Question for those with tracking dogs

[dk_ace]

When you get called in to track a deer, what are the common elements that lead to needing dogs and lost deer? I had the unfortunate experience of losing a deer for the first time in my life last weekend. A friend with dogs helped us search all afternoon. He said something along the way that made me wonder what the common themes are that lead to tracking jobs and lost wounded deer.

I’m hoping that we can all learn a few things and avoid being the next tracking job story...

D

[DRT]

Held too long and pulled the shot. Not the normal head I shot deer with.

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[Abu_dude]

I've heard many times of people putting a "behind the shoulder shot" on a quartered-to deer. you almost always end up with a gut shot. If we were fortunate enough to find the animal, I always try to do some quick in the field teaching to the ones that don't "already know everything".

[Tex]

I would say taking up the track to early and bumping the deer.
If you don’t see it drop or hear it crash wait at least an hour minimum and most of the time you won’t need my dog.


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[BW96]

Good idea for a thread. I hope more people chime in.

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[Tex]

Although it wasn’t in the original post I will also add that one of the biggest reasons we don’t get to finish a track is because people don’t know how to get in touch with their neighbors to get permission to enter their property.


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[bboswell]

I would say taking up the track to early and bumping the deer.
If you don’t see it drop or hear it crash wait at least an hour minimum and most of the time you won’t need my dog.


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This and add having the whole camp stumble threw the woods looking, spreading the blood scent around the whole time, before calling the dog.

The tracker can almost never trust the impact location reported by the hunter unless it’s on video! I saw this over and over and then fell victim to it on my last buck. I was 110% my shot was money, forward if anything. My old dog lost it so I called another dog which had to run the deer down.

The shot was lethal but not for a while. Looking at entrance and exit everyone would say guts but with 3 experienced trackers and a recovered arrow none of use saw sign of gut shot. None.

Turned out to be liver only

[rsquared]

all good advice so far.

i would add that you should always act as if you will need a dog and take the necessary precautions. in the end, you usually won't need one, but if you follow the right steps and end up needing a dog, you will not have mucked up the trail and made it twice as hard on the dog to do its job.

my asks are fairly simple if i am getting my dog on the track.

wait for 45 minutes or longer if you didn't see or hear it crash

do not go out and check your arrow or look for blood until that time is up

when you do go, walk slowly and look for blood or hair or guts.. then mark that spot with rocks or something as the starting point.

if you have a blood trail or think you know the path the deer took, do your best not to walk all over the trail or the path. stay to the side of it and off the trail. we don't want the dog tracking you , we want them looking for the deer.

make sure to move very slowly and quietly, and mark any blood spots so you can go back to that spot.

on my place we have a lot of animals, and it is easy for a dog to get distracted with the scent of a hog or a rabbit or an axis, when you want them finding what you shot, not finding that jackrabbit.


to be clear, I am no expert tracking dog trainer and my dog is ten times better than i could have ever trained her, meaning it is a natural thing for her to want to find animals.
but finding and marking the blood spot, even if it is one drop, can be the difference in finding the downed animal.

[GarGuy]

Most people call a dog as a last resort. That means they gave destroyed the trail and the dog has to circ lo e around and pick it up way out or just wind the deer.

I had dogs for many years and learned to take everything the hunter knows about the shot a with a grain of salt and trust my dog. Many many tines the deer went the opposite direction from what the hunter said.

I once had a fellow call me on a giant buck he shot crossing a narrow lane. Sure he hit but zero sign. I walked my dig on and saw him perk up. He went quickly left. He fellow started yelling at my dog saying the deer crossed left to right. I told him let m.h e deal with the dog as he was on the deer. He was mad and said that **** dog is backtracking. Ten minutes later he barked his"im looking at a dead deer " bark almost out if hearing. I told the guy he had the deer and started that way. No tracking collar but the dog would bark on command was not leaving a dead deer. The fellow was circling around on the right side and didn't want to go. He said the dig probably had a#$%% possum treed.

I assured him it was the deer and when we got there it was a huge ten pt close to 160. 400yd in the opposite direction center paunch shot.

[dk_ace]

Great stuff here so far. Thanks for all the info!

Any common themes regarding the broadhead used? I don’t want to lead the thread too much as I was interested in what common themes you see generally. I’m not seeing broadhead choice being a theme here, so it seems like my friends comments may have just been anecdotal.

Fortunately, we were very careful about the trail and I gave the deer 3 hours before we started the track. We tracked it very, very far, but this one just got away somehow.

D

[lovemylegacy]

Trust the dog. If you jump the animal one time, stop! Follow blood trail to the side. After shot, wait a "minimum" of 30 mins....more is better. Once on the track, give the dog room, don't crowd the dog. Track with a minimum of people, no more than 4. Certainly, there will be that one guy that knows more than the dogs nose. Be patient, don't rush. Usually, however long it took you to track to certain spot, it will take the dog just a few minutes.

Did I say, trust the dog? Trust the dog. Trust the dog.

[bakin7005]

Most people call a dog as a last resort. That means they gave destroyed the trail and the dog has to circ lo e around and pick it up way out or just wind the deer.

I had dogs for many years and learned to take everything the hunter knows about the shot a with a grain of salt and trust my dog. Many many tines the deer went the opposite direction from what the hunter said.

I once had a fellow call me on a giant buck he shot crossing a narrow lane. Sure he hit but zero sign. I walked my dig on and saw him perk up. He went quickly left. He fellow started yelling at my dog saying the deer crossed left to right. I told him let m.h e deal with the dog as he was on the deer. He was mad and said that **** dog is backtracking. Ten minutes later he barked his"im looking at a dead deer " bark almost out if hearing. I told the guy he had the deer and started that way. No tracking collar but the dog would bark on command was not leaving a dead deer. The fellow was circling around on the right side and didn't want to go. He said the dig probably had a#$%% possum treed.

I assured him it was the deer and when we got there it was a huge ten pt close to 160. 400yd in the opposite direction center paunch shot.

This is a good thread. Love this story.
Can any dog be a tracking dog if they have a great nose? All my boxer wants to do is track squirrels, cats etc when we walk in suburbia. She goes nuts when I come home from hunting especially if I have harvested. She wants to smell everything for hours. I'm probably ignorant but just curious.

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[Hart8]

That is **** good advice Rsquared.What Gar Guy said about the deer going the opposite direction is dead on.Good thread right here.

[lovemylegacy]

This is a good thread. Love this story.
Can any dog be a tracking dog if they have a great nose? All my boxer wants to do is track squirrels, cats etc when we walk in suburbia. She goes nuts when I come home from hunting especially if I have harvested. She wants to smell everything for hours. I'm probably ignorant but just curious.

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Sounds like you have a tracking dog. If a Chihuahua can track deer, Im sure your Boxer can

[bboswell]

Can any dog be a tracking dog if they have a great nose? All my boxer wants to do is track squirrels, cats etc when we walk in suburbia. She goes nuts when I come home from hunting especially if I have harvested. She wants to smell everything for hours. I'm probably ignorant but just curious.

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I would say no. You don't want a dog that tracks animals as this means you never know what its tracking. You want a dog that tracks blood because it may have to track through dozens of other animals tracks to stay on the blood track.