Wind a mile off ?

I used to have a line of dogs that could wind pretty far. I had 2 dogs that picked up their nose into the wind and we followed them thinking they were going to bay up about 1/4 mile and they kept on going. I thought maybe at the next patch of woods but they kept on and the ranch hand said from the very beginning where the hogs usually bedded up. The dogs went right where he said they should be...and it was about a mile or real close to it. The wind conditions were right and the scent was channeling thru the openings. The temp was about 55 to 60 degrees and I believe the scent was holding close to the ground due to the temp. It is my belief that proper training and helping the dogs to work a scent will enable them to figure out and straighten out a track as well as it will in training them to solve the location of hogs when winding.

A lot of times when the dogs are winding and running the wind currents but when they keep coming back and starting over it is our job as handlers to get out there and try to figure out where the scent is coming from, or, at least we should try and figure out where the hogs are hiding and move in that direction to put the dogs where they can pick up on the scent and go.

I wrote a story for Full Cry magazine and it was titled "WINDING ABILITY" and I will look for it in my other computer and post it here.