kodiakhuntmaster

I help a guy here in Georgia that tracks for a living, we use pit bulls. They only track blood, not healthy deer. They can catch a wounded deer and hold it untill we get to to finish it if need be. Any breed will track, but finding a dog that "wants" to track is hard. If he'll eat raw deer meat then you can probably train him. We don't use leashes, and they don't bark on track untill they're looking at the deer. Very helpful when you can't find deer that like to hide up after being shot.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

NCLeatherstocking

What would you do to train such an animal to track?

Nahum 1:7

Crowpecker

If you live in an area of Va where using dogs to hunt deer is legal then you're in for the most fun deer hunting you could ever have providing you have good dogs and enough people in your club to use as standers to cover exit areas before the deer and dogs get through. If you want long legged dogs that push deer hard and are willing to spend the rest of the night riding roads to find them (long legged hounds smell the air and not the ground like beagles and can't find their way back on their own scent)then any of the following dogs are ideal (again providing they are from good stock):
Walkers, Black and Tans, Blue Ticks, RedBone are good choices

To push deer slowly in smaller areas, Beagles can't be beat and if lost, they can normally find their way back to the point they were released.
If you go with long legged hounds, tracking collars are a good investment and will save you tons of time finding them.

Good luck!

kodiakhuntmaster

You train them the same way you train most other dogs. Like I said before, the dog has to "want" to do it, if he doesn't he'll be a sorry track dog.

You take some deer meat (raw or frozen) and tie it to a rope, then drag it through the woods. Then take the dog to it and let him track it. When he finds it, give him the meat.

As the dog gets better at this leave the trail for longer periods before taking the dog to it. When it can find the meat on a 500 yard trail after being left for at least two hours, then he's ready to track for a living. There is nothing like a real bloodtrail though, so if at any time in it's training you have the opportunity put him on a real bloodtrail, all the better. There doesn't have to be any noticeable blood on the ground for a dog to track. It's great fun and very practical. As the dog gets better don't give him as much of the meat, raw meat isn't the best thing for a dog to eat, and it'll make him want to track more.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

doghunter

[If you go with long legged hounds, tracking collars are a good investment and will save you tons of time finding them.]

Amen to that statement Crowpecker. Tracking collars are the best hunting investment I ever made. In the part of SC I'm in we dog hunt from Aug 15 til Jan 1, that's a lot of miles on my old truck, but quite a few tanks of gas saved since I bought a tracking system.

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Fullback

Here in SW VA dog hunting for deer is illegal.....in eastern VA it's legal....I enjoyed the dog hunting, but would not like to do it all the time.....I'd rather hunt the way I always do...but still don't mind taking a day or two and hunt with them boys down there....HERE, if I see a dog running a deer, I usually cap it....especially if I can see it's a stray.......

In our line of work, we must be able to play Dixie and the Battle Hym of the Republic, With Equal Enthusiasm.

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VAhuntr

Kevin, I could'nt have said it better myself. Fullback, one of these dogs can be an excellent hunting tool when all else fails.