How to Train Your Dog to Track Wounded Deer

Hello Daniel, No, you are training him to track a certain scent. If you use cow's blood, then you will be training him to track that scent instead of deer. You may want to check with your local deer processing place and see if you could buy some for them, explaining why you need it. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Noel, The main requirement to track deer is a good sense of smell - which is genetic. In addition to that it helps if the dog is eager to please, has good endurance, and is prey driven enough to stay focused on the task, plus he needs to not be afraid of deer when he finally comes across one. If the dog meets these requirements then the breed doesn't matter. Some breeds will be genetically more suited for the job than others. Since your dog is a Terrier and Beagle mix there is a good chance that he has a good sense of smell and will be interested in tracking. Some breeds like Pugs wouldn't be suited for the job because of their short snout. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Jon, That will depend a lot on your dog's nose and level of interest when you start the training. It is likely not too late to start training though. Starting the training when a dog is a puppy simply encourages the dog's excitement and interest in the training more, plus the puppy hasn't learned any bad habits, like chasing squirrels, yet. It might mean a little more work, but if your dog shows interest in the training and has a good nose for scent --which is genetic, then you should be able to start right now. I suggest simply picking one of the methods from the article that I commented on and jumping right in with him to see if he begins to pick it up: https://wagwalking.com/training/track-wounded-deer Don't expect instant results. It often takes several repetitions for a dog to get excited about the training and interested enough in the scents, but if he has a nose for the work he should start picking it up with training. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Lance, If he has been well socialized, is good at using his nose, and already has some basic obedience skills, he likely isn't too old to learn. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Thank you for the question. This is not my field of expertise; you can start by looking at a website like this: http://www.buckeyetrackingclub.org/. Contact them for information. As well, we do have these guides that may help: https://wagwalking.com/training/hunt, https://wagwalking.com/training/track, and https://wagwalking.com/training/find-antler-sheds. Take Siri through all of the obedience level classes so that excellent recall is fine tuned, to avoid your dog getting lost when tracking. Enjoy your puppy!

Hello Robert, Because of the nature of what you are going to be teaching, you will want her to know when it's time to work and when it's not time to work, so I do suggest using different equipment than what you normally use for walks. A bell might be enough but to be safe I would probably have a different harness. Also, what type of harness do you use for walking her? If that harness is a front clip or no-pull harness, you also will want something different for tracking - such as a padded back clip harness - more like what's used in search and rescue. Don't worry about the length of your question. Detail help me give a better answer. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Kaci, I would see how good her scenting ability is and how interested in scent work she seems, to decide. Practice hiding treats and encouraging pup to find - show pup where they are the first few times while giving a finding command. See how pup does when they are not shown where they are (keep locations easy at first). Hide a treat under one of three to five different identical cups, and see if pup can sniff out which has the treat. Hide somewhere close by and have another person give pup a finding command and take pup to you. Practice several times until pup learns the command, then see if pup can find you on their own. Don't make these exercises too difficult at first, while pup is still learning the games - but notice whether pup tries to use their nose to locate, or only depends on other senses. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello! I have heard of people having lots of success using tanned hide. So you shouldn't have any problems. The company Dog Bone Hunter sells processed and preserved deer hides that work really well.