Leashed Blood Tracking Dogs in Pennsylvania – Update

By Andy Bensing

The Senate Game and Fisheries Committee met on Wednesday 12/4/2013 and HB451, the leashed blood tracking dog Bill, was on the agenda.  I was pretty excited when I heard the week before that the Chairman had decided to put the bill on the agenda.  I and other Deer Recovery of PA members have been working for over 13 years to gain legalization in PA.  We have gotten 3 bills out of the House of Representatives during that time and into the Senate Game and Fisheries committee.  Our current bill under consideration in the committee, HB451, was unanimously passed by the House last May.  Well my excitement turned into another letdown when once again the bill was tabled for purposes of further discussion/clarification.  The committee members’ general consensus was that they needed more clarification as to how the dogs would be used and how the program would operate in the field.

This is quite frustrating to myself and other hard working members of DRP.  We have been working for years to educate the legislature.  We send them packets of information, offer unfettered access to us to answer questions and meet with them or their assistants to explain what we do and answer questions.  Just this past August and September one of our members personally met with 10 of the 11 committee members or their assistants in one on one meetings at the capital to explain what we do, why we do it and how it is done in other states.

With all this effort on our part our tracking dog bill has been brought up in the Senate Game and Fisheries 3 times in the last 18 months and always has ended up with the same result.  Tabled because they need more information.

The meeting did have one bright note in that the consensus was that the committee was not completely against the bill, they did table it instead of voting it down, but they wanted more specifics written into it as to how it would actually be run by the Game Commission once enacted.  Several members of the committee spoke with us after the meeting and asked us to assist with that.  Also, the Chairman did commit to holding an informational public hearing early next year to try and work out some of these issues.

So all in all the meeting did not live up to my early expectations but we did inch forward a little bit.  One thing about blood trackers that’s for sure, we don’t give up easily.

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Happy New Year to you and your tracking dogs!

We are joining Tuesday (in the picture) to wish all of you a Very Happy New Year! BTW, Tuesday will be bred this week to Kunox, and hopefully we will have some puppies born in nine weeks. Unfortunately, our waiting list is full and closed, and we are not taking more reservations.

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Are leashed blood tracking dogs going to be legal in Pennsylvania soon

It has been a very long and difficult road to legalize the use of blood tracking dogs in Pennsylvania. Nobody knows it better than Andy Bensing, President of the United Blood Trackers and Deer Recovery of Pennsylvania. In October 2014 he wrote an excellent article "Why Cant I use My Dog?", which gave a good analysis of the situation and objections to tracking dogs in PA and other non-legal states.

Next week identical bills allowing leashed tracking dogs will be voted on in the PA House and the Senate. See the full text here.  Quote: "It shall be lawful to do any of the following:

(1) Make use of a dog to pursue, chase, scatter and track wild turkeys during the fall wild turkey season.
(2) Make use of a leashed blood-tracking dog to track a white-tailed deer or bear in an attempt to recover an animal which has been legally killed or wounded during any open season for white-tailed deer or bear." 

According to Andy there is a very good chance that both bills are going to pass. We are going to keep our fingers crossed that PA is going to turn green on this map:

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Save on Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer and Dead On!

Until December 31, 2015 you can save 20% when you order these two books together. You can place your order here.

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Help find Bella a blood tracking dog from Claremont NH

Update: Bella has been found!

Rob and Diane Richardson from New Hampshire are looking for their blood tracking dog Bella. In Dianes words:

We were doing a wounded deer track on 11/14/13 at 379 Jarvis Hill Rd, Claremont, NH and just as Rob was reeling her in to call a halt to the track and the night, Bella somehow got off her gear and zipped off still tracking the buck. We searched all night and never found her. She ALWAYS comes to Rob so this is very unusual.

Bella is a Southern Black Mouth Cur (looks like pit X Lab mix to some people) red/yellow/tan. about 50 lbs. 23-24" at shoulder and last seen wearing a green nylon collar that has her name, license (Unity), Rabies tag and Microchip tag.

She is people and dog friendly. Traffic naïve and will run in front of autos without thinking. She is a trained (licensed by NH Fish & Game) Blood tracking/Wildlife recovery dog and is trained to track wounded deer. She may still be in pursuit of or with the buck she was tracking - do not shoot her! Bella has SEVERE food allergies and needs a specific diet!!!

If found in need of medical care transport immediately to her vet Claremont Animal Hospital.

$100 reward for her safe return no questions asked.

Diane & Rob 603-542-7344 or Claremont Animal Hospital 543-0117 or the Claremont Police Department.

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Shot analysis by Bob Yax on the two deer recovered by his tracking dog Thor

These two bucks were recovered last weekend by Bob Yax and his tracking dachshund Thor. 

The Pittsford buck was hit low in the chest with a bow on Sunday morning. See entrance photo attached.   Also, check out the kid wearing shorts while he was tracking with us! Ouch!   We  jumped this liver hit buck twice, 6.5-7 hrs after the hit.  In its 3^rd bed, the kid was able to put another arrow into it.  We found a 1 inch deep slice thru the edge of the liver when he gutted it. That was a long survival for a liver hit!

