It's an excellent practice and a responsible hunter should use any means necessary to recover wounded game. In some parts of europe it's illegal to hunt without a tracking dog at immediate disposal to retrieve wounded game. Using a tracking dog is the most ethical thing to do in the case of wounded game.

If it is legal in your state, go for it. A dog on a leash can unravel a blood trail in a fraction of the time it takes you to do it.
I don't mean you hit a deer and then bring in the dog, but on a particularly difficult trail after you have exhausted other means of recovery then by all means use the dog. It could very well mean the difference in recovering a deer and one being wasted. I had a situation last fall where I had hit one (poorly, it turns out he survived) and spent about four hours following the blood trail and only made it 4 or 5 hundred yards in those four hours, mostly on hands and knees. When I finally lost the blood trail in a Laurel thicket I went to the house and brought out my dog. I put him on the trail about a hundred yards from where I had lost all sign and even though he is not trained in any way and is not of a trailing breed, it only took him about 5 minutes to trail to the spot where I had lost the blood sign. While he too lost the trail there, it was not an unsuccessful attempt. We moved around the are in circles for a good quarter mile without finding another trace before I gave up. Several more trips into that area over the next week failed to find the deer and I am convinced he was not seriously hit. A word of advice, when choosing your dog, try a smaller one than mine. He is about 75 lbs. and a dog that size, on a lead, in thick cover, guarantees you end up with scratches and bruises in places you didn't think it was possible to get scratches and bruises.

Boltman you said it all!

The Tazman

I would not have found my deer near as fast if it was not for a dog we put on a chain and walked right to the deer. The deer went into the woods at on angle and as soon as he got into the woods he went the other direction. I was going down a deer path and woundering why I was n ot seeing any blood. The dog even sent sown the wrong trsck the first time and then we got straight and found the deer.

A guy in S. Alabama had a miniture daschund that was one bad deer finding fool a couple of years ago. We are going to try to get a little dog in our club before next year just for this.

I have a little Boykin Spaniel named Peanut and we have not lost a deer at our camp since I've had her. Great breed for tracking deer. Love kids and still holds all of the hunting qualities. I just take her to the blood, and she does the rest. Check it out, Boykin Spaniel.

I feel the same way everybody else does.

Most of the time, when somebody shoots a deer, and no dog is used to track, a weapon is carried, in case of a put-down shot.

But, do you still carry your weapon while tracking with a dog? and if so, is this considered 'running'

If Taft would of had a dog to find his great deer there wouldn't be a controversy.

I'm going to get a tracking dog, but I can't decide on which breed. Any suggestions?

It's legal to use a dog to track a deer in Missouri.
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Freedom Isn't Free....

How do you go about training a tracking dog to pick up the scent of blood and wounded game ant at the same time no run after every unwounded deer that you jump up. I'd love to have a good tracking dog.