I figured I'd be a copy cat and do like CNC is doing. I figured I'd try and keep my stories in a separate thread to keep his clean.

As alot of you know, the northern half of the state is suffering from options on a tracking dog. I think we have 2 that I'm aware of. I bought a dog almost 2 years ago, a mtn cur, from J Carter on here. I had all intentions on making her a tracking dog. Started working her on blood as soon as she came home. I ended up getting a divorce shortly after and didn't have time to work her. I missed last deer season working on a house and decided to start back training her when I was finished. So this summer I started back doing mock tracks and she picked right up where she left off and was doing excellent. Bow season opened in GA and I was able to collect some fresh supplies off some deer friends had killed. Started making her mock tracks as hard as I could imagine. Making loops, crossing dirt roads, etc. She just blew thru them. I felt like it was time to get her on the real thing and started advertising. I've read about every article and alot of books on tracking and have talked to a few other trackers getting advice. (Thanks CNC) I felt confident Spark would find a deer.

Fast forward to yesterday. As soon as I got home, I went to lay a mock track at a family members house. I let it age 4 hours and while I was on my way I got my first call. My boss had shot a doe in GA and the arrow was covered in blood but he couldn't find any blood on the ground. I told him I'd be on my way.

About an hour later we get to the hit site and I let Spark sniff around a minute. Boss told me the story. 2 deer came in the plot, he shot the biggest doe. When she hit the woods, he hears her run by his stand about 30 yards. He didn't see where the deer went in.

So, I tell Spark to find it. I worked her on lead the whole time because I dont have a tracking collar yet. She hits the woods and man is it ever thick. I mean a rabbit would need a chainsaw to get thru this stuff. And me being the novice expert I am, didn't think to wear my briar pants. So here I go, being drug thru the woods behind a dog in a t shirt and blue jeans with no gloves.

We go about 100 yards thru this mess and we've not found blood and by Sparks body language I felt like she wasn't on it. I decided to take her back to the hit site and start over. This time she hit the woods and went a different direction. We get about 30 yards in the woods and find blood. Boy she's on it now. I felt like I had a Clydesdale at the end of that leash being drug thru hell. We end up going about 150 yards and there's the deer! She gets about 5 steps from it, hair raised on her neck and she starts growling. Lol. I'm pumped up, the boss is going nuts. Spark found her first deer! Then we had to drag that heffer back thru that mess. On the way out, I had the idea to train a dragging dog to go along behind the tracking dog! Reckon that would work?

He had actually double lunged this deer but she didn't start bleeding for about 50 yards. It was so thick in there, there's no way he would have been able to find that deer. He had already given up.

When I got back to the truck, I felt like I'd sandpapered an alligators a$$ in a phone booth. I have got scratches and cuts all over me. I learned some valuable lessons from the first. I will wear my briar pants from now on and I will be getting a tracking collar.

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