The 5x5 didnt even notice my trail in as he crossed it, but the big 6x6 sure did. He put his head down and smelled my tracks, turned and went back the way he just came
and elk or deer can probably smell at least that good.
Curious about your dog......If someone walks around just before a one hour rain, can your dog still pick up the track after the rain stops? If someone walks around after a rain, how long after the rain can your dog track it?
Opening evening of this past season, I had a dozen cows and calves that were within 5yds of my tree...half those within 3yds. Two cows even put their nose to my pack, trying to figure out what the heck it was. You'd have thought they were sniffing flowers. Absolutely zero reaction. This was approximately 20 minutes after I'd gotten into my stand.
All that said, who knows if at some point one or more have failed to come in that I never saw.
Once I just answered the call of nature and heard a bull bugle just down the trail I was beside. I quickly pulled up my pants and dodged to the side behind a tree. He literally stepped over the steaming pile of poo (literally...) and wad of TP without noticing, and carried on past me.
I was clearing shooting lanes and before I started, as always, grabbed some leaves from by my stand and "washed" my hands with them. Breaking leaves and rubbing all over to spread leaf scent and clear my scent off my hands. That night it rained hard.
Then next day while hunting I had a 1-1/2 year old buck walking by me and sniffing. He did not wind me. I could clearly see a branch I bent a broke still hanging down out of the way. He smelled right where I grabbed it and got scared.
Amazing.
She can smell blood and deer hoof scent 24 hours after a moderate rain, as long as the rain didn't cause major run off - the dog can still smell it and pin point it.
even under several inches of snow - the dog can still smell it with ease.
