does anybody trail with dogs?
 

I was just curious if anyone used dogs to trail there deer as a last resort? I was just reading the book "Finding Wounded Deer" and there was a little section about it. About 15 states allow it, my state (WI) requires them to be on a leash. I think this would be a great advantage. I would love to have a dog like this, I could help out alot of people!

this last weekend me and my uncle looked for his buck for hours and hours after he shot it in the guts. He shot it sat. night and seen it bed down, so we left it, and sunday morning went to get it and it was no-where around. It would sure be nice to have a dog in a situation like this. Even if you had to keep him on a leash, that would be fine, you always know where the trail starts, it shouldn't be that hard to follow him down the trail.

Does anybody have a dog that can trail deer, or know someone who does? must be big bucks huh?

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

I am currently training a puppy to do just that. I have to take a two hour exam though and will have to pay a hefty license fee to get my license which I plan on doing next year.

Hats off to you for reading Finding Wounded Deer. It contains very important information that will make you a better tracker. What did you think of the book?

Do you mean for the dog? Any dog can be trained to track, however certain breeds excel on it. Or due you mean the fee charged by a handler? In NYS, a handler can not charge for services. If you are interested at all in this, check out this book. It is one of a kind.

http://www.born-to-track.com/book/order-info.htm

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

Thanks for responding. Yes, I meant that it must be big bucks for the dog, but I didn't realize you could train any dog to do it.

What type of dog are you training? I could really see myself putting the time and effort into it. I am seriously considering this. Do those books tell you pretty much everything you need to know? DO you need to spend alot of time training your dog for trailing?

I am only about 55 pages into that book, and so far have found it fairly interesting. Most of the stuff I knew allready, but there have been a few things that i picked up. Sounds like the next few chapters should be pretty educational.

thanks!

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

She's an English Springer Spaniel:



Yes, the book includes everything including selecting a breed etc.

I do one to two sessions per week with her. Lay the trail, let the trail age, and then take her out. I'd say maybe about an hour to an hour and a half per week. Overtraining is strongly warned against.

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

I had a lab that was a cracker jack tracking dog. Plus he could not only blood trail but wind check also. He was a dandy but he has gotten to old anymore. It's about time that I train his replacement.

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

Can't beat a black mouth curr to check the wind. Mine will check the wind only when she gets off the trail. It is a tell tail sign. I also have a lab. But it's a little easier manuevering a smaller dog on a trail, at least for me.

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

I let my lab run but he was very well trained and very well behaved. I taught him to retrieve ducks and doves first and then taught him to track deer later. He would track if there was enough scent to track but if that didn't work I would tell him to hunt dead and he would just search an area out. The dog had a great nose and since he was use to smelling for something as small as a dove he found it very easy to wind check for deer. With his nose he could cover more gound in 10 minutes than five guys could in an hour. Not to mention a buddy of mine shot a little one one time that got way up in a thicket and I told Bud to bring it here and he drug the deer out of the thicket by it's back leg where we could get to it:D

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

Sounds like a great dog! And totally believable.

A test was done similar to your comparison. It took a dog 3 minutes to complete a 300 yard tracking job, and took three men @3-4 hours to complete.

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

I know some guys who have used Deer Search in the past here in NY and they used to use Daschunds (sp?)

I understand it is pretty wild to watch those little hot dogs go.

RE: does anybody trail with dogs?
 

Supposively, those are the number one breed for the purpose. If I ever get into it seriously enough, that's what I'd get. Especially in leased only areas such as NY.