Tell me about blood tracking dogs

[Bobby Urban]

Brag on your dog, give me your oppinion, breeds, cost, training, whatever.  I am seriously considering a new dog for my pack(home)  I would really like to rescue a dog and not go the breeder route but want some input.  I have been looking online a lot and reading everything I can as well, I ordered the book about blood tracking dogs that is on all the websites.  My thoughts are leaning towards getting a Dachsund mix puppy in the spring and working with him all summer.  What are your thoughts?  Who has one and what are some of your training tips?

Thanks - Bob Urban

[B-DOG]

i have a lad now(Bear). he is abouty 1.5 year old now. he found 1 this year and trailed another that was 14 hours old for about 300 yards and i had to stop because of the property line. this is #4 for me. my best was a walker hound, had 1 other lab and a mut. just take them on some deer that were shot. most that i have used just pick it up naturaly. do a surch on the web. there are several training methods. i have read moost of them and uses some of each method

[DRR324]

Bob,
I just got a Jack Russell from a guy in Lake City, MI.  We needed another indoor dog due to our cavalier having mental issues when the kids are in school and no one is home all day- he was like a sack of potatoes- just moped and did nothing.  Our vet said get another dog to keep him company... so I pushed hard for a tracking dog.  This little guy is a small breed, with a great little nose.  At 7 weeks he can track a piece of deer steak that I drag through the yard for 8-10ft.  Looking forward to really getting after training this coming spring.  I was looking at wirehair dachsund- but the wife and kids think they are ugly....
Do a google search for JRT in MI.  The place is not my idea of wonderful breeding- more like a mill.....  but the pups are well taken care of and not too expensive.

[bad arrow]

My Jack Russell (wire haired) has tracked a couple of deer- 60yds and 200yds. Never did any training, she just naturally followed the scent. The first deer I just let her go and she took off in the general direction the deer ran but I couldn't find her, she didn't make a sound. She probably tracked the deer but didn't stick around and she went back to the house. I put her on a leash this time and she just pulled me to them. Good Girl!....Phil

[Mechslasher]

i love dachshunds!  i've had them all my life and they are very versatile in their hunting habits.  i've had them retrieve doves to track deer.  i knocked a dove down in a pond one time.  my dachshund didn’t see it hit but tracked it by scent and sat down wind on the edge of the pond and waited for the wind to blow it to her.  all of mine were avid squirrel hunters with me and have come in handy when a wounded squirrel runs down a hole.  they are great with kids, if they are introduced to them when they are a puppy.  i've seen older dachshunds that have not been around kids, not have as much patience with them.  my nine year old daughter gets in the floor and wrestles with mine all the time.  from the noise they make, growls and squeals, you would think they were in a fight to the death.  a fellow just called me last week to tell me he had a litter of red and white wire hair dachshunds.  i have always wanted one of these and i am lobbying hard for one in my christmas stocking.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Our Oskar is about 16 months old now, he's a standard smooth Dachshund of European (hunting) bloodlines.  His mother's side is northern European and daddy is from Austria.  Search "Oskar" in powwow and you can find several posts I made about him.

Depends on what you want for a dog - is he going to be primarily a tracking/hunting dog or 90% a house dog....of course regardless of your plans you have to live with the dog the other 8-9 months of the year when you aren't hunting so pick one you can live with.  

Oskar is fantastic FOR US - and gets along very well with his pack (geriatric basset, old rat terrier, and middle aged beagle) and he sleeps in the bed with the wife and I.  That said, a hard-core, focused, hunting bloodline Dachshund isn't for everyone....and a breeder that tells you otherwise should be avoided like the plague.

As far as the "nose goes" Oskar found his first deer at 12 weeks old and was doing training tracks of 500 yards with very dilute deer blood (water diluted) aged 24 hours by 4-5 months old.  We can't use full strength deer blood on training tracks (I dilute the blood about 1 part blood to 10 parts water) or age less than 24 hours or it is too easy and boring for him.  1 pint of this diluted blood is used for a 500-600 yard training track.

More important than the "nose" is prey drive/focus/prey aggression.  Pretty much any dog has the nose to track a wounded deer - that is the easy part - you need a dog with the prey drive, focus, and mental connection with the handler to stick out the really tough tracks.  Finding a dog, REGARDLESS OF BREED, with these traits is imperative....and how to do that is the ten-thousand dollar question.  That is why the best bet is to go with a breeder of proven blood tracking stock for whichever breed you want.

The training is a real commitment of time and effort - there are some books out there, but its pretty much common sense.  Just be sure you are ready for that commitment before jumping into a blood dog.

Our dog has really opened up a new facet of outdoor fun for us.  My wife LOVES to track and I'd be in the doghouse if I went on a call without her.  This year the toughest find was a 16 hour old track of a very poorly hit deer (low ham hit, opened the abdomen, but didn't cut the intestines, VERY small "modern" type broadhead for a "modern" type bowhunter) of 700 yards in a 100 acre CRP field with weeds/briars/bushes as high as your head.  Took some work, but we found the deer and the hunter was REAL happy!