 *****

We jumped the Honeoye buck 17 hrs after the 7 mm hit,  from its 1^st bed, about 700 yds from the hit site.   Up till then we had only found a few spots of blood to confirm Thor was on the bucks trail.  At times, I was really wondering since Thor took us close to 2 houses and across at least 200 yds of cut lawn and a main road with no blood.  After jumping up from a very bloody bed, the buck ended up  (luckily!) in a deep ravine 100 yds further up the trail.  The hunter was able to shoot  it a 2^nd time from about 40 yds as it tried climbing  up the far side of the steep ravine.   The 7 mm hit was really low in the front of the chest and hit the top of both front legs – see entrance and exit photos attached.  The buck was quartering to him a little.   Not really sure what vitals he hit (maybe low lungs?) but I know he missed the heart entirely, since after close examination, it’s now in my fridge.  I’m going to check out the rib cage after the guy finishes butchering it to see if the bullet did make it inside the chest cavity. 

      

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Women as handlers of blood tracking dogs

by John and Jolanta Jeanneney

updated November 13, 2013
 

Many women love to work with dogs, and we  have long wondered why they have dominated the field of Search and Rescue but rarely became involved with dogs for tracking wounded big game. Now the old pattern  is beginning to change, and some of the most active "blood trackers" in the USA are women. Some of them are taking calls and finding deer in numbers that any man would be proud of.

For male hunters it may come as a surprise to learn that the majority of female trackers are not hunters themselves. So how did they become involved in blood tracking in the first place? And what keeps them going? We asked the question some women handlers who are very active in the field and included their answers below.

For some women their starting point was a deep love for their dog. They tried to honor and realize their dogs full potential. Willette Brown, who is not a hunter, described it well in her post about Trackfest when she said: "I have this totally awesome dog, and when I watch her work my pride is bigger than all of my misgivings or fears, and all I want is to understand her more deeply and help her become the best she can be."

Later the challenge of  finding the game might motivate the women trackers even further. Males who hunt can well understand and appreciate the psychology of this.  Tracking together in cooperation with a  dog is important for these hunter/trackers too, but they also find that tracking becomes, in a way, an emotional extension of hunting.

Lets make it clear that the new wave of  women cant be boxed into a single category as non-hunters. Some women are passionate hunters, like most men who track. Pam Maurier, Paulene Eggers and Lee Behrens are good examples. They  hunt and track with passion.

So lets hear what the women said themselves.

Susanne: I originally got a dachshund from Germany just because I loved the breed.  Little did I know that this dog would change my life for ever! I got involved in blood tracking when Buster was about six month old. My friends from NY, the Jeanneneys, convinced me I had an awesome dog, who was born to track and I got hooked.
     Blood tracking is unbelievably complex. You never know where you end up, what the terrain might be like, what people you meet, and what the circumstances of the hit are until the track is over and you have put together all the many pieces of the puzzle...  does that make me an adventurer??
Perhaps yes, but for sure none of this would pull me to go out there at all hours, at night, early cold mornings, or wet and windy days or getting stuck waist deep in swamps, except that watching my little dogs work is the most amazing and rewarding experience and it fills my heart with pride and joy.
     Over the 11 years Ive been tracking wounded game, I have met the most amazing people in my journeys and Ive made many friends for life!  I have had some incredible mentors who never tire to give me information when I ask them about something I have not encountered before! John Jeannenay, Tom Di Pietro and Troy Wallace are largely responsible for helping me understand "the game" so much more every year.
     While I am still learning something from every track, I have started mentoring a new generation of Maine trackers and hope to pay it forward.
     What keeps me going when Im tired or cold or the weather isnt inviting is compassion for the hunters out there who search for days and days for a deer they think is laying dead. To me putting them at peace of mind is almost as important as finding the deer.

Pam: My passion for hunting got me into it and knowing there was a better chance out there to help with recovering game. I am all for helping my fellow hunters and I love meeting new people. Seeing Tucker doing what he loves most and the amazing work he does, and seeing the reward at the end of the track - it cant get any better. Just love helping out as much as I can.

Judy: I must say that I got involved with blood tracking only by coincidence years ago.  I used to be an avid deer hunter and I had a JRT puppy named Bear.  Bear would go hunting with me -- staying in my vehicle for the couple of hours I was in the stand.  If I ever shot a deer, I would always go and get Bear to go with me to find the deer.  With time and repeated trials, Bear seemed to understand what was to be done and became more and more efficient at finding deer.  His love for doing this along with my enjoyment of it have kept me motivated.  Also, finding deer for a hunter who has been unable to track the blood has been very rewarding. I love being in the woods and love to have a companion (Pup) enjoying it with me.  The communication that Bear and I have in tracking wounded deer has continued also to keep me motivated.   I talk with Bear as we try to find the deer--his vocabulary and understanding me--makes this a team effort.  Dont really know why, but I had rather track a deer these days than hunt a deer myself.

Joanne: I have always loved hearing my friend Susannes stories about tracking. Tracking was legalized four years ago in New Hampshire. I attended a UBT clinic in Laconia. It was very interesting and the speakers shared passion, adventure, technology and enthusiasm. I came home and started laying lines. Angie loved following the lines and I so enjoyed watching her. It was fun and games. Our first track was a success on many levels and I never looked back. You cant make these stories up! Nobody mentioned the waist deep swamps.

