TBH BLOOD DOG TRACKING, TRAINING, & RECOVERY Thread

[Buff]

Attaboy bullet

[Bowhunter1994]

Heck of a feeling when the dog does everything right!! I would rather watch my dogs work then bowhunt.. Best feeling in the world IMO

[Dirtymike]

Deer blood Popsicles? Figured I could tie on or clip on to the tag and drag the Popsicle and would leave a good trail for a starter puppy to follow. What do you seasoned trackers think?

[Bowhunter1994]

Deer blood Popsicles? Figured I could tie on or clip on to the tag and drag the Popsicle and would leave a good trail for a starter puppy to follow. What do you seasoned trackers think?

I wouldn't do it, to get a pup going I use a lot of blood along with treats along the trail along with a lot or praise. Once the dog figures it all out then I would go with a smaller amount of blood aged for a longer time.

[Dirtymike]

I am sorry. Did not mean for her to have the Popsicle. Just to drag. Would melt along the drag and leave a nice trail I thought. Then can return to the line later. Instead of a deer hide which I don't have or using a dropper bottle I also don't have. Figured one Popsicle could make a pretty long drag leaving diff amounts along the way in different spots along the trail.

[Jerryg]

Deer blood Popsicles? Figured I could tie on or clip on to the tag and drag the Popsicle and would leave a good trail for a starter puppy to follow. What do you seasoned trackers think?

Very interesting. Try it out and let us know how it works. Won't know until you try it. May melt before you get there though

[Dirtymike]

Doh...... i did not think of the melting. First thought was just to use it close to home on some back trails. But yea, the melting in route could be an issue. Guess could collect the melted blood to extend the line with further apart drops or motivational "your on the right track" pools with a treat.

[TUCO]

Deer blood Popsicles?

Figured I could tie on or clip on to the tag and drag the Popsicle and would leave a good trail for a starter puppy to follow. What do you seasoned trackers think?

I think the Bloodsicle is a great idea Mike!

Especially if you are running your mock trails right around your house.

I actually thought of doing the same thing, but I was just going to pour some blood into an ice tray then take out a cube or two and put it in a small piece of pantyhose and make a drag. If you don't want to make a continuous trail you could just lift the bloodsicle off the ground from time to time as you make the mock trail.

[Patton]

Once it is frozen, throw it in a bucket or small cooler and cover with ice, should stay frozen for a little bit longer. One of those soft lunchboxes might work perfect for icing down the blood-sicles. Looks like a good idea

[MySRT8U]

Get a yeti and pour the blood directly into it. It'll be frozen before you know it

[Dirtymike]

Will try it tonight. My wife bought these trays on impulse. They are "designed" so you can put ice in water bottles. it seemed like a good idea to her at the time.... Haha never been used since purchase. Found them in the junk drawer and figured it might work.

[TUCO]

Get a yeti and pour the blood directly into it. It'll be frozen before you know it

Better yet, sell the Yeti and buy yourself a Catahoula!

[jared_bays]

Finally made it down to the lease with bullelk (James) to give this whole tracking dog thing a try and to fill corn and protein feeders. Mickey has done absolutely great on the mock tracks that we have run and I was really optimistic to get him on a hot, live track. Mickey found out real quick that there is a whole new world out there in the brush that he hasn't really experienced yet. The mock tracks that we have done, have been close to my neighborhood in pretty open pasture. It's pretty controlled environment compared to the middle of a 7200 acre ranch on the coastal prairie. I realized real quick that it was way to hot to sit in a ground blind and stick one with my bow, so whatever was shot was going to get it from the cab of an air conditioned truck with a .270 WSM. That said, we saw quite a few pigs Friday night as we were checking feeders to see which were feeding and drinking beer. After driving around Saturday morning and re-corning the roads, we didn't see much so we headed to camp. We had to run to George West to pick up 4 tons of protein, so we gave the pigs the afternoon off and figured we would find some that evening. Well we did, and I smoked one with the aforementioned 270 wsm. I knew it wasn't going to be much of a track, if any, but I hit him a little high and back, so I knew he wouldn't be DRT, but we saw where he went to die, or at least we thought we did. So we went back to camp to get Mickey and put him on the track. By now it's completely dark and as you know everything looks the same in the dark. Well, we put Mickey out in the sendero about 100 yards from where I hit the pig and let him take us to the spot and pick up the trail. And low and behold, as James and I were ready to walk right past the spot, Mickey started working off the sendero to the right. He picked it up before we did, and we just thought we knew where it was. He was working real slow, taking in all the new smells that he hasn't experienced before. This is where it got interesting. We followed the track for about 20 yards when we came to big pile of poop and James said "he's close". Well, Mickey worked his way around a mesquite bush and started working back the way we came. Before I knew it he was back on the original blood trail going the wrong direction. So, I started him back over at the beginning and got to the pile of poop and he started back the other direction again. At this point, I'm a little confused as the blood is gone, nothing past the pile of poop. About that time, James hears something this big bush that is so thick you can't see inside. He walked around the other side of it and there the pig lay dying. A quick shot behind the ear and he was done. After it was all done and looking at the big picture, we realized the pig doubled back, through the mesquite bush and went to the base of the big brush to die. So, to sum it all up. Mickey did what he was supposed to do, even if I didn't realize it until the end and I still have some things to learn about tracking. I think the biggest thing I have yet to learn is understanding my dog. Reading the way he works and knowing what he is telling me. I really think he is only going to get better as he gets older and more experienced. I guess it's that way with all of us.

Thanks for reading.

[horseshoo]

7 month Lacy. 5 mock trails. This was first real trail. Hog was shot right at dark. Put Lobo on trail first thing next morning approx 12 hrs later. Lots moisture dew that morning .Good blood thru trail approx 50yds thru thick yaupons good confidence builder. Enjoy this thread and reading others experiences lots good info.

[czechgrubworm]

7 month Lacy. 5 mock trails. This was first real trail. Hog was shot right at dark. Put Lobo on trail first thing next morning approx 12 hrs later. Lots moisture dew that morning .Good blood thru trail approx 50yds thru thick yaupons good confidence builder. Enjoy this thread and reading others experiences lots good info.

Job well done... made you very proud....