Blood Trail Dogs For Sale During The Hunting Season

If you were to ask me when is the best time to buy a blood tracking dog and at what age, I would say buy a puppy during hunting season because that puppy's first taste of solid food is raw deer meat, and there is lots of opportunity to put the pup on fresh blood, and make a strong impression for the future tracking abilities of that dog in hunting seasons to come.

 

 

 Here is Cutty Dark the stud of the puppies below

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of Little Ann and Cutty Dark puppies learning early on that a blood trail leads to a belly full of venison

 

 

 

The black and tan above is a male and the blue leopard below is a female. I am asking $300 each for these 2 born 10/15/2012 

 

 

 

 

The puppies below are out of Ruby and Patch, born 10/17/2012 and I am asking $500 each

 

 

 

Here you can see one of my "methods" of laying out a blood trail during deer season. 

 

 

This is a milk jug hooked into my trailer hitch on the back of the pick up truck. And as much as I am a firm believer that the true blood trail dog training happens in the woods during deer season, the more you can use fresh(not frozen) deer blood during the hunting season to lay out scent trails in your yard or at the lease, or farm, I say do it!

 

I have friends and neighbors who regularly drop off ice chests full of heads, hides, legs, and a body cavity with heart and liver, for my blood trail dog training activities.

 

 

At least once or twice a week during hunting season, we lay out scent trails in different places and give everyone a chance to run down a scent line and gorge themselves at the gut pile.

 

 

If you are starting a new dog always give them treats at the kill site and especially allow them to hang around the skinning shed and enjoy the goodies that comes with hunting season.

If you are interested in a puppy or started dog, you can call me at 337 298 2630. I also do professional blood tracking services in south central Louisiana. My name is Marcus de la Houssaye, and I will be glad to talk to you if you questions, or need services.

Several Started Blood Dogs For Sale

In the photo below, you can see several of the started dogs that were born in the hunting season last year, and are now starting to get a taste of the up coming deer season which is now in progress if you are an archery hunter.

 

 

Below is a bottle of blood I collected from last year, and just defrosted, I use this periodicall all during the off season to keep my started dogs focused on learning to line scent in training exercises.  

 

 As a treat at the end of the trail, I usually have a raw heart and liver to reward my started dogs for a job well done. 

 

 

 

I am asking $750-$1,000 for these started pups who are all from my blood line and raised eating raw meat all their life.



If you are need of professional tracking services or perhaps youy are researching the market for a blood dog, you can call me at 337 298 2630.

 

Where To Start The Dog?

This is an exellent question that usually is presented to me by hunters attempting to "train" a blood trail dog, but in this case it relates to actual tracking and it is an issue that I need to write about because last year on a professional track where I was hired to help find someone's deer, the hunters brought me to the last point of blood instead of the point of impact., where the shot occurred. Now this has never happened to me before because it seems that this is common sense: bring the dog to the point of first blood, walk them down the blood trail to the point of loss, and turn them loose, and let them work from that point on and show you where the blood trail is. It is always inspiring to watch a dog follow the invisible scent trail and lead you to the next spot of blood that you could not find visually without the dogs help.

So back to the track where I and the dogs were started at the hunters point of losing sight of the blood. Guess what the dogs did when I turned them loose? They went the wrong way! And I don't blame them, because that is where the strongest scent of blood was at and hey, like us, dogs often respond to what is most obvious. Now part of what created this scenario was the hunters telling me that they have had blood trail dogs in the past. I assumed they knew that you always start the dog at the point of impact and lead the dog down the blood trail to the point of losing sight of blood, and then work the dog from there. For young dogs especially, this is essential, because the dog is learning to formulate the process of finding lost deer, and develping a "sense of line scent".

So to try to salvage this situation, I followed the dogs to the point of impact and then we did a 180' turn and walked back in the right direction to the hunters point of loss. We never found any blood or any strong indications of a mortally wounded or dead deer, but we did jump a deer in an extremely dense thicket, and we assumed it was the wounded deer, that was NOT mortally wounded.

