blood tracking

[Hippy]

what do you guys that used dogs to track wounded deer use to train your dogs if you don't have deer blood?

[catchrcall]

hog blood works just fine.  if you don't have access to that, save the blood from your steak packages.  it's diluted but it will work in a pinch.  save some deer hooves too, you can freeze the hooves and use them later to lay out trails.  I start my dogs by dragging liver, and save the blood from the packages that will work too.  I usually run the blood through a blender and then freeze it until i need it.  the blender is so the blood doesn't clot anymore.  if you're anywhere near kempner, I'll hook you up with a bottle or two of blood if you need it.

[Hippy]

just any kind of liver or deer liver

[catchrcall]

I was pretty short on resources for awhile, so i was using beef liver from the grocery store.  hog and deer works just as well. 

[Hippy]

thanks for the info and i hope you don't mind but i'll prolly be looking your way for advice later on. o and do you go to bremond for the bayin

[Hawkins]

Here is what I do, I am training a 5 month old BMC. Take some deer meat a cut up into small pieces, put them into ziploc bags and pour some hog blood on it, then freeze it. That way you can just take a single bag out for one training session. When he started following the blood trails when I just poured it on the ground. I took a 4 ft. dowel rod and taped a sponge to the end. Pour some blood on the sponge and brush the ground with it. That way it makes you blood last a lot longer.

[Mark T]

Zypher,
Catchrcall and Hawkins are right on with their training programs.  You can use beef liver if you do not have access to deer blood.  The object is to get the dog trained in tracking the blood trail you put him on.  You can drag it, pour it on the ground, use a sponge, rag or whatever.  Let the trail age and put him on it and give him your command to find it.  You can train on the leash or off or both.  The main thing is to put him on a ton of trails and give him the same command to work the trail.  Some guys use commands like go to work, hunt it up, track it, find it or whatever.  Another item I use religously is a bell.  I always put a bell on them before they make a track.  I believe in Pavlov's theory and feel that this is an extra trigger mechanism for the dog.  My dogs know when I bring out the bell what they are going to do.  They start bouncing around and get really wired and fired up.  The bell has nothing to do with me hearing my dogs when they are on trail, it is strictly for the dog.  By the way If anyone is looking for a good started dog with 50+ live deer trails under there belt ranging from Whitetails, Axis, Fallow, Blackbuck and Oryx I have one I would sell.
Mark T

[Hawkins]

The command I use is "find it" and when I say that he sticks his nose to the ground. I usually bring him in from about 100 yards out making him work the whole way. The other day he had his nose to the ground, and a good breeze came along and he stuck his nose in the air and winded the blood til the found it. Another thing I do is stick an arrow in the ground, for me to mark where it starts, and I let him sniff the arrow also.

[uglydog]

If you have a local Meat Market, or a processing plant that is a good resouce for all the fresh blood you want.

[cantexduck]

Like the others have said- Blood is blood.

[catchrcall]

+1 on the bell, it's a great addition and to my dog definately means "time to go to work".  In fact, I have a whole other collar with the bell attached that I use when it is time to track.  It's a two inch nylon coated collar, keeps its shape real well for when I use the lead.  I work off lead a lot, and the bell helps me tell where he is, and since he doesn't bark at an animal very often it lets me know when he's stopped. 

[Mark T]

Catch,
I have several different bells and they too are on their own collar.  My hearing is horrible now days so once the dogs get past 50 yards I can't hear the stupid thing anymore.  I just strap my DC30 to them and let them roll on.  My dogs do not bark either once they have found it.  If they are barking you better be raising the 30-30.  They are usually pulling hair.  Thank goodness they pull hair from the rear and not the cape ha ha.
Mark T

[Hippy]

thanks guys very informative