Hi all, I recently laid a trail for my GWP to follow. I used half a (red) deer skin, tied to a lead and dragged behind me as I walked. I covered about 300 metres through some young hardwoods over a couple of ditches and onto a clear fell site. I had at least three 90 degree turns in it and 'jumped' the skin over the ditches. I used no blood apart from what may have been on the skin (I can't be arsed to wash a skin). I did cut the bag that the skin had been in open and smear it about to create a 'shot site'
I returned about 3 hours (I wanted to wait four, but it would have been dark) later with the dog and showed her the 'shot site', she had her collar on with a 20m ish check cord attached. I didn't really know what to do with the lead so ended up dropping it and letting her drag it.
she put her nose down and followed the trail exactly all the way to the deer skin without moving more than 50cm maybe from where I'd been.
This was the first time she has ever followed a trail (she's never been needed to find a dead deer either, so really her first ever anything to do with them) and I wasn't really expecting that. Does a deer skin give off too much scent? I'm assuming that scent shoes would leave less scent but can't justify the money for them.
Do I have a really good dog or should a terrier be able to do that?? If that's impressive, then I might go all out and train her properly.
I returned about 3 hours (I wanted to wait four, but it would have been dark) later with the dog and showed her the 'shot site', she had her collar on with a 20m ish check cord attached. I didn't really know what to do with the lead so ended up dropping it and letting her drag it.
she put her nose down and followed the trail exactly all the way to the deer skin without moving more than 50cm maybe from where I'd been.
This was the first time she has ever followed a trail (she's never been needed to find a dead deer either, so really her first ever anything to do with them) and I wasn't really expecting that. Does a deer skin give off too much scent? I'm assuming that scent shoes would leave less scent but can't justify the money for them.
Do I have a really good dog or should a terrier be able to do that?? If that's impressive, then I might go all out and train her properly.