When we got back to the camp after tracking the hunter confessed that he had shot the deer with a "new" rifle that had not been properly sighted in! Now I am not one to  usually complain, but here I go: I could complain that he only paid me enough to cover the gasoline expenses for my trip that night, but my complaint is on behalf of the suffering wounded deer, who was shot by a hunter who decided to hunt with a weapon that was not properly sighted in. Why hunt with a gun that is not properly sighted in?

Now, not to brag, but I was awarded the tracker of  the year reward for the 2011-2012 season by  the Southern Blood Trackers Association. What was interesting was the criteria that judged me to be tracker of the year: I did not complain about one track, AND I responded to every call that come in.

The paragragh below came from this link: http://www.bowsite.org/bowsite/features/articles/trackingdogs/index.cfm

That paragragh reminded me of the track last year, and inspired this article.


 Avoid starting your dog right at the hunters point of loss. This is likely to be the hardest part of the whole scent trail. Obviously the hunter lost the blood trail for a reason. Maybe the deer stopped bleeding, perhaps the deer backtracked or changed direction. For certain the point of loss will be well trampled and saturated with human scent as the hunter searched back and forth to find another spot of blood.
__________________________________________________________________________________


I have not had a chance to read other articles on this site but this one was very well written and short and to the point on a number of important issues.

 http://www.bowsite.org/bowsite/features/articles/trackingdogs/index.cfm

Poachers Arrested in Arnaudville - Acadiana's News Leader

I wish I knew more of the details...

Two people are facing charges for sneaking onto someone's exotic animal farm in Arnaudville, La. and shooting an elk worth $10,000.


Poachers Arrested in Arnaudville - Acadiana's News Leader

The Darkside of the HSUS - Part 1

Consumer Alert from HumaneWatch

HSUS raises over $130 million from the public annually, yet gives only 1 percent of that to pet shelters. It doesn’t run any pet shelters. And the animals it does rescue, it dumps off at local shelters?

Relationship

Many people are calling me wanting to buy blood trail dogs that are fully trained or "finished" as we say in the working dog business. They want a dog trained by "me" to do what "they" want, when they want, how they want, and ohhh, it better not do anything they don't want! They so they want to invest money in a dog, and not time.



The reality is the dog trained by me knows "my program" and is fully capable of doing its job, and knowing right from wrong. But that dog no matter how "finished" it is, is operating in relation to me, my yard, my way of hunting, and it cannot transfer all of its training and obedience to another person without an adjustment period of at the very least a few days or perhaps weeks. Now perhaps the time frame can be shortened with someone like me who has a way with animals. But, the dogs ability to know right from wrong comes from investing time in a relation to the new surroundings and getting to know the new person that now "owns" them and that means it takes time for a dog to figuire out what you want and don't want! Blood trailing is teamwork between a man and a dog.

They want to "buy" love, devotion, loyalty, servitude, and relationship.

It seems to me that we are a consumer driven society who want instant gratification. If we buy a tool, game or a toy, we want it to work the day we buy it and when we turn it on any time there after. But a dog, however well bred, well raised, experienced, and well trained, is still a social creature and requires socialization, adaptation, and training within the context of a new location and a new relationship with a new owner.

I had a very serious buyer in Ohio, call this week, wanting a dog that could be trusted not to kill fawns on a deer farm where they have newborn fawns in a pen.



Sounds to me like I need to train them and not the dog! Although it is possible for me to train a dog to respect the boundary of that fence, it would require me and the dog to travel to Ohio where the fence is and train the dog there at the farm.



I cannot train a dog in my yards to respect a fence in Ohio unless I take the dog to Ohio and train it there.

It all comes down to my potential customer failing to understand a fundamental concept of relationship. These people perhaps have had some of the German Shepards they own, killing fawns in the past and now they want a trained dog that will trail deer blood, but not harm a newborn in a pen. And that is a perfectly resonable expectation, but not of a dog that was raised by someone else and in another state.

That is possible to accomplish, but consider that a newborn fawn wreaks the smell of blood for sometime after birth, and that smell may drive a dog crazy if the dog is not raised there as a puppy on the farm and understands harming a newborn is forbidden.

Now this is common sense to me, but it appears that many people calling me do not have experience with training dogs or Catahoulas and fail to understand how sensitive a Catahoula is about pleasing its master.