Ryan

[goldflinger]

David, have you ever used your cavalier to track? Just curious, as we have 2, but they are untrained!!

[Traddict]

Great information above.  I have a lab and a Jack Russel. The JR is 6 months old and found 3 deer this year.  (all easy) I would caution putting a new dog on an upwind trail. Its easy for them to form bad habits and try to "wind" the dead animal rather that follow the blood trail. Laying your own blood trails can make a big difference.  Because you know exactly how it runs, its easy for you to monitor exactly how your dog is doing.  Watching my dogs work is almost as fun as the hunt itself.

[graybarkhunter]

i know several people with j. russels and labs,etc ,, has anybody ever used a blue tick hound for tracking deer?? just wondering? thanks

[DRR324]

Goldflinger,  I thought about trying "Brady" our cavalier, but the thought of having to brush and clean him everytime out in the woods didn't fly with my "smarter" self.  He's the wifes $1200 lap dog, cute as all get out, and I'd like to keep it that way...
My new little JR is just a ball of energy right now.  He's a chasing, sniffing, monster...      He certainly has brought some pep to Brady, which was the main goal in getting him  

[T Folts]

Bobby
I have kicked this Idea around for a few years and even put my name on a waiting list from the breader of the tracking book you speak of but havent got one yet. I have read the book cover to cover and learned alot from it. I still havent dont it yet. I have trained field trial dogs and know it takes a big commitment and alot of time to establish a good working dog and time to keep up their skills in the off season and for this reason I havent purchaced a dog yet.
Good luck and contact me anytime you want to discuss dogs, shoot bows ect...
Terry

[Tom Anderson]

Originally posted by DRR324:
.....At 7 weeks he can track a piece of deer steak that I drag through the yard for 8-10ft.  ....

Heck,  I can track a deer steak around the yard...if'n it's cooked.   :D

[DRR324]

what I didn't say about the steak tracking... he can do it in the dark, blindfolded, with one paw tied behind his back.... or more like ME with a beer in one hand, the steak on a string in the other....

[Hess]

Tracking with a dog is a blast.  I got a pup in June at 8 weeks old and she is doing great!  We have had her on lots of critters this fall.  She doesn't care about the 'modern' bowhunters or rifle hunters for that matter, she just loves to track, lick my kids and come to work with me every day.  And her name is Carp, we got her the weekend before the Montana Bowhunter's Association Carp shoot here in western MT (the kids couldn't help naming her that!)

A huge part of tracking, imo, is bonding with the dog.  She always wants to please and loves the smell of blood.  I also put a bit of heart and liver on her food once in a while, besides the blood trails I set for her through our yard and neighbors' yards.  They think it is a kick and haven't seen anything like it.

Here's Carp with her first real find in September in Missoula.  I hope the pic is not too big.

Shoot straight fellas,


 

[jeanpaul3006]

was just given a long haired daschund pup 16 weeks old, had her tracking a runaway piece of ham for 30 feet. took less than five seconds. i think she likes ham. between the brittany and daschund i should be able to track something.

[Looper]

To be honest, just about any dog can learn to track.  I've taught a few labs, a collie, a jack russell, a couple of terrier mixes, a dachsund, a dumb as a post dalmation, and a couple of pure bred mutts. Most will come to it naturally.  Like someone else said, the tracking will be a small portion of his life, so make sure he/she fits with your lifestyle.

BTW, this little hunk of terror has been my favorite.  He's a handful, but is in his own class as far as entertainment and companionship are concerned.

 

[sweeney3]

I got a 6 month old Catahoula pup who just a fantastic, world-beater of an all around dog.  I hope to get him tracking deer soon.  He followed one a little ways the other day.  He didn't find it.  We did.  I hope he gets into it and turns into a good deer/squirrel dog.

[Bill Kissner]

I have only one piece of advice if you are going to do serious tracking. Get a hunting bred daschund from a reputable breeder. They are the premium breed for bloodtrailing. They have the ability to follow a track that some of the other breeds will not even be able to smell. Their nose is every bit as good as any large hound plus they are a small dog. It is absolutely no fun being dragged through the briers and brush by a 50 or 60 pound dog. It is my belief that if you got a job for a dog, you need to get the best breed available for it.

[Keefer]

Hess,  
  Is that dog of yours a Black Mouth Curr? If so my buddy raises them for tracking and matter of fact I have a pic of one that tracked one very heavy racked buck this past sat.I have it on my cell phone and don't know how to post pics of the dog and Buck but if someone wants to post a pic of it for me I can send a pic to their cell phone...The Buck has one of the biggest base I have ever seen...Keefer's <")))><

[wildgame]

i have a lab that is now 5 mo. old and found his first deer a week ago.. i started him on by dragging a bloody tail around the yard and when he picked that up i started making the trail more fant and longer.he is far from a master tracker but he is well on his way to being one. trick ive seen is start young and lots of time training!!! this is the second lab ive done this with and seems to me the lab is the best all round far as listining and doing what is needed,but there are several breeds that would probly be just as good or better,more time with training makes bout any dog!!!
brad
(ps freeze some blood in mason jars and that helps with the off season training)