Ken

Mistakes hunters make before calling in a tracking dog.

These are things that I have run into over the years while tracking for others. This is not an all inclusive list of mistakes as I am sure I will continue to see new things the more I track.

The most common mistake is that hunters walk down the middle of the blood trail. Then when they get to were the blood runs out they start walking all over the place. This transfers blood from their boots to places the deer did not go. When the dog gets t! here to track and gets to this point on the trail they have to spend a lot of time unraveling this false blood trail that is now laid out. There is not a good solution other than to try to be careful and walk to the side of the trail were possibly.

Mistake number 2 is that the hunter does not visually or physically mark where the deer was standing when they shot. This point can be very important to a tracker in that a lot of information can be gained by looking at the color of hair at the hit site along with any bone that might be there.

Mistake 3 is that they do not know who their neighbors are or how to get in contact with them in case the deer travels across property lines. In many states it is illegal to cross property lines without permission even to track a wounded deer. A solution is to go ahead and make arrangements with your neighbors ahead of time just in case. This will help when late at night you come to a property line and you are trying t! o find out who owns the property. You will be very disappointe! d when t he tracker and his dog call it quits, so get permission ahead of time.

Mistake 4 is not being prepared for tracking at night. A pen light works fine for walking into the woods but when you need to see the minutest sign you need a very good bright light. Bring several good lights just in case your batteries die or a bulb blows.

Mistake 5, not marking their progress along the track to the point of loss. Marking the trail helps the tracker to see that their dog is following the right blood trail to the point of loss. If the blood trail is very light the handler may not see any blood as they will be watching their dog’s reaction. By marking the last spot of blood the handler will know that at that point there might be a lot of false trails, see mistake #1Mistake 6 pushing the deer. If the deer travels out of site after the shot give it 30 to 45 minutes. As soon as you start tracking and see that the animal may travel a great distance or that it is a poor sh! ot back out and give it at least 4 hrs if the temperature will allow and you are not worried about coyotes. If there are signs of a gut shot wait 6 to 8 hrs before begging to track again. Most mortally wounded deer will try to lie down within 200-300 yards. But if pushed out of the bed can travel great distance before expiring






Misconceptions about Tracking
"It’s been raining, so a dog won’t be useful." Actually, a light rain helps to hold the scent. Some dogs are even able to track after heavy rains.

“I’ve waited too long.” It is always better to call as soon as possible, but, if you can not get a tracking dog for 12 hours or more, don’t worry. A lot of people think that a dog is only good if the track is under a few hours old. However, a well-trained dog will be able to follow a scent trail 20 to even 40 hours old, even if other deer or wildlife has traveled the same trail. The meat may not be any good, if ! the weather is hot or the coyotes might have gotten to it, but! , if you want to recover your trophy, do not be afraid to call in a quality tracking dog.

Another misconception is that "a tracking dog will always find” the animal. A tracking dog greatly increases your chances of finding a wounded animal, but it is by no means a guarantee. Many deer survive what hunters think to be a kill shot. But, let’s not forget … dogs can have bad days too, just like people do.

The art of working a tracking dog has come a long way from just turning out the best tracking deer dog to the highly specialized tracking dogs of today. Do not be afraid to contact a person from the tracking dog list ahead of time to ask questions. It might save you some time when you are need of a tracker the most. Happy hunting to all and good luck to all the trackers during the next season.

Ken Parker
Hillock Kennels
UBT board Member

Good information, Ken. This is the longest post that I've read entirely in a long time.

great post, thanks for the information.

Good info for the most part. But I think if a deer is bleeding so bad that you get blood all over your boots, it aint going far

Chesseburger, I had Perkjerker post this article I wrote a few years ago for a magazine since he is the one that has been posting a lot about tracking dogs lately.

Let me explain what happens with the blood on the boots situation. It does not take a lot of blood for a dog to follow in fact only mircoscopic particles along with other animal parts ,saliva,dander,hair,scent glands and so on. Using 3/4 to 1 cup of blood I can lay a mock track 6/10ths of a mile that the dog can follow 40 hrs later, it does not take much blood. Most hunters think like you "Oh I have blood deer will not be far" and they walk right down the middle of the trail thinking thier deer will just over the hill. Well after a 100 yards or 200 and sometimes longer the blood just ends for what ever reason. They then start walking out from there looking for their deer. Now that blood that was on their boots becasue they stepped in it on the trail is now laying a mock blood trail that the dog has to work out. I have litteraly scene a dog work an area that looked like the spokes on a wheel, out and back over and over and over. I asked the hunter did you walk out in these areas? He said ya they walked out a 100 yards or so looking for their deer then came back and went off in another direction. We ended up having to go out in a big circle trying to pick the correct line up. Again not something that can completly be avoided but just need to recognize it so that when the tracker brings in the dog you can let the tracker know that you walked out in this area or that. Just details we like to know before we get started.

Ken

Thanks for adding to Larry's post Ken. Good posting.

Be careful some of these guys on this board might shoot your dog on the end of your leash..................

Dogs do have sensative noses, it is best to watch what your doing around the blood trail if you think its possible that you might need a dog, but usually by time you figure that out its to late. Best to just go get the dog to start with.

I have a local outfitter that I track for and a rule I have is if they decide to track before calling me no problem. But when the tracking gets tuff and they think they might need me to go ahead and back out then. That way they leave clean ground in front of them. Saves time and the aggrivation of unwinding the scent trail. I can make that rule with an outfitter but people huting their own land or lease do as they want which is where the problems come in. The outfitter uses us on a regular bases and knows what the dog can do and what to expect. It is the individuals who have never used a tracking dog that cause the dog the most problems.

what would be procedure for one to follow that would best improve recovery chances, using your dogs?
disregard question, i missed reading the previous post.