If you have a good relationship with a Catahoula, they will live and die to please you.

Running Hot Deer

I am from The South, and I have what we call "a handle" on my dogs, so I prefer to work off leash. My handle is a verbal one, and it amazes everyone.




But... I am leaning toward advising everyone to start, train and track on leash because if the dog eventually can work off leash, then they can in the end, go either way, but for training purposes, at least in the beginning, you must use a leash at least some of the time. Another thing is, most people have legal restrictions regarding leash laws and most, do not have a verbal handle like I do.

When it comes to trashing breaking or running hot deer, a leash is a must because I can control the dogs range and focus, when they are leashed. And here is one of my pet peeves when I am tracking: I do not like to raise my voice in the woods.

And NO! I don't want my dogs to run hot deer, but if they are not on a leash, and they have a fun dash for a couple hundred meters after jumping a deer,



and then check back with me, I can't fault the dogs, and hold it against them, because I allowed it to happen by not leashing to start with.



My best dogs have always been the ones who have had a lot of time, freedom and space to just go be a dog, on their own off-time, but when I put them on a leash, it means business.



Because a blood dog should almost always be on a leash for most people, I don't advise "training" on hot deer.

Another possible factor is breeding: never, ever let a large hound start running hot deer if you want him to track blood. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER! Or you will be sorry! Now are there exceptions to the rule? Yes, and the size of breed such as Daschund or beagle could be exceptions,

and one other exception may be to ignite a puppy's prey drive in their first year.



On the other hand a cur(which is short range breed)may not be adversely affected by running hot deer for fun time training.



It really depends on the dog, the logistics, and the legalities. MY STRONGEST WORD OF CAUTION: If your dog is interested in running hot deer, and you don't want them to do that, just keep them leashed, and try not to harshly discipline the dog in any way around deer.



I confess: I am a recovering control freak, and I do not like the idea of my working dogs doing anything but what I want them doing.

But with balance in mind, what is more important than training, is for the dog to have freedom, time, space, and just be a dog sometimes.



In that; there will always be the occasional jump and dash on hot deer, but I don't want to make it a negative or positive focus on MY part and influence it one way or the other.

Because I am in training to work off leash, I prefer to not react too quick and wait to see if the dog will correct them self.

Dogs have a huge capacity to store data about the world they smell, and they smell the world in the same way we see the world: It is their primary sensory input. What that means is they analyse and memorize the world via scent data.



I believe being free and off leash as much as possible in the off season is very important, because if dogs are exploring new smells all during the off season, they are familiar with those smells come hunting season, and are thus not distracted. I also believe that a dog needs to train them self in the woods, and learn to control them self as much as possible.




A high prey drive dog is an excellent tracker and it is a challenge to teach them not to chase everything.



But once they are desensitized in the off season to all the smells that they will encounter, then they learn to focus on the one and only track blood.



Sometimes for the sake of balance we actually have to put a blood dog on a healthy deer for an advanced training exercise in the off season. And the point of allowing your dog to run a healthy deer is to allow the dog the opportunity to experience the scent of a running deer in contrast to the scent of a wounded deer. One more thing: the dog also experiences the fact there is no reward for tracking running deer.



The dog can tell if it is a hot, healthy deer or a wounded one by the scent of the track because the inter digital gland produces a different scent in a wounded deer. When tracking blood, I get the feeling the dog knows if it's a mortal wound or not within the first 10-15 minutes, but even if it is not, they press on with that individual track because we are asking them to follow blood, and not track scent.





Given enough time and experience in the off season, blood dogs not only become accustomed to scent, but logistics and equipment too.

As you can see in these photos, where I hunt we have a lot of water. So here in south Louisiana, a blood dog needs to get accustomed to swimming and being in boats.



Because of the short hair and so much water, I found a blaze orange, neoprene, insulated vest with extra floatation for Jessie this past summer.
This was not the first vest he has worn. He also wears a cut vest for hog hunting which is heavier, and also stiffer.

When I first started fitting him with the neoprene, he didn't like the feel of it. The neoprene was snug and it fit him like a latex glove, so it took about 5 or 6 fittings before he settled into it.