Paulene: I saw an article in the outdoors news about five years ago about a Deer Search member 

who was a woman and had a long haired dachshund. I saved the article as I was so fascinated with it. I mentioned it to Laura my partner and she then gave me a 10-week-old WHD puppy with Johns book as a Christmas gift. That was a year later. I was hooked completely after attending a Deer Search competition in Campbell. I only went there to observe and did not even plan to try Braylee out as she had such minimal training but the FLC members encouraged us to try to certify her. She did wonderfully and was certified before I was even a member or certified myself. What keeps me going is how much Braylee loves to go tracking and how thrilling it is to have a recovery. Often times it is overwhelming and very exhausting but I love it.

Claudia: I am married to an avid hunter and tracker. Listening to Rays tales about his tracks made tracking sound interesting. After we bred Rosco we decided to keep one of his pups (Razen) knowing that I would be her handler. There is lots to know about tracking, every track is a learning experience for both myself and Razen. Ray and I keep each other going hoping to find that deer? We also have our tales to tell whether we successfully find the deer or not. What keeps you going back for the next track is knowing that you are going to find that deer (hopefully) and if you do, seeing your dog with its prize and seeing how excited the hunter is seeing his hunt completed. You meet  a lot of nice, friendly people along the way. Besides having a tracking dog you have the best friend and companion you could ever ask for.

Sally: My motivation for getting involved is pretty simple.  Dogs and being out in the woods are two of my favorite things.  About 8 years ago, a friend of mine told me how he had someone with a dog find his deer which was the first time I’d heard of dogs tracking wounded deer.  Of course, the person who found his deer was Tom with Musket.  To me, there’s nothing better than being out in the woods with a dog, and the thought of doing that with a purpose really appealed to me.  

     I’ve never been interested in hunting, so that part of it doesn’t interest me at all.  In fact, the hunting part is actually something I struggle with.  We only get called with things go wrong, and it can be pretty ugly.  It’s difficult for me to see what sometimes happens to these animals, and it stays with me for days.   As you can imagine, having to shoot a deer myself is not my favorite thing, but the alternative is worse.   At least I can do it now without my hand shaking.  

     As far as what keeps me going, most of it is the sheer fun of working a dog who loves his work.  It drives me nuts how some people treat their dogs like spoiled children.  Dogs are happiest when they’re allowed to be dogs, and when Petey tracks, he is a dog doing what he is supposed to be doing.  It’s very satisfying to me and just seems right.  

     The challenge of it also keeps me going.  If we found every deer we tracked, it would be boring and not nearly as meaningful.  Even though it can be pretty frustrating, I stubbornly keep at it because you never know – the next track could be that epic find you’ll be talking about for years.  It’s kind of like gambling – the jackpot could be just around the corner.

     I also like meeting and working with the hunters.  This came as a surprise to me as I’m not much of a people person.  Talking deer and dogs with someone I just met is so much easier than making awkward small talk at a party.  It gives me a comfortable way to interact with people and actually enjoy their company.  

     Of course, when you find a deer, it’s like winning a gold medal.  The hunter is happy, I’m proud of my dog, and Petey and I get to be heroes for the day.  You can’t beat that.

     One last thing that makes tracking fun for me is being friends with Tom and Chris.  I called Tom out of the blue when I decided to get into tracking, and from the very beginning, they’ve been nothing but helpful and friendly.  Tom can talk tracking for hours, and he’s always been more than willing to answer questions and give advice.  We talk every few days during tracking season to swap stories, complain about bad calls, etc.  They’re a lot of fun to be around and don’t take themselves or tracking too seriously, and they definitely make tracking more fun for me.

 

Chris: The original motivation for tracking was to spend time with my husband, Tom, who loved tracking more than hunting.  I love to be in the woods and he would always ask me to go with him, so I would go and help him spot blood.  I also love a working dog and truly enjoyed watching Musket unravel the puzzle to find the deer.  My motivation to continue is to train our newest tracking dogs, Scout (WHD) and Addie (BMH) and to help the hunting community find their deer.  It is very rewarding to find a deer that the hunter could not find him/herself. My favorite weekend to track is our Youth weekend.   It makes you feel so good to help a young hunter find his/her very first deer.  Other motivations are that it keeps me in good health and you meet so many interesting people.  I remember my first years of tracking, I would be so exhausted.  Running up & down mountains and through swamps and thickets is very tiring.  Tom and I started training for sprint triathlons to keep us in shape for the "tracking" season. Just another thing we could do together.  Now I can track for hours and still get up the next day and do it all over again.  The hunters are very appreciative when we come out to help them and we have made many friends through our tracking connections.  I love the time I get to spend with Tom, in the woods with my dogs.  Its my favorite time of year.

Pictures are presented in alphabetical order according to womens first name. Names have links to websites or more info about the womens tracking services.

Barbie Wills from Concord, NH, tracks with wirehaired and shorthair dachshunds.

Claudia Holohan lives in Ashkum, Illinois and she tracks with a wirehaired dachshund Razen. 

Cheri Faust and her dachshund Danika live in Madison, Wisconsin. Cheri is a Secretary and Board member of the United Blood Trackers. 

Chris DiPietro lives in Jericho, VT and she her husband Tom track with 
wirehaired dachshunds and a Bavarian Mountain Hound.

