I Love It When The Plan Comes Together!

About six years ago, I turned my hog dog training facility into a blood trail dog training facility because I was getting too old to be rodeoing wild hogs and I wanted to continue breeding and training my Catahoulas to go to working homes. It was an easy transition, but in the beginning I and my dogs were just getting started and we had a lot to learn. 

Now that a lot of people are starting to track, I am watching them go through some of the same experiences that I went through in the begginning with my dogs and tracking experiences. I want to post one such newbie's track that didn't go as well as planned to help others who are struggling at being new to the game, to continue to press forward and have faith that it will get better.

                            Above is Scott Phillips with his blood tracking dog and a recent find.

            If you are in the Kalamazoo Michigan area and need tracking services, here is his card.

I am copying and pasting his post from facebook to encourage new trackers to get out and go for it.

      This is a process and it pays off in the long run, but in the beginning, we do the best we can.

If you are a deer hunter and do not have your own tracking dog, I suggest you find someone that does have one and keep their contact info in your phone so you can call them if need be.

Also to help us be better prepared, we who are just getting started need training tracks to teach our dogs to track even if the deer is not lost. So if you have an opportunity to call us in to get our dogs in on a traing track, we would appreciate you helping us now to be better prepared to help you in the future.

Scott Phillips

November 14 at 12:32pm · 

Although this is a little embarrassing and I still feel somewhat defeated, I have to get this off my chest. Zeus and I went on a track yesterday which I felt was a good one for him. Hunter did everything right by waiting and not walking all over. Zeus seemed to be doing good at first but then lost the scent at some point. After resetting him and following him a couple different ways, I realized we weren't going to find this guys deer. Knowing this deer was 100% dead, I advised the hunter that it might be wise to call a veteran tracking team. That team came in and found his deer! The hunter called me afterwards and told me that "Zeus was only 100 yards off". That may not seem like much, but when finding deer, thats huge!! Hence; THE VALUE OF A VETERAN TRACKING DOG.
This is our first year tracking and Zeus has been doing great! He has made a few hunters happy but we are not the best. We may be the closest and cheaper than most but we are certainly not the best. Zeus is going to make mistakes and I'm going to make mistakes. It's part of learning. Just know that we have a lot of time, effort and money invested in training and give it 100% everytime we go out. We want to find the deer as bad if not more than you do.
Dont hesitate to call us this gun season. If we cant do it I can refer you to someone who can.
Good luck. Shoot straight.

Also, we are still looking for training tracks. These are untracked, known kills, preferably 75+ yards. These tracks are FREE of charge.

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I am Marcus de la Houssaye and I am in Lafayette, La. and can be reached by cell phone @ 337 298 2630 if you are shopping for a puppy, started dog or finished dog. I will be glad to sell you one of my dogs, and if I don't have what you need, maybe I can refer you to someone who does have what you need.

Above is one of my early sumertime training exercises with fresh liver at the end of a track

It was my goal from the beginning to educate the public about the importance of having tracking dogs for hunting deer and I love it when the plan comes together! 

Blood Trail Dog Training Rules 11/16/2016

1. Always start a track at the point of first blood if at all possible.

This seems like a no-brainer to me, and there exceptions to the rule, such as land boundaries, hunters in the treestands, or climate changes that cause you to move the dog up to speed up the track.

2. Always track at night for your personal safety and that of your dog.

I wear a full body blaze orange jumpsuit with reflective strips on the arms and legs, and I like to put an orange vest on the dog too.

3. Always be supportive of the dog.

Finding deer isn't just about taking your dog in the woods and hoping it will sniff out the deer. One of the most difficult things in tracking is trusting your dog. You run out of blood. The leaves have blown over the trail and there is absolutely no sign that your deer has been down that trail. Your dog is going left, but the Hunter thinks the deer went right.. so what do you do??? TRUST THE DOG!!!

4. Always train them on an empty stomach, or when tracking because a hungry dog hunts better, AND trains better, and then ALWAYS feed them back at the truck, after the track or training exercise.

5. Always try to use your human skills to advance the track when the dog struggles. And you do this to give the dog confidence that you got his or her back and that they are part of a team, and that they are not out there working all alone. 

Blood Trail Dog Training Rules Of the Game 2016

I have hunted Whitetail deer for almost 30 years and I have always had tracking dogs.

 But six years ago, I began breeding and training my Louisiana Catahoula dogs specifically to track blood as started and finished tracking dogs for sale to deer hunters and at the same time, I trained some of my dogs exclusively and personally for me to track professionally for hire.

It was then that I researched and discovered that it was estimated by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries that ½ the deer shot in Louisiana were not recovered.

Frankly, I was in shock, because I had never lost many of the deer that I or my friends shot because I always had a dog to help me find the ones that did not drop in their tracks and got away.

I decided I wanted to change those statistics by educating the deer hunting public about the importance of planning ahead to include a blood tracking dog into the overall deer hunting program.

