I have a 10 month old bloodhound, and I want to train him to track deer and hunt raccoons or squirrels. Beyond the basic training any dog should have, whether a pet or a dog who will get specialized training for a specific purpose what, specifically, should I do to train my dog to track deer and hunt other, smaller game?
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Welcome to the Outdoors Stack Exchange. The answer to this is an obvious "Yes". How you would train a dog for this is possibly off-topic here, but may be on-topic at the Pets Stack Exchange. If you have no experience in dog training, you would be best to find a local person with similar interests to help you with this as it isn't something that is necessarily easy.– bob1Commented Oct 31 at 23:19
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3As I said in my answer, this question belongs here, not on pets. It is an outdoorsy question. A pet owner who is not a hunter would have no advantage in answering this question, as I have modified it.– ab2Commented Nov 1 at 0:47
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1 Answer
The techniques for training a dog to track game come after the basic obedience training that any dog, including a pet dog, should receive to be a good citizen. But each special role for a dog, e.g., show dog, cadaver dog, support dog, has a different special training regime
My Answer, from the website of the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and quoting Virginia DWR officer Sgt Koloda:
The first thing to keep in mind about deer tracking dogs is that the breed really doesn’t make any difference,” he said. “What counts most is a dog having intelligence, perseverance, a good nose, and a desire to please his owner and the courage to go up mountains or through briars or whatever it takes to find a deer.”
When I was field-dressing my Botetourt doe, Sgt. Koloda asked for the liver so that he could use it in the training of his canine. Bahouth also uses this organ.
“To start a dog’s training, all you need is a drag rope and a liver from a deer or some other animal as the smell is so strong,” he said. “The first time, drag the liver non-stop for some 50 yards and reward the dog with a treat when he finds it. Next, progressively lengthen the trail, pick up the liver for stretches at a time, and then put more and more twists and turns in the trail.
“You should also begin to periodically put down drops of blood—again from a deer or some other mammal—so the dog can get used to scenting blood. The goal is to continually make the trail longer and harder to follow, eventually doing away with the liver and maybe only having a drop of blood every 10 to 15 yards in a long, twisting trail,” said Bahouth.
The website continues with further advice on scent training.
I will edit the OP's question to conform to our standards.
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1I am very surprised that organs or blood would train a dog in what is needed, given that they form no part of the 'normal' trail of a deer. I suppose it is simply to get the dog used to tracking anything at all? At the same time, I also have to wonder how having a dog would help, wouldn't it make so much noise the deer would hear and be spooked? As for squirrels, I've had dogs in the past that went after rabbits and ground squirrels on its own, raccoons though would concern me, they can be very effective at fighting back. Commented Nov 1 at 15:29
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2I like this answer, it is informative, I learned something and it points to more resources. Agree too with questioning the desirability about moving to SE.Pets. However, that paragraph would fit better at the end, with the actual answer leading. IMHO. Commented Nov 1 at 17:29
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1AFAIK the trained dog can scent a recent trail from the crushed vegetation and broken stems, which emit an odour that is detectable (by a dog). Without the quarry dripping blood. Commented Nov 2 at 18:04