Joanne Greer from Chester, NH tracks with wirehaired dachshund Angie. 

Jolanta Jeanneney from Berne, NY, usually tracks with her husband John and their wirehaired dachshunds. She is on the Board of the United Blood Trackers.

Lindsay Ware from Ellsworth, Maine, tracks with her black Lab Gander.

Louise La Branche from Maricourt, Quebec, has imported four wirehaired dachshunds from Germany. She uses them for tracking and breeding.

Pam Maurier from Manchester, NH is part of Lightning Mountain Outfitters and she tracks with a wirehaired dachshund Tucker.

Paulene Eggers from Syracuse, NY  is a member of Deer Search Of Finger Lakes
and her tracking partner is a wirehaired dachshund Braylee.

Sally Marchmont from Fairfax, VT tracks with a wirehaired dachshund Petey. 

This is Shannon Smiths from Fowlerville, MI, first deer tracking season.
Her black Lab River has been in training since January 2013.

This is a first tracking season for Sherry Ruggieri from Mantua, NJ, and her wirehaired dachshund imported from Hungary Niya. What a great first recovery! 

Susanne Hamilton from Montville, Maine tracks with two dachshunds, Buster and Meggie. She is on the Board of the United Blood Trackers and is a recipient the Maine Bowhunters Association Award. 

Willette Brown from Union, Miane, tracks with wirehaired dachshunds Quilla and Bridger.

Be safe in the woods and keep on tracking!

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Urgent call for help! Support legalization of blood tracking dogs in Pennsylvania now!

These are just few pictures of many that show deer recovered by Andy Bensing and his tracking wirehaired dachshund Eibe this fall. Even though Andy lives in Pennsylvania these deer were tracked in Maryland. Andy loves helping hunters recover deer that they are not able to find by themselves but unfortunately the use of blood tracking dogs is illegal in Pennsylvania. Read more what Andy posted on Facebook today:

 

I and many of my friends have been working for 13 years to change a hunting law in Harrisburg to legalize the use of leashed tracking dogs to help recover deer that a hunter has shot and has not been able to locate himself just using his eyes. Our current bill is very close to becoming law. If you would like to help please read the rest of this message and send a few emails to Harrisburg ASAP.
Thanks in advance,
Andy Bensing

Recent developments in Harrisburg make it urgent that you email or call to all the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee Members immediately. Please contact them yet tonight or tomorrow. Send your email on Thanksgiving day if that is all the sooner you can get to it but PLEASE get it done.
Chairman Alloway is considering putting HB451, our Blood Tracking Bill, on the agenda for passage next Wednesday, December 4th, but it will only happen if the other committee members express their support for HB451 to Chairman Alloway in advance. Thats why you need to contact all committee members right now and ask them to support HB451 and request it be put on the agenda.

Get any of your interested friends and relatives to write as well. The more the better. With enough hunter interest and support this may actually happen finally this year.

Here is a list of all the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee email addresses. Just address your email, "Dear Senator" and BCC copy it to them all.
Write your own letter or use the Sample below but please just write and do it immediately. There is no time to waste.
alloway@pasen.gov wdando@pasenate.com cmcilhinney@pasen.gov jscarnati@pasen.gov lbaker@pasen.gov mbrubaker@pasen.gov jcorman@pasen.gov rrobbins@pasen.gov boscola@pasenate.com brewster@pasenate.com SenatorSmith@pasenate.com

Sample letter:
Dear Senator,
I am very happy to hear that Chairman Alloway is considering putting HB451, the Leashed Blood Tracking Dog Bill, on the December 4, 2013 Senate Game and Fisheries Committee meeting agenda for passage out of committee. I support the legalization of leashed blood tracking dogs here in PA and I hope you do as well.

I ask that you let Chairman Alloway know that you are in favor of HB451 and you would like to see it come up for a vote at the upcoming committee meeting.

The legalization of the use of leashed blood tracking dogs for the recovery of wounded deer and bear has been rapidly spreading across the country for the last 10 years. All the major PA sportsman’s clubs (PFSC, UBP, NWTF, USP, QDMA) support HB451. The PGC has supported HB451 with a resolution and Governor Corbett on the advice of the Governors Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation supports the bill as well. With all this support I hope now will be the time to finally pass this bill. I hope you can help.

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We did not need a tracking dog to find Johns doe

We finally have some venison to feed this human and canine family! Yesterday afternoon John shot a nice mature doe on our property, and it was a perfect shot. She ran 50 yards from the hit site and expired right away. We brought Kunox and did the short track with him. He really liked the doe but showed no sign of possessiveness towards us. Good boy Kunox! 

Then we brought two pups, Volt and Luna, and let them find the doe too. Volt was much more aggressive towards the deer than Luna was, and even though he was fine with us he really did not like Luna to be too close to "his" deer. 

Mielikki got to inspect the doe too.

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Blood Tracking Dogs and Snow

Alain Ridel, who lives  at Mont Carmel between the St Lawrence River and the State of Maine, is a long time tracker with a brilliant wirehaired dachshund that he imported from France as a puppy. He has been an active in the Quebec handlers association, ACCSQ,  and he is also a member of UBT.

