Training to find wounded deer!
12-18-2013, 07:25 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 13
Training to find wounded deer!
I have a 12 week old beagle puppy I just got. I want to train her to track and find wounded deer. I have read a lot of stuff saying to use deer blood which makes sense to me but I havent saved any blood from this season I do however have leftover meat could I use the meat as a drag to help her pick up the scent? I dont want her running live deer. Also any other tips on training a dog to find wounded deer would be helpful! thanks!
01-28-2014, 08:46 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location:
Posts: 2,186
Seems like I have responded to this post somewhere already? If so, sorry to bother you.
I have trained 3 Dachshunds to blood trail deer. I use deer blood I save, however I think you would be OK if you have deer meat. Ground might work best ... or a liver. I suggest that you put the meat in a bowl and let it thaw out in a fridge for a couple of days so that as much of the blood "drains" into the bowl as possible. Collect this blood and set aside. Take the meat and cut it into small chunks ... if ground, roll into small balls, maybe 3/4' to 1". Buy a spray bottle. Preferrably one that has a mist as well as a stream nozzle. Take about a table spoon or so of blood and mix with about a pint or so of distilled water. Tap water will do in a pinch. This mix goes into the spray bottle. Do not use a deer hide, or feet, or tail etc. as part of the trail. This can lead to the dog trailing deer rather than blood only.
Start out by laying out a simple, straight line, "ample" bloody trail. Something like 30 yards is plenty. Place a deer meat treat at the start, about every 5 yards or so .. and one at the end. Always at the end.
Don't be surprised if the dog dilly-dallies around a bit. Give it time to figure out that trailing = treats, using only positive encouragment to keep teh dog on line. Let it work the trail. If it stays off-line but makes positive progress towards the end don't sweat it. Often times the scent is stronger a bit down-wind of the blood trail you laid out. However if the dog starts to back-track or losses interest completely, correct it. I do this with a deer meat treat.
As the dog starts to get the hang of tracking the blood trail, increase the length, increase the difficulty of the blood trail (spray up on the side of tree trunks, space out drops, less blood etc.) , increase the time elapsed since the trail was laid out and space out the treats farther ... but always put treats at the end. That is its reward for a job well done.
I'd suggest working the dog maybe every 3 rd. day or so, and in daylight only. Once it gets really good, you might want to try a few night training sessions.
With a beagle I'd suggest trying to lease train using a harness. A beagoe can cover a lot of ground wuickly if loosed. And may (or may not) bay.
Another suggestion is to buy a collar that has a light strip and attach a "goat bell" and some strips of hunter orange cloth to the collar too. Helps me keep up with the whereabouts of my wennie dog. If you have the $$$, try a GPS collar. A great way to find a lost dog, should you two becme separated.
I have trained 3 Dachshunds to blood trail deer. I use deer blood I save, however I think you would be OK if you have deer meat. Ground might work best ... or a liver. I suggest that you put the meat in a bowl and let it thaw out in a fridge for a couple of days so that as much of the blood "drains" into the bowl as possible. Collect this blood and set aside. Take the meat and cut it into small chunks ... if ground, roll into small balls, maybe 3/4' to 1". Buy a spray bottle. Preferrably one that has a mist as well as a stream nozzle. Take about a table spoon or so of blood and mix with about a pint or so of distilled water. Tap water will do in a pinch. This mix goes into the spray bottle. Do not use a deer hide, or feet, or tail etc. as part of the trail. This can lead to the dog trailing deer rather than blood only.
Start out by laying out a simple, straight line, "ample" bloody trail. Something like 30 yards is plenty. Place a deer meat treat at the start, about every 5 yards or so .. and one at the end. Always at the end.
Don't be surprised if the dog dilly-dallies around a bit. Give it time to figure out that trailing = treats, using only positive encouragment to keep teh dog on line. Let it work the trail. If it stays off-line but makes positive progress towards the end don't sweat it. Often times the scent is stronger a bit down-wind of the blood trail you laid out. However if the dog starts to back-track or losses interest completely, correct it. I do this with a deer meat treat.
As the dog starts to get the hang of tracking the blood trail, increase the length, increase the difficulty of the blood trail (spray up on the side of tree trunks, space out drops, less blood etc.) , increase the time elapsed since the trail was laid out and space out the treats farther ... but always put treats at the end. That is its reward for a job well done.
I'd suggest working the dog maybe every 3 rd. day or so, and in daylight only. Once it gets really good, you might want to try a few night training sessions.
With a beagle I'd suggest trying to lease train using a harness. A beagoe can cover a lot of ground wuickly if loosed. And may (or may not) bay.
Another suggestion is to buy a collar that has a light strip and attach a "goat bell" and some strips of hunter orange cloth to the collar too. Helps me keep up with the whereabouts of my wennie dog. If you have the $$$, try a GPS collar. A great way to find a lost dog, should you two becme separated.
Last edited by Mojotex; 01-28-2014 at 08:51 PM.
