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