Alains specialty  is tracking wounded moose, but he also tracks whitetails. This story supports our American ideas about tracking a scent line under snow cover. However, we would all agree that it is a major achievement to track a wounded deer when six inches of snow have fallen on the line.

By Alain Ridel 

Is it possible for  a blood tracking dog, especially a dachshund, to find a deer after a good snow fall? The answer is YES.

My dog Théo, who is six and a half years old, proved this to me on November 3, 2014. I had already taken several deer calls with Théo after a good snowfall, but we had never been able to recover the animal, and this left me with doubts about the capability of a dog to follow and find a wounded big game animal in the snow.

Monday, November 3 at 11:15 AM, I got a call to track a deer that had been shot the previous day at 3 PM. The hunters had waited an hour, and then they had taken off to track their game. Unfortunately they jumped him  at 180 meters from the hit site, and because darkness was coming (its dark at 4:30) they decided to wait until the next day despite the fact that snow was predicted overnight.

Tuesday morning, when they woke up, six inches of snow had fallen. In spite of this, they decided to go back to the woods in order to find the deer. They had found blood and  also stomach contents in the bed where they had jumped the deer. Despite three hours of searching by three people, they had found no sign of this wounded deer. There were only numerous tracks in the snow made by other deer that had roamed around all night long. They decided to call me. So I found myself out in the woods in a six inch+ layer of snow, and I was there to find a deer that had been wounded nearly 24 hours earlier.

When I started Théo at the hit site, the only place that the hunters had marked, he stuck his nose, and practically his whole head, down into the snow; after several minutes he took off on scent line, which only he could figure out because there was no visual sign that I could use to confirm that he was on the right line. But as usual when we tracked together, I accepted the fact that Théo is better in these matters than I am, and I had full confidence in him.

Obviously this search took place without much of a track to follow, but at every bit of remaining   scent, I could read my dog like a book. He would enthusiastically plunge his head down into the snow, and as I followed  10 meters behind, I could hear him breathing in the scent of that deer.

The first 180 meters to the deers bed, from which he had been jumped the day before, took 25 minutes.  Théo showed the bed to me as he scraped down to the ground where blood and stomach contents were still visible. Two other times he dug down to the earth and showed me blood on the soil that he had uncovered. With the  snow often coming up to his chest, Théo  also had to contend with fresh deer tracks everywhere, but he was never  distracted and never left his line. The area was also tracked up by the hunters, who had searched, but that did not bother him either.

After an hour and 55 minutes, he found the buck dead, half buried in snow, on the edge of a lake. He had traveled 1,315 meters.

Summary

The search took place 24 hours after the shot.

There was more than six inches of snow.

The temperature was -8 Celsius,  17.6 Fahrenheit.

There were numerous  deer tracks in the snow.

The search lasted for an hour an 55 minutes.

French version: Les Chiens de Sang et la Neige?

Est-il possible à un chien de sang et, particulièrement à un teckel de retrouver un chevreuil  après une bonne chute de neige?

La réponse est : OUI

Mon chien Théo, âgé de 6 ans et demi m’en a fourni la preuve le lundi  le 3 novembre 2014.  J’avais déjà effectué plusieurs recherches avec Théo après une chute de neige abondante mais, nous n’avions jamais pu récupérer l’animal blessé, ce qui me laissait un doute sur la capacité d’un chien de sang à suivre et retrouver un gibier blessé dans la neige.

Lundi, le 3 novembre, à 11h15 , le téléphone sonne pour une recherche sur un chevreuil qui a été tiré le dimanche, 2 novembre à 15h., les chasseurs ont attendu une heure, puis sont partis a la recherche de leur gibier.  Malheureusement, ils l’ont relevé à 180 mètres de l’anchuss et comme la nuit allait tombée (il fait nuit à 16h30), ils ont décidé d’attendre le lendemain pour poursuivre leur recherche malgré  de la neige annoncée pour la nuit.

Lundi matin à leur réveil, il avait tombé 6 pouces (15cm) de neige, malgré cela, ils ont décidé de retourner en forêt pour essayer de retrouver ce chevreuil car, sur la couche du cerf relevé le soir d’avant, ils avaient trouvé à part du sang, du fumier de panse.  Malgré 3heures  de recherches à 3 personnes, ils n’avaient vu aucun indice de ce chevreuil blessé à part de nombreuses pistes dans la neige de chevreuils qui avaient voyagé toute la nuit. Ils ont donc décidé de m’appeler, et je me suis retrouvé  en pleine forêt avec une couche de neige de + 6 pouces  à la recherche d’un chevreuil qui avait été blessé il y avait presque 24h00.

