new to tracking

Gaz

Well-Known Member
Hi
Im very new to tracking and would like some advice now that i can start the training of the pup.
I have a skin and a jar of deer blood, now for my first trail how would i go about it, please be as explainative as possible - this is all new to me but i really want to do this. Also can any one recommend training books / dvds etc

I will be forever gratefull for any advice.:confused:;)
 
First put the skin in the freezer. Then get yourself a washing up liquid bottle and put the blood diluted with water 50-50 in bottle. You need a 2 mtr piece of string and a deer hoof. any deer hoof will do or even a boar hoof Tie hoof to string.
On a grass field lay out a 50 mtr strait track dripping blood and dragging the hoof use plenty of blood at the start and 4-5 dropps every mtr. Lay the trail with the wind to your back.
Take out the pup a couple of hours later put on the tracking harness or tracking collar with a long lead on and take the pup to the start of the trail. Let the pup sniff around and it should start following the trail . say nothing to the pup as it follows the trail when it finds the hoof give pup plenty of praise and let it play with the hoof for a short while.
you can refreeze the blood and hoof for the next time.
When you finish laying a trail never double back up the trail take another route.


www.prokennel.se
 
I would start with something much much shorter, using a piece of liver or lungs and drag around 1-5 metres maximum with foot or skin at end plus some of the liver. 50 metres seems a very long way for a pup and i imagine he may well loose interest before the end.

Good books 'tracking dogs for wounded deer' or 'working with dogs for deer'

Good luck and by the way i am no expert i am just starting on my second deer specific dog.
 
A 50 mtr track should be no problem for a 5-6 month old puppy.
Don't drag skins,dead deer ect.
viltspr001.jpg
 
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Jagare is correct when he advises to not overdo the blood or tissue on a trail.

I get the impression that many trainers underestimate the scenting ability of their young dogs - I certainly did but the Teckel soon sorted me out in short order! :D Although we will all be aiming to train dogs for tracking wounded game, IMHO it's all too easy to get too focused purely on that aspect and not appreciate the bigger picture of how and why dogs are so good at what they do.

If you cast your net a bit wider than the game tracking books, and a couple of the better ones were mentioned above, then some of the literature relating to 'hunting the clean boot' or man tracking can be an eye opener and give far more of an insight into the scenting ability of your hound.

Here's a couple of reads I've found worthwhile adding to the shelf:

Scent & the Scenting Dog - William G. Syrotuck. (£8.18 on Amazon)

Contains excellent information on the biology of the dog's olfactory sensors and way they are used.

Tracking Dog: Theory and Method - Glen R Johnson. (£14.31 on Amazon)

Man tracking methods but the training and deployment of dogs to indicate Mercaptan, (the smelly part of natural gas), and microscopic leaks on a 92 mile section of deep buried pipeline in a Canadian winter, (after all other methods had failed), is jaw dropping to say the least. It's also good on how to psychologically condition the dog to the tracking situation - which is equally applicable to wounded game or 'clean boot'.
 
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Thank you so much, just waiting for the weather to dry up a bit and will have a go, cant wait to get started on her. Can I freeze the blood?
Cheers
 
I have 2-3 litres in the freezer in half litre bottles, just take it out and thaw it out, take 200-300 ml out or what ever you need and put it back in the freezer.

hope this helps
 
Remember to put a some salt in the blood to stop it from freezing.It would be best to try and do the first track on a moist day rather than a hot day as a hot day will evaperate the blood and make it more difficult (we have plenty of moist/rainy days :D) and as were having snow your could just follow the red line :DBrent
 
There is an excellent thread on training to a blood trail on the Pigeon Watch forum, by American member 'New to the Flock'. He seems to be very knowledgable and has written several dog training threads which are all pinned. Here's the one for training to a blood trail.

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=3846

Incidentally, although adding salt to blood does stop it congealing, several 'experts' have noted that they don't recommend doing this as it changes the scent for the dog. Freezing seems perfectly acceptable, and if the blood is clotting too much for you to use in a 'squirty' or spray bottle, the recommendation is to sieve through muslin to remove the clots.

Hope this helps...

(I may start training a pup next year, so have done some research on this myself... :) )

Pippa
 
Man tracking methods but the training and deployment of dogs to indicate Mercaptan, (the smelly part of natural gas), and microscopic leaks on a 92 mile section of deep buried pipeline in a Canadian winter, (after all other methods had failed), is jaw dropping to say the least. From Orion's post. .................................... Good job we don't have any leaky gaslines round Oakmere in Cheshire,:D, As Mercaptan is naturally present in Asparagus! loads of this tasty stuff grown here.
 
Many moons ago when I worked as a research technician in the Medical Engineering Unit of Oxford University I made up & used a solution called CPD which is Citrate-Phosphate-Dextrose as an anticoagulant. I collected Bovine & Porcine blood direct from the slaughtered beast in the abattoir to be used in our research.

If you use just the Sodium Citrate this will suffice as an anticoagulant.

There is a source here, £14.82 for 500g.

http://www.mistralni.co.uk/details.php?id=37&gclid=CObPzJGK46ACFUte4wodn2NDAw

Cheers
Chris
 
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