RE: BLOOD TRAILING
Jonsey,
I am starting my new drahthaar pup on blood trailing, so maybe I can help here. The first thing is to get the pup used to the idea that when you point to the ground, there is something interesting there and he should follow.
We start with "soup" trails. Use some chicken broth or beef stock, old gravy, whatever. Pour a trail in a straight line, rather short. Every now and then, put a little piece of hotdog down on the trail. At the end of the track, put a towel or something like that, place a small pile of the hotdogs there.
Bring the pup up point to the ground, give your command in an excited voice, and touch the ground. Pup should catch on quickly and understnad that whatever command you give means a track and some food at the end.
I can post some articles on how to start with blood, etc. later.
As a side note, the calmer and more mentally sure the dog, the better tracker they will be. You want a dog to be calm, deliberate, and focused on the track. Blood tracking has been by far the most interesting part of training my German dogs, and the communication that is established between handler and dog is amazing.
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