Suite à la dépose de Théo à l’anchuss (seul endroit de la recherche que les chasseurs avaient marqué) celui-ci commença en mettant son museau et pratiquement toute la tête dans la neige, et au bout de quelques minutes il parti clairement sur une voie qu’il était seul à comprendre car il n’y avait aucun indice visuel pour nous confirmer qu’il était sur la bonne voie, mais comme en recherche, je pars du principe que Théo est meilleur que moi, je lui aie fait entièrement confiance

Évidemment, cette recherche  c’est déroulée avec beaucoup de perte de  voie, mais à chaque fois je lisais mon chien comme un livre ouvert et celui-ci replongeait gaiement la tête dans la neige, et nous qui étions à une dizaine de mètres (30 pieds) derrière lui, nous l’entendions inspirer tous les sentiments de ce chevreuil,

Le premier 180 mètres jusqu’à la couche où le chevreuil avait été relevé le jour d’avant a été atteinte en 25 minutes et Théo nous l’a montré en grattant la neige jusqu’au niveau de la terre où le sang et le fumier du chevreuil se trouvaient encore.  Deux autres fois (drapeau rouge) il creusa la neige et à chaque fois il y avait du sang sur le sol découvert.  Avec de la neige souvent plus haute que ses pattes, des pistes de chevreuils fraîches (Théo n’a jamais pris un change) de nombreuses traces de pas (les chasseurs dans leur recherche) ,   il retrouva ce cerf mort sur le bord d’un lac à moitié enseveli par la neige au bout de 1h55 de travail sur une distance de 1315 mètres.

Pour résumer la recherche :

-    - recherche effectuée 24heures après le tir,
-+ de 6 pouces  de neige au sol,   
- température de -8 degré,
- nombreuses pistes de chevreuils dans la neige,
- durée de la recherche  1H 55 minutes .                                            
  

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Not all wounded deer can be recovered even if you use a tracking dog

Time to get back to the topic of tracking dogs because we really fell behind with our blogging and emails. I apologize to all our contributors and those who are still waiting for our replies.

We received this letter from Judy Catrett on December 10. As you recall Judy lives in Georgia where it is legal to track with a dog off-leash. Mossy (aka Viola von Moosbach-Zuzelek) is an eight-month-old daughter of Tommy and Tuesday. Thank you Judy!

Just a note to let you know how Mossy is progressing.  We have now started doing a fair amount of tracking for hunters other than those that are guests of the plantation which Craig manages.  I had read Johns books, Dead On!  and Tracking Dogs for Wounded Deer prior to tracking season, but have found myself using them as a reference after several tracks recently.  I am always wondering what we (Mossy and I) did not do when we were unable to retrieve a wounded deer--so I dig into the books hoping to obtain a little more knowledge along with rethinking what we did and could have done differently on each track. 

Mossy Brooke continues to be an excellent tracker and her name has become well known around our little town and county as well as into some neighboring counties.  Since I last emailed you, we have been on several tracks that we were unable to find the deer.  One deer had a broken front leg--the hunter shot the deer straight on into the brisket area. Leg bone, a fragment of the bullet, and muscle tissue were found at the site of the shot.  Mossy and I arrived approx. 5 hours after the deer had been shot and after 2 inches of rain.  She immediately picked up the trail and actually jumped the deer within 100 yards of the last blood the hunter had found (this had been washed away by the time we arrived).  She was tracking off leash as she was in an area that was safe for her to do this and the briars were so thick and tall that it was almost impossible for me to keep her on leash.  I was 40 yards behind her when she bayed the deer. The deer immediately ran and she bayed it twice more during her trailing, for only a few seconds each time.   The deer had stopped bleeding and crossed 2 creeks during this tracking.  We trailed this deer for 1 1/2 miles and it was showing no signs of slowing down, so I stopped Mossy as I felt that this was another wound that would not slow the deer enough for us to retrieve it.

We had a similar experience with a buck that I think was shot above the spine and stunned for a few minutes.  This was the second buck that we have tracked this year with this type of injury.  Mossy tracked it on leash for over 1 mile. This track was 11 hours old when we arrived.  On arrival, she immediately picked up on the blood trail which dwindled to no blood within 150 yards.  She continued to pull strong on the leash throughout the entire track.  I finally had to stop her around midnight as this seemed to be a nonfatal injury with no bleeding being noted along the trail past the first 150 yards and I had to work the next day.

We then tracked a deer that was gut shot 24 hours previous to our arrival.  This deer was probably shot in the stomach as acorns and corn were noted at the shot site.  I certainly thought that this buck would be found.  There had been 2 to 3 inches of rain during the 24 hours that had passed since the shot.  She trailed the buck for approx. 1 to 1 1/4 miles total, off leash. She bayed the buck in a very thick pine thicket with terrible briars for a few seconds, but when the buck heard me coming it ran.  Mossy trailed it to a large pond which neither she nor I could cross.  The hunters (age 12) father owned this land and decided that there was no easy way to get to where the buck may have gone if he was able to cross the water and that he would watch for a floating deer or buzzards in the next few days.  This is one track that I am still puzzled over.  I certainly thought that the deer would be in the edge of the water and that the wound would be significant enough that Mossy and I could catch up with the deer.  I am still mulling this over in my head trying to decide what should have been done differently.

Craig took Mossy on a track in which the deer was tracked for 1 1/2 miles.  She was on leash on this track and Craig did not have a gun as the hunter was carrying a rifle and going with them.  After 3/4 mile, Mossy walked into a briar thicket and actually put her nose on the deers hip.  The deer was still alive --shot through the flank areas (gut shot)--and it stood up when Mossy touched it.  The hunter had been unable to keep up with Craig and Mossy in the briars and when Craig had to yell for him to come with the gun, the deer ran another 3/4 of a mile at which time Craig had to stop tracking due to property lines.  Craig has not tracked as much as I have and did not realize the importance of being self sufficient and having his own gun.  A lesson well learned he said after being dragged through 1 1/2 miles of briars by Mossy.

