blood scenting

[tom]

Hello,

I'm new here. Going to get my new airedale this summer. I had an airedale when I was a kid. A goofy family dog!

The puppy I plan on getting has mooreland and sanhill hunting bloodlines. I am planning to train the dog to blood scent wounded deer (legal in Michigan). Later I would like to hunt ruffed grouse with the dog.

If anyone has an tips on the blood scent training, I would be grateful. I got a good book on the subject, but am always open for good advice.

thanks,
tom

[hicntry]

Welcome to the board Tom. I am looking forward to the amswer to this question also. I can't imagine a dog that is used for hunting and smelling blood not following a blood track. Blood is potent stuff and I would think that all it would take is a dog that knows blood ='s game.

[Helena Ardholm]

tom said:

Hello,

I'm new here. Going to get my new airedale this summer. I had an airedale when I was a kid. A goofy family dog!

The puppy I plan on getting has mooreland and sanhill hunting bloodlines. I am planning to train the dog to blood scent wounded deer (legal in Michigan). Later I would like to hunt ruffed grouse with the dog.

If anyone has an tips on the blood scent training, I would be grateful. I got a good book on the subject, but am always open for good advice.

thanks,
tom

Hi Tom!

I've trained one of my dales to blood (wounded deer, wounded moose and elk) and we've also competed in this form of tracking (he's a blood tracking champ; this is a sport over here). We mostly get called out to find animals hurt in traffic and help during hunting season also (hunters who don't have dogs and don't shoot too great).

He's been trained with the help of a deer leg (lower part, hoof and scent glands intact) as well as moose and elk. What I do is that I tie a string onto the leg and thus drag it behind me as I walk the track. I also drip blood behind me (use an empty ketchup or mustard plastic bottle).

Where the track starts, you kick up the ground and try to scent as much as you can with the deer leg. You also squirt out a lot of blood there (you're trying to mimick the shot and fall), perhaps a cup worth.

You then start walking with the leg dragging behind you and you place one single drop of blood for every two steps you take.

The track then ends with the leg tied to a tree or such. You let your dog take the leg and carry it back to your car. The track should lay for at least 4 hours before you take your dog to it. When the dog gets more accomplished you extend this lay time to up towards 24 hours.

Don't start your dog on blood until you've got basic obedience on him. Nor until you've taught him tracking methodology. Once you're ready to track actual deer you'll find that this is a different ballgame to the training tracks.

If you want a reliable dog that keeps his head cool and really works hard a structured approach is best imo.

[doitallairedales]

I'm hoping to get some deer blood from a nearby hunter.

Questions:

how should I best store it, and;

can I store it indefinitely or do I need to use it in a short amount of time?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

TC

[Summit Forge]

Tom, from my experience hunting Ruffed Grouse in PA with my Airedale, I would say that you will be extremely lucky, if you can develop a deer dog and a grouse dog. I do not use mine on deer (illegal) but if the grouse population is low and I can't get him into grouse scent quickly, Forge will automatically start hunting deer or squirrels or coon or woodchucks or turkey or whatever presents itself. That's the good news and the bad news, if you are trying to train your Airedale for more than one venue.

[hicntry]

Well Tom, will tell you.....you know I am not a trainer so.... I started with deer hunting and didn't use the dogs. Well I caped and gutted everything just outside the dog yards. Well when I was finished, I thought I was dogs best friend and threw the leg bones and some of the meat over the fence to them. Well I ended up with some of the best dang deer dogs you ever saw. I had every dog running deer with a passion....and these deer were not bleeding. After about the 3rd or 4th hunt with those trashy, deer running dogs, I realized who was to blame. That is when I learned about not training for certain things. I had to be real careful not to put young dogs with those deer dogs because, they learn the wrong stuff fast. I would bet if as one poster said. Teach the obedience and tracking methodology you want first.....then feed them raw, fresh venison.....but just the bad cuts. "Trailing" game is a different ballgame altogether than tracking in the manner you are looking for. Now, not being a trainer I can just say how I may start, because I know how to do this part. Spend time in the woods and let the dog learn how to trail on his own. As in no commands and such, while he is young. Bait a light trail with a burger at the end or something to get his interest but let him learn on his own. No confusion or any of that other stuff. He will figure it out quick if he has the desire. Then he knows there is a reason to track...there is something to be gained in the end. He will be solid because you let him learn it naturally and it will save a lot of frustrations ....I would think, but I am not a trainer and want to emphasize that. I see it a being like trash breaking a dog. Let him chase everything and get him going good and get him on your game of choice and pet him up every time, then you slap the collar on him and start weeding him off of trash. If you do this in reverse and trash break first....you will break him off of everything. He has to know it is alright to chase first....then you show him it is only alright to chase certain things.... Yadda, Yadda ;D

[doitallairedales]

I e-collar my dogs when they run deer. My plan is to try and do blood tracking as a service to hunters who lose their wounded deer. Dog (my shepherd actually) will be on a tracking line as this is the only way to do it legal here in NY. I have alot of experience training cadaver dogs and thus have worked w/blood before. I haven't had much trouble storing it but I was just wondering if the deer blood might be different since I won't be using it as quickly. (Can't go anywhere in the woods these days. Loaded with hunters!)