# New Lab pup for trailing deer.



## CartyKid (Nov 11, 2014)

This is Sadie; she just turned 6 weeks old last friday(Nov. 7th) Going to try and train her to trail deer. Any tips will be greatly appreciated. I ordered the Sound Beginnings DVD by Jackie Mertens. Started watching it some but had to stop due to a family illness, plan to continue watching tonight. But when is the best time to start working her a little. Right now I've just let her be a puppy, played with toys and walked around in edge of woods. She's having trouble with peeing on the porch though and I'm unsure of how to correct it. She poops in the garden which is where I started taking her as soon as she ate a meal. But she wont get off the porch to pee. Maybe just the puppy in her. Thanks for the help a head of time 

Josh


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## wildlands (Nov 11, 2014)

Purchase a book titled Tracking dogs for finding wounded deer. This is a great resource. If after reading it you have any question contact me and I will be glad to help you out.


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## Moore (Nov 11, 2014)

Aint that surprised a Carty pees on the porch bet Matt showed her how.


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## Scrapy (Nov 11, 2014)

Moore said:


> Aint that surprised a Carty pees on the porch bet Matt showed her how.



LOL I have had to untrain some for the same reason.


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## Mumpy (Nov 12, 2014)

I started working with Knox at 10weeks old, but at that age it was more of getting him to understand the command track and the point that if I gave that command, at the end of the trail of scent there would be a treat for him.

He blood trailed his first deer this year at 6mo old and took him just over 2 minutes from me giving the command to me saying good boy!


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## CartyKid (Nov 12, 2014)

Thanks wildlands, I'll check into the book and be in touch if I have and questions

Moore- you know, Matt influenced alot of folks some intresting habbits haha

Mumpy- Im hoping Sadie is that quick a learner! haha congrats man


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## rvick (Nov 12, 2014)

Fellows, ya'll just be careful & don't let those young pups get hurt by a live deer. It can turn them off real quick.


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## Mumpy (Nov 13, 2014)

rvick said:


> Fellows, ya'll just be careful & don't let those young pups get hurt by a live deer. It can turn them off real quick.



That's a very good point and one easily forgotten in the "rush" of things, so to speak. I know when I put Knox on the trail I hadn't thought of that. I did hear the deer fall and thrash before I climbed out of my stand, and I had made a perfect shot.


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## rvick (Nov 13, 2014)

Mumpy, these Drahts especially are bred to kill Roe deer & all the ones I know of tracking around Ga. off lead are going in & killing or trying to kill, even if it is already dead. Mine was gored pretty bad a couple of years ago but it didn't teach her to back off. Her name is Pepper & we say the deer has been "Pepperized". My friend just told me that his 1 yr. old Draht killed a small wounded doe last week & tried to retrieve it for him.


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## CartyKid (Nov 17, 2014)

I dont plan on trying her on a real trail for quite some time. Although I havnt thought about a deer hurting her and turning her off....now that you mention it, I had a blue tick puppy get eat up pretty bad by a turned out caged coon....never cared about a coon since. Made a fine porch dog though


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## Mumpy (Nov 19, 2014)

rvick said:


> Mumpy, these Drahts especially are bred to kill Roe deer & all the ones I know of tracking around Ga. off lead are going in & killing or trying to kill, even if it is already dead. Mine was gored pretty bad a couple of years ago but it didn't teach her to back off. Her name is Pepper & we say the deer has been "Pepperized". My friend just told me that his 1 yr. old Draht killed a small wounded doe last week & tried to retrieve it for him.



I believe that. Knox had never seen a deer in his life and when he found the doe he put his mouth around her neck. There was no doubt she was dead before I climbed out of the stand and was good and dead by the time I went home and got him. Next time though I'll keep him on the lead unless I've verified prior to getting him. Once again, thanks for that insight, I hadn't thought of that.


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## Mumpy (Nov 19, 2014)

CartyKid said:


> I dont plan on trying her on a real trail for quite some time. Although I havnt thought about a deer hurting her and turning her off....now that you mention it, I had a blue tick puppy get eat up pretty bad by a turned out caged coon....never cared about a coon since. Made a fine porch dog though



Drahts have a "Hardened" test where they must dispatch a Coon or Feral cat. I'm kind of looking forward to that test when Knox reaches about 2 years old, lol.


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## rvick (Nov 21, 2014)

I like the wounded duck catch.


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## CartyKid (Dec 30, 2014)

Well Sadie will be 14 weeks old this Friday and we have been working on her sitting, healing, shaking and she does pretty well with all. I have walked her on a leash a few times and she don’t mind it at all. She's just been introduced to a deer Saturday evening and she was all about it. We threw her a few flank pieces and a couple legs. I gathered as much blood as I could but the 7mm didn’t leave much, I have the liver and split it into halves and plan to make her a blood line this afternoon and treat her with one half at the end and a few small bits along the way. Excited to see how she does and hoping that weather will permit. Also I’ve had a local processor collect a 5 gal bucket of liver and blood for me so the training can continue throughout the summer. As always please chime in and correct any mistakes I’m about to make! Help is always needed and appreciated! 

