Tracking Dog Breed
Whitetail Deer
Planning on getting a new pup in the next 1 - 2 years. Thinking on getting another lab. Since near retirement would also like to train new pup on blood tra tracking for friend and family. Not looking at spending big bucks on a dog maybe $400-600. What breed do you use or have you used?
One of my Canadian guides had a Lab tracking dog- worthless.
BesidesHounds which are a PITA, I think the little terrier breeds, wirehair dachshund or other small nose to the ground breed seems to be the go to. Bird dogs and retrievers are typically head up dogs. I think you want a head down nose to the ground dog.
I would look for parents that are good trackers …more so than the breed.
One of the best deer tracking dogs I ever saw was a Jack Russell. Roy Hindes in South Texas probably has the best in the United States.
I'd look into the german versatile breeds. I have a deutsch drahthaar that I'm currently training on blood, as well as upland and waterfowl. More $, but they're 3 or 4 dogs in one if you invest your time into training them.
My camp neighbor has a Bavarian Mountain Hound. We put him on a doe yesterday. He did great.
I might be prejudiced but the JRT is what I would get. Sarge has found every deer I put him on and a bunch of hogs too. He found most of the hogs the next morning because we don’t track big boars at night.
If I could kill enough or train better/consistently this little guy would be an absolute killer. He is just OK as is, but fun to have along.
—jim
drycreek is he winking at us, or was that the results of a night track on a big hog.?
This is a good old thread on blood tracking dogs.
Thanks guys for taking the time to help out. Mark
Cat, he’s one eyed. That is a result of diabetes. In a matter of two weeks time he went completely blind, I had to put him on a leash to take him out to pee. He had his cataracts removed and lenses put in but the right eye kept rejecting it and the ophthalmologist said the eye needed to be removed. It got so badly infected I thought we would lose him but one day it just started getting better and in a matter of days the infection was gone. He’s 13 years old now, and slowly going blind in the other eye but he can still track me wherever I go in the house ! I’m sure he can still find a deer but since I’m old and decrepit, and no longer bowhunt, I don’t track them anymore. If I can’t drive something to ‘em, I leave ‘em alone !
Sounds like a loving family for him! Way to go!
Photo taken today... This is Elsa, she is a 5-year old "Teckel", from German bloodlines, specifically developed for bloodtrailing wounded game... When a chance, will explain a little background...
The high power tracking team around my area uses labs. I’ve seen them work a couple times and they are certainly impressive.
Say hello to miss Lucy
Say hello to miss Lucy
Lucy's sire is a professional deer tracking hound
Lucy's sire is a professional deer tracking hound
She's already showing great interest and desire at 13 weeks old
She's already showing great interest and desire at 13 weeks old
I'm no expert on the subject but here's my opinion. Go to the liver shot deer thread and look at the pic of the professional trackers dog. It's a bloodhound. Will other breads track deer absolutely. Will other breeds than a beagle run a rabbit you bet. Do police use breads other than German shepherds,sure. Dobermans aren't the only guard dogs. And I'm sure some use something other than retrievers to fetch ducks & geese. But if you REALLY WANT THE BEST. I'd recommend a dog breed that's specificly bred for the intended task.
I know some of the little terrier or doxen type dogs are great trackers but dogs I have to worry about stepping on just aren't my thing.... I had 2 Chesapeake bay retrievers that found plenty of deer. I've wanted a deer tracking dog for quite a while. I rarely waterfowl hunt these days so this is my choice of a deer tracking dog.
blackbear62 - It's all about bloodline pedigree and training.... If you're interested in a bloodline of smaller tracker and have a year or more to wait, may want to contact the breeder of the Teckels, I'd heard she had a waiting list, although I personally never spoke with her but I do have her contact info... My Teckel is from that bloodline and I got Elsa at 8-weeks old from a fellow bowhunter over on a traditional site named Shaun and his friend Ryan Rothhaar who had the sire Oskar... Those two got their dogs together and had a litter of pups, and I was fortunate enough to get the last pup from the litter of 4... I believe it was the only litter those two produced...
Here's a link from over on the LeatherWall of Ryan talking about his tracking Teckel Oskar:
https://leatherwall.bowsite.com/TF/lw/thread2.cfm?threadid=226921&category=88#3047623
"This IS NOT your Grandma's doxie! Our Oskar is 100% a working dog - he has extreme prey drive - it is bred into him - and he NEEDS to hunt. We have been dog people all our lives and Oskar is a new level of animal for us. Amazing. This bloodline is not for everyone - this is a dog you have to use and work with or he will get bored fast. If you are willing to put in the time and effort, though, these dogs can be something really special. Oskar turned 2 last month and in his first 2 deer seasons he found 19 deer. We are planning to take the German blood tracking test next spring and if there is an issue it will be handler related, not dog related."
Here's a link to a recovery of a nice buck my pup's mother found for Ryan's dad Roger:
https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=77936.60
I've haven't had my Teckel bred yet, but if you have time to wait, I'm planning on retiring this spring and probably having her bred sometime late next year... I just need to find the right stud dog...