 Many of us spend thousands of dollars preparing for the deer season, invest 100’s of hours of our time, and expend a great deal of energy getting to the point of pulling the trigger on a hundred pounds of venison, or worse the trophy rack of a lifetime, as you can see below,

and then ½ the time we can’t find it because we don’t have a dog to advance the track at the last point of blood? And if you can't find blood, or don't have a dog, you will be lucky to find it?

Something is very wrong with this picture from my perspective, because I have to wonder why anyone is ever hunting deer without a tracking dog to start with… but that is just me apparently…

Now if you are just getting started with training a tracking dog and have never tracked with a dog, so you don’t know where to begin, I want to share a few rules of the game to help you begin teaching your dog to track in the off season so you can have a jump on the game come next year. Or it may be deer hunting season already and you need to begin working with the scraps at the hunting club because you may need this dog tomorrow!

1. Always start a track at the point of first blood if at all possible.

This seems like a no-brainer to me, and there exceptions to the rule, such as land boundaries, hunters in the treestands, or climate changes that cause you to move the dog up to speed up the track. But always start the track as far back as possible to establish the line of scent for the dogs benefit.

2. Always track at night if at all possible,

so you don't disturb other hunters who are still in the stands and more importantly, this is for your personal safety and that of your dog. I suggest you wear hunting clothes and boots even during training, so the dog sees what is happening when you dress that way.

And also...

I wear a full body blaze orange jumpsuit with reflective strips on the arms and legs, if I have to track in the day time, and I like to use an orange leash

and put an orange vest on the dog too.

3. Always be supportive of the dog.

Finding wounded or dead deer isn't about taking your dog to the woods and hoping that it will sniff the deer blood and follow the track. Tracking with dogs is teamwork, and you should always be there to do your part and never get angry or take it out on the dog if things are not going well.

When you run out of blood and are not sure if the dog is still on track, trust the dog. The leaves may have blown over and you can't see the blood, or it has rained, and washed it away and there is absolutely no sign that the deer has gone down that trail, this the time that your dog needs your faith in him and for you not to override his nose and better judgement. If he makes mistakes let him figuire that out and learn from those mistakes, because it is sometimes a guessing game! But if you are tracking for someone else, and the hunter says the deer went left, and the dog is going right, what do you do??? TRUST THE DOG!  

4. Always train them on an empty stomach, or when tracking because a hungry dog hunts better,

AND trains better, and then ALWAYS feed them back at the truck, after the track or training exercise.

The reason you want to feed them when you get back to the truck from tracking or training is that the dog always expects to be feed when they get there and when they are hungry, if they get lost they are motivated to find the truck and you don't have to go looking for them if they are looking for you.

5. Always try to use your human skills to advance the track when the dog struggles.

And you do this to not only advance the track past the point where the dog struggles,

 it gives the dog confidence that you got his or her back and that they are part of a team, and that they are not out there working on finding this thing all alone.

6. A worker is worthy of his wages, so always if at all possible allow the dog to claim the deer as it's own, and chew on, lick blood, and even guard the deer if it is so inclined.

If you gut the deer when you find it, at the very least allow the dog to eat some intestines, and don't forget to grab the liver and heart for the dog to finish off later.

You want the dog to be a part of the transport and at the skinning shed so it can get in on treats like the liver, head and heart of the deer being dressed out.

I hope this post helps you begin on the best part of deer hunting where the excitement and real adventures of tracking begin: Training your own blood tracking dog.


I am Marcus de la Houssaye, I am a breeder, and a trainer of Louisiana Catahoulas. I have puppies, started, and finished dogs for sale.

I am also a wilderness guide and professional tracker in the Lafayette, Louisiana area if you need assistance, and I can be reached at 337 298 2630

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Blood Trail Dogs For Texas Hunting Preserves 2016

I am getting calls from Texas almost every day about dogs that they got from somewhere else that are not working, and so they are now coming to me, because they heard about my dogs from some of my satisfied customers. 

I am sorting through my pictures and it looks like most of my Texas photos are on the other computer.

The photo above is from one of the Texas ranches where my dogs are tracking this year.

Someone just sent this one to me, but it might be from Oklahoma, IDK, but how can you be dropping deer like the ones above and not have a dog to help you locate 'em?

 I have pure bred Catahoulas, and some crossed with beagle like the red dog above, and some crossed with wolf like the ones below.

In the photos below you can see Samuel, my pure bred wolf leading some yearlings on a training exercise below. I use my experienced, finished dogs to train the young 'ones.

I am Marcus de la Houssaye, and I operate a blood trail dog training facility in Lafayette, Louisiana, and I am here to help you find a tracking dog, so you can avoid the frustration and heart ache of losing so many deer, for simply the lack of a good, well behaved, well bred dog.

