# how long to get a dog to track blood



## Luke0927 (Sep 9, 2009)

We all know that every dog is differnt but who all trains dogs to track blood...I really want a dog that can track blood.  I have a german short hair that i got a few years ago.  Out of my 4 he is the only one not registered...He is an awsome bird dog but I just call him my meat dog all he can do is hunt no hunt test or FT.

I plan on using him to track deer...Plan on getting some blood here quick with bow season coming on....Was going to harness the dog up and use blood mixed with water to lay a trail and then a reward at the end....keep doing this for longer and hard tracks....have any other tips to get me started and how long has it taken your dogs to figure it out?


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## Canebrake (Sep 9, 2009)

Luke...that is what I did with my EP and he found one for us in HEAVY cutover last year.  

When I lay the track he keeps his nose to the ground but on a real deer he keeps his head up and seems to work the wind.  I always put a harness on him when we are tracking so he differentiates between tracking and bird hunting.  He's no blood hound but I've seen him scent one all the way across the ridge and I think he can smell one of it is within 100 yds are so with good scenting conditions.  He was doing this after a 4-5 sessions at 8-10 months old.

I've got some blood and a few liver drags still in the freezer from last year.  If you ever make it over to the club I can bring you a few bags...they will go along way if you mix with water like you are talking about.


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## chadf (Sep 9, 2009)

I'd like to know who bird hunts a dog and also use the dog to track a wounded deer?


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## bobman (Sep 9, 2009)

In my younger days I hunted GSPs for years on both deer and birds with no problem

Luke you teach the dog to track bllood and blood only not deer parts

A GSP is a natural at this its one fo the things the breed was developed for I doubt it will take more than a few days of one track each day for him to figure it out

then take him to a deer kill ( if you kill one leave it in the woods and go get him even if you can find it yourself) put him on the track and walk him (always in the harness) to the deer

and praise lavishly

tracking blood trails is easy for them, one thing though they will often walk right to the deer without the trail once they figure it out

A gsp can smell a dead deer a long ways away, heck I can smell a deer if the winds right

If your going to shoot deer over them you have to let them point them but never run them kind of like steady to flush but thats not the topic here.


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## flattop (Sep 9, 2009)

Contact user name Wildlands on here.  He can be helpful. I went to a seminar he gave a couple of years back. Good Luck!


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## zzweims (Sep 9, 2009)

We bird hunt and deer track with all of our weims.  We also do field trials with them and never had any trouble with them running deer.  We trained the older ones much like bobman did.  The younger ones learned by watching the older ones.


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## Luke0927 (Sep 9, 2009)

Thanks....I planned on using blood only cause i don't want them chasing the smell of deer....Canbrake i should be able to start coming down a good bit to the club.  If i don't get a deer in the next 2 weeks I'll let you know.  I might even try and come down Saturday if i don't bow hunt that evening.

So take some blood and mix it with some watter in a gallong jug with a hole and lay it that way....whats the best way to lay it?  How much blood to water?


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## Canebrake (Sep 11, 2009)

I'm not really sure what is the best ratio to use.  I started out mixing it pretty heavy...(half and half) but after a line or two scaled back to about 10:1 water to blood...they can smell it!  Do just as Bobman says...I followed his instructions from an earlier post and mine did just fine.

There is no way I'm hunting saturday evening...way too hot!!!  Probably be somewhere in the AC watching the Dawgs try to redeem themselves.

I'll probably be back down at the club the first weekend in October...need to hang a stand or two over there and get my new pup some work in.  I just got another EP (5.5 months old) so I'm looking forward to some cooler weather.


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## will hunt 4 food (Sep 11, 2009)

I never water mine down, let the track age longer and longer as he learns. My dogs run blood trails up to 36hrs old, and never less than overnight. It gives the trail time to get contaminated with other scents and conditions him to follow only the blood trail. Your sent also dissipates. Check out the United Blood Trackers website.


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