I saw a thread earlier today where someone was looking for a tracking dog .... I've never used one (not that I have recovered every deer I've ever shot, dog just wasn't available) So... what's the customary fee/rate that you would pay someone to load up their dog and travel to where you are? What's the going rate/fee for calling someone out?

I WOULD assume 1-300 bucks be my guess.

I only accept tips unless it's one where someone 2hrs away is dead set on me coming or something like that. I usually stay within 1hr of my house though. I feel like it always works itself out in the end for me this way. For example I drove 52 miles one way Saturday to recover a 10pt and got tipped 100 bucks from a young kid. Didn't hurt my feelings at all and I had a blast doing it. Tracked a small buck Sunday morning for a guy's wife and he made me take 400. I was within 30 minutes of the house and no way would I of ever charged that much. I got tipped over 1,400 one night at a High fence place and 1,000 dollars on Christmas Eve one night. So I always chalk it up to good karma and the man upstairs for it always working out pretty good in the end. I tracked a deer for 3 miles one time for 20 bucks and a corn dog for a guy having a hard time with life. We're pretty good friends now and we help each other out from time to time still to this day.

Most trackers I know feel the same as me. If you have someone with goods dogs that's less than an hour away they are probably happy with 100 and tickled with 200. A few charge and they'll let you know it of course. Most seem to be 200 -300 to show up plus another 100 or 200 if they recover it. If someone was gonna do me this way I'd recommend making sure they are good experienced dogs or I would find someone else.

Art powers told me tips

He was so awesome best i remember i gav him $200 for 1 and 225 for other - cost him time and effort

One was my boys first and only mature - 5 year old amd mine was a 4 year old minimum - tickled w both

One thing to remember is to tip the tracker whether they recover your deer or not. They still showed up and still had expenses to cover to get there. Now if you wanna sweeten the tip even more for a successful recovery, by all means proceed.

^^^
Yes - they work

I’ve always charged a set fee in the past just because I don’t want to deal with the aggravation of a guy driving a $70K dollar truck, pulling a $20K dollar side by side, paying $5K for a hunting lease……handing me $20 when we’re done tromping through the nastiest swamp thicket on their property……I love watching my dogs work as much as the next guy but by the time the end of January gets here I don’t have the same motivation to drive all over southeast Alabama chasing marginally hit deer for nothing. Getting paid keeps me going to next one and the next one. Gas aint cheap these days either.

This season is a little different though because I’m really needing to get my younger dogs as much work as possible before Otis gets too old to track…..I’ve been going back and forth about how I was going to do it and I think I may just go the tip route like others….at least for a while……

We are the same as johnv, just work off tips or donations. Some people can afford to give more, so can't afford to give much at all. In the end, we just don't want a deer left to rot in the woods. I will say as it gets later in the season and I am give out and someone is not very close I may ask for something just to show up. But most of the time I enjoy tracking as much as hunting. Just remember, just because someone charges a high fee to come out doesn't mean their dog is better than one that doesn't.

Where are these mythical hunters that are starving and can’t afford to pay a tracker for their troubles?? To me that seems like a straw man that some trackers are making up so they can appear to be doing “the right thing” on the internet…..They dang sure don’t exist in Macon, Lee, Bullock, and Russell counties. Hunting these days is mostly for well to do folks. Folks love to get on the internet though and be the guy who is morally righteous while those other guys are charging the poor hunters a high fee. I think the “likes” are the “pay” many are looking for. Likes don’t put gas in the tank though.
I know I speak the truth to my own detriment sometimes but so be it. That isnt directed at you hitek it just reminded me of a lot of comments I see folks making.

I see it as a service and think that it should be treated as such. You guys that do it, should be compensated in some way (cash, steak dinner at the camp after, come back for a hunt, something of value). I know you all love to watch your dogs work and really enjoy meeting people and doing what you do, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it, but in the end, you're providing a valuable service to the hunting community, that they otherwise would not have access to. Say someone takes a call and runs over from north Marengo to Choctaw, Clarke, south Wilcox or east Dallas, you're talking a minimum of 2 hrs and sometimes 3, in the truck. Gas costs money, last time I checked tires and oil weren't free, dog food is expensive, and vet bills cost money. I've never had to use a tracker, but if I make a bad or marginal shot and someone has to come track for me, they're gonna get a tip, even if I have to shove it in their pocket as they are saying no and turning away. I look at it like this, I've killed a boatload of deer and I'm real good at blood trailing and tracking, so if I ever have to make that call, I am calling someone that (has the means, ie the trained dog) and a good chance of doing what I cannot, in that given situation. I love to read y'alls stories.

Run across a few but not the majority. Every time they have let me know upfront, but they have always given a little something because I went anyway. I don't really care if I get anything most of the time but it does bother me when someone takes your info to send payment and never does. Would not bother me a bit if they just say that can't really afford it, but to say there are going to and don's bothers me much more.

CNC I'd be curious to know if you come out better just taking tips versus charging. I know I get a good bit of tips that are alot more than I would charge. I don't keep up with anything so I honestly don't have a clue how much I make but I do know I make a decent amount.

I guess it depends on what someone charges….To me there is some value in just being upfront about the $$$ and not having to play that game with the hunter on each track wondering if they’re gonna give me $5 or $500 and then getting frustrated over people being “people” when someone want to be cheap, etc…… I do better just knowing before I even go out that the $$ situation is set and not something I gotta worry about. I think a lot of the hunters prefer to be given a set $$ amount too because most of them have no clue what to tip someone.


That being said though……I think I’m about to do “tips” myself until my young dogs start running real tracks like a pro. I want to make sure I can provide a quality service to each and every hunter before I set a fee to do it. I can’t run Otis on every track and he doesn’t like to work with the other dogs running with him. He prefers to do it solo and will shut down sometimes unless we get on a live one…..then he acts like he wants the other dogs to help out……He’s a funny little dog sometimes….I’ll just play it by ear on when I think they’re good enough and we’ll see how it goes.

Is there a tax liability difference between income reported as tips/donations and income reported as services rendered?

according to IRS code or according to the tracker? Lol

What about the write off of expenses though if you’re gonna go there??......They FARRRR outweigh any money taken in if we start writing off truck expenses, dog expenses, equipment, etc, etc…….Why don’t we just call it an agreed upon tip instead of a fee….how’s that???

I would b glad to pay for any track found or not

I had no clue they worked on tips - i was expecting Art to give me a fee - i personally would not hav a problem with a tracker saying $100 or $150 plus tip if u recover deer (this could b determined on amount of travel u do) Its an awesome service - why not charge and think about it - u got us by the nutts 🤣
We need ya!!

Why not charge rate ?? I would get a trackers meeting going and say - hey - numb nutts - we all gone charge now

Up front I’d say use waze or a google map or take a picture of the odometer then x2. This get your gas paid for to the track and back where you were? Government mileage gate is .65 cents per mile. This at least makes it a free trip here fuel is concerned. Tracker enjoy it or they wouldn’t do it. Tip them pay them. Ain’t nothing free. It cost to keep dogs healthy and equipment updated. Drive 50 miles $32:50.

I’ve tracked for several that couldn’t afford to pay and it didn’t bother me. I’m not as invested as y’all and don’t even ask for tips now but some will still give something. I have had a couple tell me up front they couldn’t afford to pay anything that week and I still helped. But I’m trying to get as many tracks as I can without being bombarded all the time like y’all are.