Lucy looks mighty expensive!
i have a german Jagd Terrier that is i trained to track deer. she does a great job and has proven herself very reliable and if the deer is dead she will find it. i have tracked gut shot deer miles after the hunters pushed them. a good game recovery dog is priceless... i use a gamin Alpha dog traning / GPS collar, i highly recommend this!
African PHs seem to like Jack Russels from my experience.
Lucy was not that expensive $600.00 AKC registered shots & wormed. The drive from VA to Georgia added to the cost but I enjoy a road trip every now & then.
Breed isn't that important. Traceability, calm demeanor and intelligence are. It occurs to me that I'd never be a good tracking dog.
I have had excellent experience with beagles tracking deer. I had one that neighbors would borrow from time to time. He could find the deer very quickly. When not tracking deer they are great for rabbit hunting too. The last one I had would tree squirrels and would watch them go from tree to tree. They will also jump turkeys out of the thick stuff.
Thanks guys. Hey Timex, did you get Lucy from a breeder? Any information you would care to pass along would be appreciated. Mark
Lucy was not from a breeder. I found her on the fb group. Bloodhound puppies & dogs in the eastern states. The bitch was just a family dog but the sire is a proven tracking dog. The sire's owner has a fb page. Southern charm bloodhounds. I feel I got a good deal at $600 as most are $800 to 1k.
Lots of folks are using Ladner Blackmouth Curs.
Damn Timex that actually is very cheap! She’s a beauty hope she works out for you.
Those Jack Russels are crazy though man, a person has to have a lot of patients to keep them under control.... Had a couple buddies than had one, personally would never own one, those hyper breeds take a LOT of work... BUT, there is nothing funner than a 6-pack, a laser and a Jack Russel...8^)))
Pic from yesterday
Pic from yesterday
I’m with Zbone, hard to beat a Dachshund (Teckel) with the right bloodline, I have a 5 week old litter of 7 currently with a few not spoken for. The Sire and Grandsire come directly from Yury Yury’s Ancient Gladiator Hunting Dog Kennel in Moscow Russia.
Introduced them to deer scent yesterday, they all seem to have excellent prey drive, regardless of breed this is probably the most important factor when choosing a blood tracking dog.
Those are some awesome looking dogs Sam.
We have a beagle that I have done some work with. Not enough I'll admit but she has a nose on her and a natural drive. She's been on a couple recoveries. I wish I would have taken more time with her when she was younger. She has what it takes but she has a tendency to lose focus in areas with lots of deer or at a bear bait where many animals are coming through. Hard to know for sure if she is on the right one. She has her own opinion on what we should be doing at times......
Thanks Matt, beagles are great trackers, just tough to slow them dow, work with the dog on lead a bit. Don’t get discouraged about the dogs age, I didn’t train my first Dachshund until she was two, she took right to it and became an incredibly competent tracker, she actually made me look like I knew what I was doing.
Many breeds make great trackers. Just remember unless you are hunting 9 months a year your tracking dog will be more pet than a tool. We always used Labs, with great results, and in fact I’m picking up my next lab puppy in December.
She will get some learning time in this season by watching the other labs track and will start going on some short tracks.
Let the games begin!!
Good looking pups Sam, thanks for sharing...
Really like the black and tan second from the left in the line up photo, would make a good looking brace with my dog...8^)
Curious the mother and father's colors, and I assume they are both standard size smooth hairs?
So far so good with Lucy. I've been taking a small piece of paper towel with deer blood and dragging it around the yard with a piece of hotdog or deer liver at the end and she's nose to the ground straight to it she's the first hound I've ever owned and is a little skittesh compared to the retrievers I've owned and she loves deer feet. She keeps dragging them into the house. My wife is not happy about that
Wally. Beagle Terrier
Wally. Beagle Terrier
This is Wally. Unfortunately he passed away this year at 12 but what he could do was amazing. He was a beagle/fox terrier mix. He was impressive. At 2 years old he could follow only 3 ounces of blood dripped over a quarter mile! As soon as I said the words “track em up” that dudes nose would hit the ground. Cool thing to consider about beagle mixes is that they sound off based on how hot the trail is. If he was off lead I could tell when he was close just from the excitement in his yip’s on the track and if it got easy for him he would automatically switch to air scent and cover ground fast. If he found one he would beagle bawl a sound that he only made when finding something. I don’t think you can teach that. It was cool to see
Beagles are incredible trackers. Basically a small hound. Easy to train and they make great pets too.
There’s a guy near me that tracks deer for lots of people. He has a German Shorthair. I find them to be great trackers too but they’re too hyper for me as a pet.
Probably not in the price range, but take a look at Deutscher Wachtelhund. ( German Spaniel)
Thanks for the replies guys. Have been spending time looking at recommdations. Mark
Lab, beagle, or a Jack Russell would be the ones I'd consider. If you watch any safari videos they always have jrt's for the track.
Little know breed but wonderful tracker and companion is the Texas Blue Lacy. Accounts for hundreds of recoveries in Alabama and Georgia. Sam here is 9 months old and weighs in at 45 pounds.
