Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Blood Trailing Dogs

Are any of you folks having luck with training your family pet to trail blood on a hit deer? You know, sooners & Heinz 57 types or poodles or other lap dog breeds?

We once happened on a hunter circling what he thought was a mule deer kill site looking for the buck that vaporized as he crossed the intervening valley.

After futile looking, we volunteered the nose of our Keeshond. With an introduction to the site, she lined out like an expert and took us about 200 yds to a sleeping porcupine nestled in a juniper crotch.

Didn't work in our case.

I had a Jagd terrier that I acquired exactly for this. She was a phenomenol tracker but not a great pet. She had more energy than a 5-year-old on crack and could hardly stand still. She would fight anything,kinda reminded me of a wolverine. I think if you want to blood track you are going to have to put up with a sporting dog or have a very mediocre tracker. I think the weener dogs are the best of all the blood trackers but you can't expect them to track only once a year and do it well. Any blood tracker is going to need some inservice training on a regular basis or they won't want to leave their overstuffed beds!

My Dad had a Lasa Alpsa/poodle cross and it found over 10 deer over her long life span. Dad never trained her but never went anywhere w/o her. One time after shooting a buck at dusk he went back to camp and sat around camp for a while. He had been a hound man in his younger days and thought I'll just go back down there and throw this dog out. Well he did and the dog hit the ground running. After a while he heard her barking and drove over to where she was and she was standing over his very dead buck. From then on it was "game on". She found many deer for us and fellow hunters and the best thing about this dog is she would never bark until she found the deer. A pure accident turned out to be one of my father's best hunting dogs in his golden years. powdr

My Catahoula is taking to it quite well. Neighbor hunts with a .243 so I am sure she will get plenty of tries at it.

Dogs for blood trailing wounded deer are very popular with British and European stalkers.

On the Continent, blood trailing field trials are a sport in their own right and are taken very seriously.

My own observation is many folks who get into this seriously become Blood Trailing "snobs" insisting that only speciaist breeds such as Bravarian Mountain blood hounds are worthy to be considered as blood trailing dogs and that they must be able to follow a cold two day old trail, several miles yada, yada, yada.

I on the other hand have a more pragmantic approach. Most of the deer that I shoot which are "runners" are in fact dead or dying on their feet and if I have a dog that can follow a "warm" trail say 500m, i am going to find a carcass 99% of the time.

The purists will tell you the dog must only follow a cold ground scent and keep its nose on the floor when tracking. Personally I don't care if it air scents or places a lost and found ad in the local paper as long as it finds the beast...

I used a Border Terrier, and it was a great little dog and very much a family pet. Two of the very best tracking dogs I have ever seen were both Hienz 57's; one a terrier mix and the other a small lurcher of unknown breeding. The reason why these dogs were so good was that they were owned by a "professional guide" and they had lots of work during the season.

So in your case, I would so give your mutt a try, but have realistic expectations what you might achieve. Additionally, work with the dogs strengths and don't be too concerned if what works is a bit unconventional.

Pete, who would have ever thought that there were blood trailing gun dog snobs! That is something. I guess those old boys would be royally pissed if an old blue tick coon hound from North Carolina came over there and stole their Blood Sniffin' Trophy!

Its strange world, but no different to the guys who own a .25MOA shooting Loud n Thumper who look down their noises at the hunter with a Savage 30-30, forgetting he tags out most years..

So what prompted to ask the original question? Thinking of making the family mutt earn its keep?

My German shepherd found a lost deer my son's friend shot. She stood there for 10 mins looking at us like. You stupid [bleep] --the deer is over hear!

Never seen a GSD used for deer over here, but I see no reason why they wouldn't make a damn fine deer dog..

I know a family that uses a GS to good effect. She's about as big as some deer she finds! Several local guys have yellow curs or Catahoulas they train, and they find lots of deer for hunters. Those guys would rather track deer than hunt themselves. We have a heinz57 female that's found a few deer for us. We'll sometimes fetch her from the camp even if we have a good blood trail, as it is good practice for her and she's grown to enjoy it. If there is any blood to locate the trail, she can usually follow it on out, even when blood can't be seen. She's saved the day when deer have made strange turns in the thick stuff. She also gets scraps when we clean deer, which I think really helps.

In Arkansas you are required by law to have your dog on a leash while trailing wounded deer. I have had good success with a couple of Great Pyrenees but take note they will pull you through some pretty tough brush when the trail gets hot. I currently have a half breed Great Pyrenees, mother was and father unknown, that does a good job. A friend had a Lab that did good, but he was outstanding in lots of ways. My gut feeling is that most dogs will do good if started young. I try to start mine at around 6-8 months old and get them according to when deer season starts. When I shoot a deer, I always go get the dog even if the deer falls where it is shot. I let them find it before any human scent is near. It has made some dogs that will follow a trail when I can't find any blood for a long time and then suddenly there it is. Be aware that they will not always be right on the trail but maybe several feet to one side or the other. miles

For years we used a Lab/Rot (Rotadore) that was a trailing catching son of a gun. His first buck got him down and wallowed him pretty bad but that was the last one. Old Lokie passed over the rainbow bridge several years ago so we're starting another one now..

Very few family pet dogs especially non hunting breeds have the instinct or ability to blood track. In Germany it's a requirement for hunting/pointing breeds to pass a blood traking test in order to be eligible for breeding.

I've owned Deutsch Drathaars and Kurtzhaars (Wirehaired & Shorthaired Pointers)that were phenominal tracking dogs on both furred and feathered game..

I tended to work my Border on a lesh also.

You can start them as young pups a few weeks old..

Just drag a bit of venison on a string in front of them and let them "catch it" and eat it.. After doing this a few times, set off and lay the trail around a corner out of sight and let the pup find that..

Keep the tracks short, around the garden is enough at this stage, and make it a game/fun for the pup, nothing too taxing. Most pups lap it up..

Do this once or twice a week until they are old enough for more challenging tracks and most dogs will soon pick things up..

That is so wrong on so many levels!

While they may never excel on old cold trails, it doesn't mean they still can't be useful.

couldn't agree more. Some of the best I've seen have been Hienz57(sp) house dogs.

I failed to mention that I had a English pointer quail dog that was excellent on trailing wounded deer. She would would not get very far ahead, even free from a leash, and would wait if you were having trouble getting through brush. She would point the dead or crippled deer. miles

The best I have ever seen have been miniature wiener dogs. Laugh if you wish but I know of one that found had found over 100 deer when he was just 3 or 4 years old. You had to keep a bell on "buck" to keep up with him and he would bite anyone, but he was a great blood dog.

What are the odds that a 9 year old female pointing lab, who is outstanding on upland game, would take to blood trailing at this point in her life?

I also have a clumsy as [bleep] 3 year old male luellen setter/choclate lab mix that is pretty much a bone head in every phase of his life. I wonder if I could make a trailer out of that loveable dipsh*t?