PS The book by John Jeanneney is amazing!


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## CartyKid (Dec 31, 2014)

I laid the blood line around 2 yesterday afternoon and brought Sadie back to it around 6, she did very good to begin with and we got interrupted by the neighbor’s cat about 6-7 yards into the track, she was extremely excited and had her nose to the ground right up until the cat came along, seemed like after that she'd get started again and loose interest pretty quick, I zigzagged back and forth across the line and when she crossed it she would get excited and start following it again, especially when she found the slivers of liver. I felt pretty good about her first try, I plan to give her today off and set another line new year’s day at the farm in hopes kitty won’t return.


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## rvick (Dec 31, 2014)

one of the most important things tracking dogs need to learn is discrimination. you certainly don't want your dog tracking healthy deer. i like to lay my training lines around the edge of a field where i know deer will come out that night. next a.m. take your dog on the trail & correct it if it takes a hot track of an unhurt deer. will never be a reliable tracker unless it learns this. The dog must know that only a wounded deer leads to a real treat.


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## CartyKid (Dec 31, 2014)

A friend also mentioned that too... so I laid the line around the feeder behind the house, next time I will wait over night so ther tracks will be hotter. Thanks for the input rvick.


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## saltysenior (Dec 31, 2014)

i trained my lab, but most of it came naturally.....BUT, when (by law) he had to be on a leash he would not play the game.  
    Just something that may help.


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## gunslinger33 (Dec 31, 2014)

I have a DK and it was suggeted to me to use cow blood for training. Deer blood has a much stronger scent. DK's just like DD's have blood tracking as part of their testing and using cow blood to train tends to strengthen their nose.


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## wildlands (Dec 31, 2014)

Early on just work on the drags and do not worry about the distractions. once the dog starts to understand the game and does not leave the drag then switch to blood. At that point you can start introducing the distractions. It is a process and there are a few steps that need to be followed to get a good dog. Start with 20 - 30 minute drags 20-30 yards. Gradually add distance and age as the dog starts to figure it out. Once the dog can do 100 yards4 hrs old with no problem then switch to the blood. Most pups can do this after just a couple of months with ease.  

By 6 months old you should be doing 12 hr old tracks at least 1/2 mile long.

Good luck with the training.

Ken


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## CartyKid (Jan 2, 2015)

Thanks gunslinger and wildlands.....her first track was blood and liver aged 4 hours, and she did pretty good...Thanks for the help I will be trying her again tomorrow and keep the progress posted here.


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## j_seph (Jan 2, 2015)

rvick said:


> one of the most important things tracking dogs need to learn is discrimination. you certainly don't want your dog tracking healthy deer. i like to lay my training lines around the edge of a field where i know deer will come out that night. next a.m. take your dog on the trail & correct it if it takes a hot track of an unhurt deer. will never be a reliable tracker unless it learns this. The dog must know that only a wounded deer leads to a real treat.


I am just curious on this, when you have a deer that has blood at impact but no more blood from that point. How does the dog discriminate one deer track from the other when there is no blood?
Thanks


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## rvick (Jan 2, 2015)

Each individual deer has it's own scent & a well trained & experienced tracking dog can remember/recall that scent up to a day or so later. Even when there is no visible blood there usually are traces of scent from the wound & a "fear scent" that a wounded deer has. This is how a good dog can tell if a deer has been hit or not when there is no blood. This is one reason that it is very important to start the dog on the correct deer at the hit site when there is no visible blood & several deer were there together at the shot.


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## mschlapa (Jan 2, 2015)

There is a difference between a blood tracking dog and one that is turned loose to search the area until it possibly winds the deer.


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## CartyKid (Jan 14, 2015)

Well I laid a line about 25-30 yards with a hard 90 turn and a few pieces of hotdog every 5 foot or so. Made one "blood bed" at the turn and she did very good. Aged the line about 35-40 mins. When she got to the 90 she went passed it about 3 foot and started circling until she picked it back up and never got back off of it.


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## CartyKid (Sep 14, 2015)

*Update!!!!!!!!!!*

Well finally got in the woods Sunday morning and made a decent shot on a small doe that was trying her best to bust me. I heard her crash about 40 yards or so away. I brought my dog back about an hour after I made the shot, I didn't walk the trail at all other than looking at my arrow. When I got her there on a lease she immediately had her nose to the dirt and got to really acting crazy. It rained all night the night before and all the gal-berry bushes were wet and didn't hold any blood, so eye tracking to make sure she was on the right trail was out of the question. When we passed a palmetto bush that was painted with blood and bubbles I knew we were on the right trail. It took her a total of about 5 mins and she had the deer found. She went past her about 4 or 5 yards and corrected herself and ended up finding the deer. I was some kinda proud of her handling her first trail like she did


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## king killer delete (Sep 14, 2015)

Looks like a great job.


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## CartyKid (Sep 14, 2015)

Thanks King!


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