I am realizing that wounded bucks will let Mossy Brooke get fairly close to them and they will have a stand off with her if they still have enough life left in them to possibly survive. This I think occurs because of her small size and bucks detecting her as not being threatening.  If I try to approach a buck with a wound that may not be fatal, it immediately bolts as soon as it detects a larger creature approaching.  It is almost impossible for me to get to the buck without making noise due to the thick vegetation and briars.  I would appreciate any feedback on how to handle these situations.  I think that this is one reason a lot of trackers in the south use larger dogs who actually catch the deer and keep them at bay until the person with a gun can get there.  Dont worry, I would never trade my Mossy Brooke for a larger dog.

Mossy Brooke is an awesome little dog with a love for tracking that cannot be described.  I consider myself very lucky to have her--for tracking and more so as a companion.   She is almost 8 months old and has now found a total of 26 deer (December 10).  

Hope you and John have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Judy

Mossy modeling her camo jacket with Erin prior to going hunting. Mossy stays in the car very quietly with her camo jacket when I take the kids hunting. I am also sending a picture of the buck that Erin killed on our hunt a couple of hours after this picture was taken. Mossy was not in the picture because Erin dropped the deer in its tracks. Mossy still had fun acting like she found it. All of the kids love Mossy as she does them. I take most of these kids turkey hunting in the spring also, so, if Mossy finds a deer for anyone, when they ask what they owe for her services, I request the favor of being able to bring one kid to their property for a turkey hunt next spring.  I am now having to keep a list of the places Mossy has earned us the opportunity to turkey hunt.  When I sit back and look at all Mossy has done here in Georgia--in addition to tracking wounded deer--I am overwhelmed. Introducing kids to hunting, the outdoors, and WHDs is awesome.

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How to train your experienced blood tracking dog a training report from Darren

This is a report from Darren Doran describing his latest training line for Theo. Regular readers of the blog are very familiar with this tracking team from New Jersey. Darren used a new design of tracking shoes, which is produced by Ray Holohan. We will have a separate post about them soon, when Ray is ready to start selling his product.

TRAINING LINE
The line is 1000 yds. long. This line was my first line using Ray Holohans buck shock tracking shoes. 4 oz. of blood was used. Blood, feet, and articles were from the same deer. The line will be 36 hrs. old when ran and is set in an area the County burned this spring. The soil is very sandy here. The vegetation is sparse due to the burn and the woods are mostly oak and pine. Visibility is good here and the over story is somewhat open. There are numerous 90’S and one backtrack and one wound bed. Three articles were used on this line and were made from deer skin about 2 X 1 stapled to a 4 inch by 1 inch diameter dried piece of stick.

TRAINING GOAL
The goal of this exercise is to work on article identification, stopping and re-starting on the line and the backtrack. I will also start this line as a controlled search and see how Theo does.

ACTUAL LINE
It was 71 degrees, overcast and humid this morning. I started Theo in a controlled search about 80 yds. from the line and about 50 yds. into it from the hit site. I asked him to search and “find the blood”. He worked nicely in a left to right forward arc until we hit the line. He took the line back towards the hit site and through it and began searching. He looped back to the line and took it back to the hit site and was about to pass through it again when I alerted him on it. He stopped and smelled the hair and turned around. I gave him a piece of meat and we started tracking.

I thought this was going to be harder for Theo but his tracking speed told me differently. We did numerous stops on the line and I would reward him with a piece of meat and give him water. He restarted nicely. He found the articles and these were too big for him to swallow. Articles in the past were small pieces of skin and hair that he would pick up, swallow and continue tracking so fast I was not able to reward him for finding them. He took all the turns but one perfectly. The one he missed only took a minute or so to require the line. His tracking speed also caused him to miss the wound bed. The backtrack took seven minutes to work out. This line took 33 minutes to finish and does not include the controlled search.

CONCLUSION
Theo did real well on this line. What I thought was going to be difficult was very easy for him. He handled the controlled search excellent. There was no mistaking his reaction when he hit the line. Stopping and re-starting was good. The larger articles got him to stop and be rewarded for finding them. The backtrack still needs work but is getting better. Theo has a natural tendency to search forward and away from the last scent. When he circles back he doesn’t always make his circles large enough to cross back over the line. He does handle and when asked to “search here” he will respond. I’ll repeat this line and add 12 hrs. to the age and see how he does.

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Third edition of Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer

We have been getting a lot of inquiries about the third edition of Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer and when it is going to be available. We expect it this summer. In the meantime you can add your email to our sign up form and we will notify you when it is out. To do so CLICK HERE.

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Happy Easter! Tuesdays puppies are one week old

This week has gone by so fast, and, again, I have found myself way behind with posts. Sorry about that as there is a lot to report.  Lets start with Tuesdays puppies, who are now one week old. They have already doubled their weight at birth:

Volt (lime) was 221 gr at birth, now 515 gr

Vincent (blue) was 232, now 470

Viola (pink) was 210, now 465

Vonnie (yellow)was 215, now 460

Vivica (red) was 232, now 470 gr

The first few days were a bit difficult as Tuesday was producing too much milk and puppies could not keep up with her "production".  She was uncomfortable, but this quickly passed and things have normalized.

