I lost a beautiful buck two years ago when I went looking for him too early. I found a bloody bed and then spots that eventually stopped. A big thunderstorm was about a half hour away and that's why I went in after him. Under normal circumstances, I would have let him lay till morning. I looked all season, no luck. This got me thinking about how well a trained dog would be in tracking deer. Has anyone ever heard of dogs being used to track wounded game?? Also, what about dogs being trained to hunt for shed antlers, possible??
Both of those are possible. I don't really know that much about them though. I know that only certain states allow the use of dogs to track deer.
Rob is very informed and does have a dog in training (Axel). In Georgia we can use them to track deer and actually have a dial-a-dog system. Their numbers are posted in the Georgia Outdoor News an issues or 2 before season. I think it is STUPID for any state to not allow you to exhaust all options to find an animal.
Thanks guys, bowhunter546, I'm somewhat shocked you haven't heard of tracking dogs prior to this. First, what state are you in? Second, you'll find a world of information on the United Blood Trackers website. There is also state by state trackers to be found. I have a Wired Haired Dachshund which is trained in blood tracking. His name is Axel. Right now it's illegal for us to use them in PA. I find it ridiculous. There has been a House bill in the works for some time now. HB420. 2 years ago it passed the Senate or House, I forget which now and our Governor was all ready to sign it to law when some politician passed a handgun amendment to it that had nothing to do with tracking and it was stalled. It's still being worked on, politician's suck. The buck Ax is on above was seen gone down, my friend (the shooter) called me and said he shot one and saw it go down and asked if I would want to track it to keep Ax on deer. I did and we did. Axel ran the line right to him. When he was 6 months old I laid a blood trail in the evening. 14 hours later, after an all night rain we tracked it. It only took Axel an hour to cover 400 yards in a huge circle/curve. Again, after 14 hours of a hard rain. It was amazing. Where legal, I highly suggest the use of them on otherwise lost game. These dogs have been known to find gut shot deer over 72 hours old. Check your state regs, check the UBT for state to state trackers. Many times it's free of charge as most of these guys and gals just simply love to work their dogs. Some trackers may charge, most just ask for gas expense or nothing at all but it's polite to offer. Also, the leading book on it right now is John Jeanenny's book, Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer. It's a great read if your interested in training a pup or even an older dog. You'll also just find tracking tips that you can use without a dog as the handler has to be knowledgeable in blood, tracks and more to second what the dog's nose is telling everyone. The handler and dog need to act as one. Again, Axel is a Wire Haired Dachshund, a very popular breed for tracking but not a breed exclusive to tracking. There are several breeds willing to do the job and they are all covered in John's book. He's partial to WH Dachshunds but covers all breeds. Axel is a descendant of John's best dog, Hunter. Ax as a pup (blue ribbon) in training. Axel is also a very loved house pet.
I've got a German Wirehair "on order" :D The litter is supposed to be born in about 3 weeks. I've had several before as my other passion is bird hunting, and he'll for sure be trained to track deer.
Nothing against Axel, but I'm going for a Lab some day. I've heard nothing but good things about Axel, his sniffer, and leg humping abilities, but I'm partial to labs for several reasons. One being this: When I first got my lab she was never trained to retrieve. Yet when she was between 1 & 2 years old I could pick up any rock in my back yard and throw it as far as I could downhill into the thick woods. Some of these throws had to be pushing 80 yards as I had an arm back then and it was a downhill throw. Wouldn't you know it she'd come back with the exact rock I threw just about every time. I remember one that I got a hold of and led her in the wrong direction first. Me and my buddy sat out back for an hour and just listed to the leaves going in the woods. When she came back with the exact rock I threw, I was sold for life. Miss that dog...
Thanks for the imput guys. I'm looking forward to training my own dog someday. Growing up, my family had a lab, and he was the best dog that i've ever met. Rob, that little Axle of yours looks like a real worker! He's pretty cool looking with the wiry hair. O, I live in New Jersey, and I'm not to sure about the dog laws, but I will check it out. Has anyone ever heard of a dog trained to hunt for antler sheds????
I have a good buddy that lurks here once in a while and has helped Dan and I on quite a few track job with his wirehair dachsund named Cheyenne. It's pretty amazing to be behind these dogs and watch them work, she brought us to a 24 hour old blood trail that we lost and looked to pick up for hours and hours, and once we put the dog on the last sign of blood........she had us on him in less than 15 minutes. I'll send him a message and see if I can get him to respond to this thread, but my buddys dog is from the same blood lines as Rob's dog, from the same breeder. A picture of my best bud and hunting partner with a nice NY buck that was recovered with a wirehair. If not for that dog, I don't think this buck would have been recovered.
A hunting buddy of the family used to have his lab do that too. Only he would mark the rock, with another rock, throw it in to about 5' of water, and the dog would still retrieve it. I didn't know dogs would dive like that. That dog would go after diving ducks too. But he hated me. I didn't like him either.
I've heard of it a lot. Read this article. Its a great motivator to get a dog and start training. http://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/huntingtactics/ht_0903sheds/
No offense buddy, but isn't that why they are called labrado RETRIEVERs? That's part of their bloodline
I believe Justin is trying this with his lab, but I might be mistaken though. He can chime in! To answer your question, yep, they say Labs and Retrievers are good breeds to train to find sheds as well.
You can flame me for this, but historically labs don't have the best noses when it comes to dogs... That's why 90% of tracking dogs aren't labs.:d Great house dogs, but not my choice for a versatile hunting dog.
Again, if one is serious about getting and teaching a tracking dog, (Regardless of breed) start with John Jeanenney's book, Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer. It's the best start you can have. Anyone boasting 100% success probably hasn't gone on that many track jobs. If a deer isn't dead, it can't be found plus, there are so many variables even for dogs when the deer is dead. It's not a cure all for bad shots but it's an avenue one can take to possibly find their downed animal which may otherwise go unrecovered.
