ticks me off when i have sat there for a few hours and it gets to the best time to be out there when he comes to find me.  sometimes i think 75 yards isnt to far to shoot haha.  but then i remember he lives there i dont