Little know breed but wonderful tracker and companion is the Texas Blue Lacy. Accounts for hundreds of recoveries in Alabama and Georgia. Sam here is 9 months old and weighs in at 45 pounds.
Anybody here happen to get one of Sam's Dachshund (Teckel) pups above?
Lucy has turned into a fine looking dog.
This is Phoebe our newest. Hope to get her a little experience this year.
Zbone, All the pups went to hunting households but my big brindle boy went to a young lady in western Louisiana, she has put so much effort into him and they have already earned their UBT level 1 certification. A fella in Kansas got another male who already has one recovery this year. I may try to take a doe this weekend at the house just to give the pup we kept a chance at a real recovery, she has been infallible in training. Thanks for asking about them, I did have a few bowsiters interested, Mark Bruher was nearly one of them.
Mom and daughter
Mom and daughter
Sam. Where at in Ks did the dog go?
One year old 13th of this month starting its first season. We will see. Lots of clients so probably get lots of learning
One year old 13th of this month starting its first season. We will see. Lots of clients so probably get lots of learning
That's a good looking one too.
KSRancher
Wellsville I believe
Sam - Sounds like you had a good litter...
Which one is Mom? Black and tan?
ZBone…correct B&T is the Mom, the pup is Vanna.
That’s a beautiful lab Rob. I love those boxy heads !
Thanks Don. She is shaping up but typical Lab at a year old. Pretty girl though Oakley.
Thanks Sam. I was hoping it would be close to me in case we needed it. But that's 250 miles away
Couldn't agree more LoPro!
Our Fletcher is 2.5 now and he's been a great pet and solid tracker so far. Can't say I've done crazy work with him, but he's been on 15-20 tracks each of the past two years and can wait to get him on another one here soon!
I used to hunt with a guy that owned a german shepherd that was awesome at tracking deer. Problem was that when she found it I couldn't go near it because it was her deer until the owner showed up and even then he had to lure it off with a dog biscuit.
This Wally....he is a grand champion confirmation dog and pretty fair tracker in his own right. He would rather be in the woods and fields than in the show ring.
Skyye is a blue tic hound. We rescued her from a bear hunter. She didn't pass bear school. Similar to Lucy the nose is always working. She patrols our yard every morning checking out the smells from the night before. Every night when I get home from work she gives my hands a quick sniff when she meets me in the driveway.
Would think any breed from the sporting or hound group could be taught to blood track, it's in their blood...
For a few years I bred and whelped around 10 litters of lapdog pups, had a Yorkie stud (bought and raised from a puppy), and a female Yorkie-Poo (bought and raised from a puppy), which I had her bred to a Maltase and kept the female pup Malti-Poo... So then had 2 adult females and an adult male lapdog in the house, all under 8 pounds... I had puppies coming out my ears, either I had little puppies at the time trying to sell or give away and usually had the other female pregnant ready to whelp another litter... I remember one Christmas dinner had the family over and a pair got locked up... Talk about embarrassing...8^) This went on for four or five years until finally I said, enough is enough, had ran out of relatives to give puppies too and people to buy them, and finally got the male snipped...8^) Looking back on it, I got a lot of enjoyment from those dogs and puppies... All three were within a year of age and all three passed last year within 5 months, I miss them... The Malti-Poo was the first puppy I ever bobbed the tail minutes old and she died in my arms 13 years later after having to put her down... Talk about a tear jerker...8^((( Am still not quite over it...
Anyhow the point I was trying to make before reminiscing, all three of those lapdogs together would occasionally trap a groundhog or coon in the yard... They would surround the quarry in like a triangle barking up a storm snipping at the rear which ever had the opportunity and they did that naturally without me ever teaching them a thing... Of course they were too small to kill critters that size, but corralling like that was instinctive... Kinda reminded me of seeing wild African dogs on film... But when it came to their nose, I never actually seen them scent track a thing... I tried to train a couple to blood trail when they were puppies, but they had little interest in it and I gave up the training, they just did not have that tracking drive...
That was the reason I went with to a proven tracking/hunting breed and bought a Dachshund (Teckel) with proven pedigree... Her hunt drive is phenomenal... Her little short legs catches chipmunks all the time...8^) She'll tree a squirrel and sit at the bottom of the tree staring up for over 2 hours to the point I have to call her away, that is how strong her hunt drive is...
She's now 6 years old and I am looking for a smooth black and tan Teckel stud dog to breed her so I can get a pup out of her before she's too old to breed... Anybody knows of such a stud, please send me a message... Thanks...
Bella with buck she tracked 1000 plus yards.
Bella with buck she tracked 1000 plus yards.
Any breed can do it. Dog just has to have the ability to do it like others have stated in previous posts. My tracking dog is a golden retriever named Bella.
I’ve watched many Jack Russels track in Africa. They are an unstoppable tracking breed. My niece trains malinois for human tracking and they too are an amazing tracking dog. I’m guessing there are multiple breeds that will fit your needs. Training will probably be very important. Good luck!
