Scent shoes

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Keith does the half shoe but bush wear do some, the askari ones are the cheapest, but a full shoe like the waidwerk are better than half shoe Akah do them or muntjack trading.
 
Askari ones are very cheap but don't get them . Too narrow for wide boots, won't clamp small deer species cleaves, straps don't stay tight and mine broke the clamp off using them on hard ground.
 
I have had three or four pairs over the years, My advice would be get ones that have wing nuts on the fixings to do them up and also re-tighten as you go, the best ones present the hoof as it would be presented by a live animal, in other words the hoof needs to stick low enough below the shoe to get the scent onto the ground, there are some very good ones being made be people here in the UK but they need a little tweaking to be as good as the ones brought from Europe, as with most thing you get what you buy for!
 
As mentioned, we use 'Keith's High Seat' shoes and find them excellent, I actually prefer the allen screw fitting over wing-nut as the wing-nut type seem to come loose easier - do the allen screws up tight and they stay tight.

However, I am very tempted to by a pair of these - link below - as the full weight of the wearer pushes the cleaves into the ground. They are of traditional design, like the wooden type. Anyone tried them?

Fährtenschuh Wasgau - optimale Bodenverwundung
 
I know nothing about this topic. But I have a question. Why cannot you just tape or strap a one hoof to one walking stick and another hoof to another walking stick and then just walk about using the walking sticks as you would if were cross country skiing or just, well, walking with two walking sticks?
 
enfieldspares said:
I know nothing about this topic. But I have a question. Why cannot you just tape or strap a one hoof to one walking stick and another hoof to another walking stick and then just walk about using the walking sticks as you would if were cross country skiing or just, well, walking with two walking sticks?
Click to expand...
You could use this method. Its not ideal as the pace sticks would be very far apart where shoes would leave an imprint at every pace and probably well under 1m. Its much easier to strap the shoe on and simply walk.
 
OK. So the imprint is important? In that case can these hooves...say three of them, at 120 degrees between each, not be fixed to something like a surveyors' wheel? Such that a part of the hoof sticks out beyond its circumference so that as you push it along it makes the toe of the hoof dig in a small amount?
 
Scent shoes are just an aid to training a dog to stick to the same track. Whenever you lay a track you are trying to simulate the real thing. You should take into account the track layers scent will also be there as will damage from the vegetation.

I suppose you could use a surveyors wheel but you would still be walking behind it or next to it so why not just wear scent shoes and save yourself the hassle of modifying a wheel.

Also you are trying to leave just enough scent to keep the dog interested. You would only use large amounts off scent say from dragging a head or foot on young inexperienced dogs. Tying three feet together will cause confusion. How many would you tie to the wheel. Deer only have four feet so tying more than one group of three will mean two different animals. The object is to get the dog to follow one individual deer when there are lots of other deer and distractions. Adding the scent of multiple deer is wrong. You should use one front and one rear from the same deer or pig.
 
Thanks PAUL600. So it's quite different from laying a drag. Got it. Do you "cast" the dog if it lost the trail like you'd cast hounds when foxhunting (when it was legal) and you lost the scent?
 
Keith Edmunds said:
As mentioned, we use 'Keith's High Seat' shoes and find them excellent, I actually prefer the allen screw fitting over wing-nut as the wing-nut type seem to come loose easier - do the allen screws up tight and they stay tight.

However, I am very tempted to by a pair of these - link below - as the full weight of the wearer pushes the cleaves into the ground. They are of traditional design, like the wooden type. Anyone tried them?

Fährtenschuh Wasgau - optimale Bodenverwundung
Click to expand...

I’ve had a pair of wooden ones for years, they take a bit of getting used too but once mastered it’s just like learning to ride a bike.

Mine were hand made and bought mine in Bavaria.
 
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enfieldspares said:
I know nothing about this topic. But I have a question. Why cannot you just tape or strap a one hoof to one walking stick and another hoof to another walking stick and then just walk about using the walking sticks as you would if were cross country skiing or just, well, walking with two walking sticks?
Click to expand...
the whole basis of using scent shoes is the scent from the cleave and the crushing of vegetation, along with bacteria leave an imprint and also a timescale for the dog to read and more importantly which way the animal is walking, we have exercises for a young dog to understand the right direction and also how to mark different tracks. as paul says you want to make it as real as possible for the dog to understand, using skin drags and other methods is ok for a young dog then after this most leave too much scent to make it harder, there are other methods to make things harder still but each step must be achievable for the dog and you to intern read the dog for success, or you just end up going backwards and not achieving anything, walking with sticks you will leave your own mark then two others each side of you and then you will run the risk of getting the dog moving around offline especially if you don't keep them close together, deer like most animals have a narrow foot track unlike walking with sticks, regards wayne. when a dog loses the track we again use methods for the dog not to keep going on and on but to carefully work back to a track and carry on. when you see people post videos of tracking with dogs the moment the dog loses the trail they stand still and then the dog gets to the end of the leash and stops then a recall or a pull on the leash but you have to get the dog to find the track as in real life you don't have marker tape to help.
 
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