i do a lot of scoutin in the off season for deer and i always go by myself... Well i thought maybe i bring my dog with me for exercise and just good company in the woods, i like to not have him on a leash because he often likes to run off for a moment to find a chipmunk. The only concern i have is that he will mess up deer trails and cause deer to shift positions of where they bed and have trails even though the season is 3 months away. Should i let him go or stay at home?

I would say as long as this is not a very frequent thing it should be ok. The deer will think nothing more than a coyote just passed and maybe did his business in the area.

I woundnt over think it man.It aint going to be worse then your scent in the area.

I do the same thing, except during the season. I scout year round. It doesn't affect the overall deer activity. They get exposed to dogs and other predators all the time no matter where they are.

My father and I had a dog with us as we scouted all of last fall except for the last 2-3 weeks before the season. Having your dog with you really won't make much of a difference because the deer movement won't change because of it. It is more likely to change because of your presence than your dogs.

We've brought dogs along to scout with in the fall for so many years now, I can't imagine not having one with us in the woods. It's good exercise for all of us.