The point I want to make here is that owning a top blood trail dog requires year round, off season exercises that should include all of the equipment and logistics of an actual blood trail during hunting season. Some of these drills need to be repeated again and again to get the dog acclamated to the program.

And one thing they will have to deal with during hunting season is live, hot, healthy, running deer. Best if you work out any issues about running deer during the off season if possible. And it is an issue you may need to test again and again, year after year. Sometimes it takes a few years for a dog to realize there is no reward in running deer. It may require 3-4 years before a dog just stands there, off leash and watches a deer run off without giving chase.

If you had hoped to train and ultimately work your dog off leash, you will be dealing with this, one way or the other, sooner or later. The final decision may be that your dog cannot be trusted off leash, and you make the adjustment come hunting season and work him on a leash, until such time that he can be trusted. What most people are going to have difficulty accepting is that purposely running hot deer in the off season, could actually be useful as a training exercise for puppies.

Dog Stolen 1/28/2012 In Grosbec, Texas

I hope we find Blue, he is not just a bay pen dog, he is John's daughters' pet!
If you have any information call John (417) 489-3015

This is a puppy photo, the dog is now much larger.


DOG THIEF!!!! We(Marmon Catahoulas) had an 8 month old male Catahoula pup stolen from Skipper Dotsons baying Saturday night while we were baying our older male in the one dog. The theft occurred in Grosbeck, Tx. Please call John Marmon with any info 417-489-3015 Thank you





There is a $ 700.00 reward for the recovery of this dog !

It was taken 2 weeks ago out of Grosbeck Texas.

Notice the patches around the eyes. One goes up, one goes down, and he also has a white patch on the black part of his nose . This dog should be very easy to identify and is presently about 8 months old.

The reward will be paid upon revovery of the dog . He could be as far as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, or Mississippi, or still be in Texas.

Too Much Handle?

I am copying and pasting this from a Facebook post by Bridgitte G. Knapp:

Some people in the Catahoula world have said to me that I have too much handle on my dogs or have told others that I have too much handle on my dogs.. I say "screw you" I am sorry to be ugly but I really do not care what these people think any more.

My dogs are the way they are because I spend more time with them then I do my family... I Love My Dogs!!!

I leave my house at 7:20am 5 mornings per week and I get home between 5:30 and 7:00 pm 5 nights a weeks. As soon as I get home, I change clothes and it is out with the dogs. Weekends it is the same thing.. I play, love, feed and clean kennels 7 days a week. I do not care how tired I am because it is not their fault and I always feel better after I came in from being with all of them...

My dogs listen to me and love me and respect me because WE ARE A TEAM and NO OTHER REASON.. Do I scold them and discipline them? You are darn right I do, but for every scold they get for not doing what was asked of them there is way more positive for doing a good job... My dogs get out of their kennels everyday and have free time with me.. Not just every once in a while but EVERYDAY!!!

So again for those who say too much handle... it is love and respect for me that gets the job done. They want to do good for me and I am proud of every dog I have.....

120 Hunting dogs being fed at Cheverny, France! Amazing!

Muy Grande, King Ranch Kenedy county

Weird, Amazing, and World Record Whitetails

Best deer shot ever!!

Remember When?

Youth Kills Louisiana Giant Buck « Bayou Bucks

Youth Kills Louisiana Giant Buck « Bayou Bucks

Red Stag and Fallow Deer

For Sale: 25-50 Trophy Red Stags and Fallow bucks, also hundreds of yearlings, does and hinds.



A game preserve operator has lost his exotic permit due to new laws, and needs our help to move forward.



He has a herd of 400 exotics in a game preserve that must be transported live or culled.





Does anyone know of a large or small preserve interested in buying Red Stag and Fallow deer for breeding stock?




Culling is a last option. My hope is this is a win, win, win situation.




Of course my young blood tracking dogs will get an amazing opportunity to learn to track in this preserve,



but we want to make every effort to find a new home for the stags, bucks, does and hinds if at all possible.




The Whitetail deer can stay, but the exotics have to go.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much!

