German Shorthaired Pointer Question

Impulse · 12-19-2005, 08:41 PM

I read some where that gsp's can b trained to track and finddeer that you have shot with a bow but ran to far for you to find. If so could it be trained to be a dove dog and a deer tracking dog? And how would you go about training a dog to track a dead deer?

3Ddepression · 12-23-2005, 11:29 AM

Well Ive bragged about the breeds capability on tracking so I guess I ought to say something. Im certainly not a pro butI love GSPs and took a few coursesin tracking wounded game.

I keep deer feet in the freeser and tie a string in them. Thawed I pull it after me to create a scent trail. I buy blood and with a plastic bottle with a small hole in the capI drip some blood every other step or so. Go very easy on the blood. 3 dl lasts more than half a mile.Begin with a strait line maybe 30 m to see how interested the dog is. If the dog doesnt find it intresting I would drop some sweet in the tracks here and there. This increases joy but also helps keep the nose where it should be when tracking. Make the track lie for a few hours and go after and let the dog take the leg. Lots of praise. Lots and lots.
Increase difficulty with time, add angles, add track time, lessenblood amount and go up in length.

Never ever control the dog or show him where the track is. Just put him on the track and observe him. If he goes wrong let him try to work it out for himself. If he fails take him to the beginning of the track or a at least a good bit behind where he got wrong.

A good investment is a bunch of, laundry pinchers (or whatever the word is for those clamps that hold laundry when it dries)that you attach to marking plastic stipes so you can markwhere you go. When you are finished take them with you backtracking so that the dogs get used to return the same way. If you decide you wanta bringselrapporter orattack dog this will be a good habbit.
Some prefers special tracking harnesses for the dog but I use a wide collar and try to keep it between the dogs fron legs, again to help keep the nose low. To this I tie a 10 meter nylon line. Make sure this is with a slippery surface or it will get hung up everywhere.

Again Ive turneda postinto a book but I hope there is something in it for you. Again Im not saying that there are no other ways but this works for me. Good luck with yourtraining. Its great fun.

Impulse · 12-23-2005, 06:33 PM

Thanks a bunch I'll try it.

3Ddepression · 12-24-2005, 08:25 AM

Your welcome sir.
You have a SGP and an interest in tracking so I already like you alot!

3D

Angus74 · 01-01-2006, 08:14 PM

I know its not a gsp, but I have a weimaraner that Im trying to train to track. Just Saturday morning she found her first real deer, it was an old trail, from the evening before, I couldnt find it because of little blood on the ground, it took her about 10-15 minutes to find it and I was pretty excited, it is definitely handy to have a track dog when its needed. Good luck with it.

3Ddepression · 01-02-2006, 03:10 AM

Jolly good !!!
Now you know that your not only trying to train her

.

AK GSP · 01-02-2006, 09:42 AM

GSP's and Weims are awesome bloodtrackers! I own both breeds and 90% of my dogs are trained to track downed deer. I have Imports whose bloodlines go back to champion bloodtrackers! If you are not sure how to train your dog to bloodtrack, get ahold of one of your local NAHVDA groups and join. They will teach you how to train your dog. The DK's (Deutsch Kurzhaar in German) are all taught to track and must be proficient in it before they can be bred. A good person to talk to would be Rob Engleking with Vom Riverwoods kennel. He has many KS titled dogs and can be considered an expert in training. You can also go to the NAHVDA website to find a club nearest you. That is my suggestion.

Melissa

Red Earth · 01-09-2006, 06:31 PM

Training a versatile dog to track is not that hard.....its teaching them to do it our (meaning you) way is what you need to learn.

We use DK's for blood tracking here in OK. Our dogs have tracked several this year for unlucky hunters.

What is the best is watching the dog do it off lead. There are two titles for the German dogs....A Toter and a Bayer.

One of our DK's was a narcotics dog as well as a heck of a hunter and tracker. He has comendations from the police dept for tracking missing altzhimers patients as well as many arrests under his belt. He was featured on animal planets breed all about it too!

Doesn't feel great to see the dog perform a task you trained him to do!

Phil
REO

wildlands · 01-16-2006, 08:39 PM

Impulse, AK GSP suggestion about joining a NAHVDA group would be very helpful. I train with a group here in the south during the summer months and they have taught me a lot not only about blood tracking but dog training in general.
Angus congrats to you and your dog on the find. It is great to watch a dog make quick work of a track that would have taken a person many hrs if they could have even unraveled the track. Get her on as many real tracks as you can this year and with practice over the summer she will be an old hand at it by next season.