I can be reached by cell phone @ 337 298 2630. My dogs are all socialized, hauled in trucks, ATVs, and boats, are easy to handle and ready to go. It is the time of the year when everybody wants a dog, and I am here to serve your needs. If you get a started or finished dog from me, I am available for telephone consultations to keep your tracking dog on the go. I am arranging transports, west to Texas and north to the midwest this week, give me a call if you need more info.

Blood Tracking Dogs Midwest 2016

It would appear that deer hunters in the Midwest in general are in great need of blood tracking dogs, as I am getting calls from Ohio to Kansas from new comers who are shopping for tracking dogs, and from my deer hunting friends there on a regular basis, and they all tell me the same thing: most people do not have or use tracking dogs in the midwest. 

I am in south Louisiana where it is still in the 80's every afternoon, but I have bred dogs for you in the midwest who need a tracking dog with a little more fur coat.As you can see below, I have a pure bred wolf that I have tracked with for years and have crossed over my pure bred Catahoulas to make a long haired tracker for the midwest hunting preserves.

Above is Samuel who I bred over my Catahoulas to get the three crosses below. To the left is Pecos a 1 year old male out of Choco, and Rocky in the center, is a 3 year old male out of Beaux and his litter mate sister, Beauty the creamy/white female on top.

All three of the started pups above are very gentle, and well socialized with people and dogs.

All were born and raised in a blood trail dog training facility with raw meat as a regular part of their diet, and perfectly obedient, self motivated and prey driven.

This is the perfect time to go from my south Louisiana Blood Trail Dog Training facility right into your guide service, hunting club, or as family pet and blood tracking dog in the midwest. The red leopard in the center of the photo above is a three year old female named Brown Girl who is more typical of the short haired Louisiana Catahoula.

Whether you are shopping for a long haired wolf cross for the midwest, or a more common Catahoula, I am here to serve your tracking dog needs. For the moment, we are enjoying the great weather here along the Gulf coast and I am thinking this is the perfect time to get your started and finished dogs on the ground and ready to go to work before the ice and snow complicate transporting live animals and makes tracking even more difficult. Get 'em while you can!

I am Marcus de la Houssaye and I operate a blood trail dog training facility got plenty of started and finished dogs and can be reached by cell phone @ 337 298 2630.

If you get a started or finished dog from me, I am here for telephone consultation to help you get that dog fine tuned and finding your lost deer. Give me a call, I am waiting on ya...

Alabama Blood Tracking Dogs For Sale 2016

I just got off the phone with a customer in Alabama who advised me that they have a high deer density in his state but a relatively low density of tracking dogs and his plan is to bring several dogs in at one time to partially remedy the problem.

Having a tracking dog in a hunting club where a lot of deer are downed allows the dog to learn rapidly if it is a puppy or started dog, because blood trail dog training really becomes effective during deer season, not during the hot, off season with man made training tracks.

I am noticing a lot of women are starting to shop for the tracking dog as a family pet for the children at home, and a formidible guard dog as well.

Below is Sarah's daughter who took a fine 8 point from her "moma's stand'.

Below is Shanna's first archery kill of a buck and it is a massive 10 pointer that we tracked in Sherburne WMA. 

below is Ali Da @ 5 months old...

My new customer in Alabama has decided to pick up several dogs for his large hunting club so that they can pick and choose which ones they want, also allowing the possibility that some of the other members of the club will step up and purchase the rest of them. At the end of the hunting season, we will regroup and sort out the dogs that stay or are returned to me.

         My dogs are raised and trained in packs, to increase performance and for convience.

Also the young dogs will also learn a lot more from an older dog as the teacher than anything I can ever put into them.

Above is Valyrie @ about 4 months looking to me for direction while in a training exercise.

Should you have a guide service or a large hunting club in another state hundreds of miles from Louisiana where I am, and it being a long ways away for us to do business, it is in your best interest and mine for you to take 2-3 or even better 4 dogs back to your state for the deer season and return the ones that are not chosen when the season ends. That way my dogs leave here and arrive at the new location with someone(canine) that they already know, making it easier for them to adjust to the new home, and I have the great benefit of my dogs being on more deer with you, in your club than they will be exposed to on my end. Presently the blood trail dog population is on the increase in Louisiana!

I have personal tracking dogs that I use to track professionally, and of course, I always at the same time haul a few of the pups and started dogs along for the ride, but I will never expose my dogs to as much real hunting opportunities with me alone as they will get in a club with 20 or maybe 50 members who kill 5-10 deer every weekend and in some cases that many every day.

If you are interested in purchasing a personal dog or a dog to be used for professional guide services, or a large hunting club, I am here to help facilitate your blood trail dog needs. I also have telephone consultation services to help you get your puppy going or fine tune started and finished dogs, or even sometimes trackers call me when in the field and are not sure what do if he and the dog are starting to struggle while on track.

I am Marcus de la Houssaye and can be reached by cell phone at 337 298 2630 for more information