Tuesday has a good appetite but she has not touched dry food yet. She has been living on raw venison, mixed with rice and egg, plus she drinks goat milk. Occasionally she gets several cubes of cheese. She turned out to be a superb mother, and so far she has been staying with the pups in the whelping box all the time. They are spotless clean. What I like about her that she not too possessive of her pups. She completely trusts us, and even if dogs bark outside my den, she does not get too upset about it

Happy Easter Everybody!

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The 2nd edition of Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer is out of print

Sorry for a long break from the blog but we had a serious snow storm a week ago or so and ended up without cable for five days. Now everything is back to normal, except for the amount of snow we have to deal with (around 20 inches or so). Anyway, in this post it is not the weather I would like to write about.

The second edition of Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer by John Jeanneney is sold out and now out of print. I know, this is not a very convenient timing as there is always a rush of orders around Christmas time. The fact is that a new, updated third edition should be out in late winter or in spring. It will have all the information from the second edition plus a lot of new info on dog training. Quite a few topics will be updated. If you need this book, you should wait.

Since now the supply and demand for the book are completely out of whack, online book dealers operating through amazon.com and ebay sell second hand copies for $400-800. Dont be a fool and dont buy it at this price. Just wait. In the meantime read articles on the www.unitedbloodtrackers.org and search this blog for topics of your interest. A lot of info is available online free of charge!

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Workshop for handlers and their blood tracking dogs The UBT Trackfest 2014

This report is long overdue but as they say, its better later than never. The official report was written by Cheri Faust and it can be found underneath my remarks (thank you Cheri!).

In the middle of May I (Jolanta) flew to North Carolina to participate in the Annual Trackfest held by United Blood Trackers. Because at the time we had a litter of pups and because some of our dogs have "special" needs (like 15-year-old Asko), it was not possible for both of us to go. This time was my turn. I really enjoyed the trip, and it was so good to meet finally trackers that had never had a chance to meet in person. Of course, a chance to work with good friends was a great attraction too.

A big thank you goes to Kirk Vaughan from Chapel Hill, NC, who found the great place to host this workshop and made possible that all our needs were met. You are never going to meet anybody more dedicated to blood tracking than Kirk. Of course, his wife Barbara Fields was there too helping whenever she could. And I got to meet mac, Kirk tracking dog, who is a beagle/walker mix.

Barbara Fields and Kirk Vaughan, who is holding Mac.

By Cheri Faust

The United Blood Trackers held Trackfest 2014 at the J. Robert Gordon Sandhills Field Trial Grounds near Hoffman, North Carolina, May 17-19.

Participants started gathering on Friday to renew acquaintances and make new ones.  Those who arrived early had the special treat of watching Andy Bensing and his superstar tracking dog, Eibe, attempt the first running of the UBT III test. The UBT III demonstrates the ability to resolve situations often encountered on natural tracks. The test is designed to be challenging and fun. Each test is likely to be unique, and handling teams may wish to take the test on multiple occasions. 

Andys track was about 1000 yards in length, four hours in age and was laid using just 3 ounces of blood and tracking shoes.  The track included a directional challenge (a three ring spiral), a surface challenge (an area of the pine plantation had recently been burned and the ground was heavily charred) and a distraction (thanks, Alan, for picking up that road killed armadillo!)  We were all impressed with how steadily and easily Andy and Eibe handled the track.

Andy Bensing and his wirehaired dachshund Eibe at the start of the UBT III test. 

Cheri Faust was judging the test and Al Wade was a track layer. They followed Andy pretty close while observers were further behind. The picture shows well the kind of terrain we were dealing with - very sandy.

Cheri congratulates Andy upon successful completion of the test. the test was not easy and Eibe had to work hard on carrying the line.

Over the course of the following two days, 32 participants received a variety of hands-on training and classroom presentations from the 11 UBT “staff” members in attendance. 

UBT Staff: from the left Cheri faust, Al Wade, Susanne Hamilton, Chris Morris, Jolanta Jeanneney, Andy Bensing, Marlo Ondrej, Larry Gohlke, Kirk Vaughan, Kyle Stiffler and Sean Timmens.

The Hit Site Seminar presented on Saturday was an especially big “hit”.  The seminar followed the format described in our post from June 2013.

 

The Hit Site Evaluation Seminar ended with participants examining several sites for signs of wounded deer such as blood, bone fragments, hair etc. In real tracking situations when a handler is asked to track a wounded deer or bear, he starts at a hit site and by careful examination of all the signs left by a wounded animal he has to reconstruct what had happened and come up with a tracking strategy for the specific situation.

The Hit Site Evaluation seminar has become a very important part of Trackfests as it is an excellent educational tool for trackers and hunters. Just recently Cliff Shrader from Louisiana wrote: 

This past Sunday at Hunters For The Hungry Louisiana, I put on a small Hit Site Evaluation display. I set up several mock hit sites simulating what a hunter would find when he checked his shot on a deer. This is like Deer Hunters CSI. This form of education has never been seen in our area before and was very well received. I didnt count the number of people that went through it but it must have been over 40 people. Each and everyone that went through it had very positive things to say. Thank you Andy Bensing, Larry Gohlke and Alan Wade for the evaluation that you put on in May as I was able to pass this education on!

...... to be continued

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