Tracking Dogs now legal in PA
Pennsylvania
The bill passed today to make the use of leashed tracking dogs legal in PA.
Goody, can't wait to train my pitbull :)
Wonderful. Been retraining my Drahthaar since last Oct. because I heard this was in the wind.
Word of caution; The chances of successful recovery with a tracking dog decrease dramatically if you contaminate the area with your scent (and the scent of your buddies helping you) by continuing to search the area after blood trail is lost. Best to mark last obvious blood sign and exit area, then contact dog ASAP.
LMBO Joe! : )
But seriously, that is GREAT news! Hopefully will result in increased recovery rates of deer.
I think this will definitely be a plus for PA. I can think of a few deer over the last decade on our farm and the neighbors that we would have had much better odds recovering with a dog. Sometimes bad shots just happen.
I'm not too worried about more "unethical" shots. If you've been in the woods during the PA rifle season you are well aware of the running and poor shots being taken. In my county I'm aware of several "running deer" target shoots just before rifle opens up.
I am 100% in favor of this passing. I do not think that anyone is going to be more likely to take an unethical shot due to this. If someone is going to go to the trouble of getting a dog to help track a wounded deer then they are doing their due diligence to recover the animal and are most likely not an unethical hunter. I am very interested in possibly getting a dog for blood trailing purposes. This would be one more way to enjoy hunting and helping others.
This is amazing news for you guys in PA. It's an amazing asset. I've seen deer recovered that never would have been and deer that were recovered in minutes opose to hours of searching. I haven't seen any indication of it increasing unethical behavior in NY. Does anyone have a link to what the new law actually states ?
I think it will be good, I doubt that most of unethical shot takers will take the time to train a dog. Just wish my old pup was younger, he goes bonkers on a blood trail from a ground hog.
From: BOWJO 12-Mar-18 Goody, can't wait to train my pitbull :)
I shoot pit bulls in the woods!!!
Good job guys! Very happy for you. I am working on this for CT. NJ and PA so far this year alone!
I'll repeat what Skip said: Anyone have a link to the actual wording?
EDIT, found this on the United Blood Trackers site:
State: PA Pennsylvania- It is legal to make use of a leashed tracking dog to track a white-tailed deer, bear or elk in an attempt to recover an animal which has been legally killed or wounded during any open season for white-tailed deer, bear or elk. No special license is required. The hunter must simply follow the same hunting regulations that he would normally follow if tracking the animal without a dog. http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/
I did not find anything on the PA Game Commission site.
I am delighted! I actually just put a deposit on a Black Mouth Cur pup in Georgia before I knew about this. Plans had been to focus her on coons but bloodtracking had been in the back of my mind and just jumped to the front!
My future tracking dog . She should be able to get close to live ones too. She resembles a baby deer. lol but on a serious note I agree that sometimes this will be a great asset instead of losing a deer and it going to the coyotes
Okay we were shooting in the backyard and my wife mentioned how much she looked like a baby deer so I took white makeup and put a few spots on her.
Okay we were shooting in the backyard and my wife mentioned how much she looked like a baby deer so I took white makeup and put a few spots on her.
Put a blaze orange collar on that thing. LOL.
Ya need to learn HOW TOO post pictures.. They are always sideways..
lol I'm a little sideways
LOL! That's GREAT Art!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )
Bowkeven, that's a really cool little dog and I do believe it could walk right up to a deer.
Thanks Bill and that's funny Art
Just for fun.... Hes not the biggest... But whats he score? Im guessing 150"
Hell, Art, you should have entered her for scoring at the Big Game Classic.
She wont stand still long enough to get measured.
She wont stand still long enough to get measured.
