Just a little year end update on my blood dog Bear. He is just over a year old now and boy did we have a fun blood tracking season.
Our urban area deer season still has a few weeks left in Georgia but the tracking calls have pretty much shut down. To tell you the truth we are tired and ready to get back to training for next year. As I reflect on our first year together (Bear dog and me) I guess I would say that we are well ahead of where I had hoped we would be as a team. He is still just a pup but he gets stronger every track. He has the best cold nose of any dog I have owned and great desire.
We started 2014 with UBT-2 testing when he was 5 months old and he made his first find of a couple of hogs that I knew were small and not dangerous. We moved into turkey season and he tracked a bird for one of my hunters. My Canada bear camp was the true test of his progression and after his first encounter it was evident that I had me a tracker. He did a fantastic job for me and recovered several bears including a couple that went well beyond a mile in rugged mountains. Solid work for a 9 month old pup. We encountered several live bears and had a great time in that wilderness.
Deer season came and he didn't miss a beat. He made some great recoveries in some really adverse tracking conditions. I was proud of his work and we made a bunch of friends and believers in the power of a trained blood dog. I still think my favorite track was when my 17 year old son handled him on his recurve buck.
We survived his medical emergency (rock swallowing) and a few other minor scrapes during the year. He is a tough pup for sure.
Our next level is training with his new GPS collar system and all that goes with that. I know adolescence is coming for him and while I am not looking forward to his "teenage years" we will get through it together.
We will track a few hogs this spring (under very tightly controlled conditions) to stay sharp, a couple bow shot turkeys I am sure and then get ready for a HUGE bear season. I expect that he will hit the ground on 15-18 bears in June and a few more in Georgia's fall bear season.
Best of luck in the coming year to all the tracking teams. Train hard and stay safe.
Here is picture with some of his tracks for bear camp. Several Trad Gang members got to see him work.
Topic: Bear Dog"s first year. (Read 498 times)