My cell phone is 337 298 2630

My email is: catahoula1@gmail.com

I am Marcus de la Houssaye a breeder and trainer of Louisiana Catahoulas, and a professional blood tracker.


Welcome to My Wild Louisiana!

Should you be coming to south Louisiana for a visit, I would be glad to guide you on a Louisiana swamp tour. You click the link here for more info.

Headshots Aren't Always A Good Idea!

We do not live in a perfect world and no one is perfect either.

Someone decided they would try their luck at being a sniper and failed. Headshots are not a great idea in most aspects of hunting. This poor animal is a perfect example of it. We found this poor girl inside a game preserve near someones house, somebody shot her jaw apart, I understand these things happen but you can reduce the chance by leaving the head alone. The target is to small to get prefection every time.

We tried calling a game wardon to get permission to shoot her inside the preserve and tried to contact the land owner as well but couldn't reach either, so unfortunatly we had to leave the poor girl alone. I wish there was something else I could have done. Remember I could have faced a nember of different charges, adding up to about $15,000, this is why I left her.

I don't like seing anything like this happening to any animal, this poor doe suffered a large amount, because someone thought they were a sniper, it didn't have to go down like that. I want to try to get the word out there, and convince people headshots are NOT the way to go!

Anyone who knows a head hunter should see this video.

Always aim for the boiler room! Much larger target, less room for mistakes!

Roscoe

I love it when customers send me updates.

This is Roscoe, a son of Dot and C Arrow Patch


"I need to get a newer pic of him . . . he's put on weight and his head is huge! Such a great personality! Thank you for him!" ~ Ruth Brown


C Arrow Patch

Lacy's Trophy Whitetail

Ms. Sarah Stringer allowed her daughter to hunt her from stand recently and Lacy took home a fine buck that scored about 147. To quote her mom: "I've finally started speaking to my daughter again. Took a few days!"

Lacy was on the state record books until the Tensas Parish bucks started coming in this week.

Soggy Bottom Boys - I'm A Man Of Constant Sorrow

Blood Trail Dogs For Hire Or Sale 337 298 2630

Hi, I am Marcus de la Houssaye,



owner and operator of de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours near Lafayette, Louisiana



I also breed and train


Louisiana Catahoulas for blood tracking.



I am available to help you find lost or wounded deer.

And, I also track wild boar 24/7/365. I will travel to the Texas state line with my dogs to work blood trails. 337 298 2630

www.bloodtraildogs.com

Our preferred fee schedule is $65 for showing up, whether we find the deer or not. And if we do find the deer $150 total.

But seriously consider calling us, even if you do not have the money and let's try to work something out.


www.southernbloodtracker.com

We at Southern Blood Trackers Association are in this for the ethics of it.

We will not be able to respond to every call, but we will try to find someone to help you, if we can't make it. I do swamp tours and have a boat that can go almost anywhere in the swamp. But, I don't do many swamp tours from December through February. I will launch that boat, a pirogue or call in an airboat if need be to help you.

There are several factors that you may think makes it impossible to locate a downed deer, such as rain washing away the blood, or tracking across a flooded swamp.




Give us a chance, you will be amazed at the working ability of a seasoned Catahoula to swim bayous,

and cross swamps to follow the scent of a wounded deer.

Just ask Thunderchicken!

Thunderchicken's comment on Bayou Bucks.com: "No doubt his dogs are badass...here are a few pictures I snapped when he brought his dogs look for my deer in Thistlewaite WMA last year.

When we came to a canal and the dogs swam across,

I thought there was no way they were still on blood but 200 to 300 yards on the other side we were back on blood!"




BTW...although rain washes away a blood trail visually for us humans, it actually amplifies the scent trail for the dog and makes it easier to track.

I have a new edit on the Sherburne 10 pt track we made last month.

http://bloodtraildogs.blogspot.com/2011/12/simons-first-deer.html





What if you shot a giant, once in a lifetime trophy,




or it was your first buck,

or it was your kids first deer,
The photo above and below courtesy of:
http://www.michigandeertracknhounds.blogspot.com/



and you couldn't find it because you simply did not have a dog lined up and ready to track for you?




Call me 337 298 2630