Blood Trail Dogs: Duck Dogs Are Natural Blood Trackers

For years, I have been trying to convince people with 'duck' dogs that the retriever trained to retrieve ducks could also easily find deer because duck blood smells like deer blood.

Come on, blood smells like blood, whether it comes from a duck or a deer.

But here is proof from a young dog that was getting it done both ways!

Below is a story from R N J Adams
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I know there are specific ways to train a blood trailing dog, but let me share what I did. It’s definitely a different approach that’s for sure. I trained my dog to force fetch for bird hunting first. If you don’t know what that is, look it up.

I never had intentions of having him blood trail... until a friend shot a deer with a bow and couldn’t find it. I took my dog to the location the deer was shot let him smell and lick the arrow and told him to fetch it up. Well, they had enough scent on the ground and he had enough common sense to know that I wanted him to go find and get what he was smelling.

He made a perfect 100 yd track straight to the deer on a 12-hour old trail. I skinned that deer and did several drags with the hide over the next week varying the distance from 50 to about 500yds. Each time just pinching off a little hair to hold by his noses for him to smell when I told him to fetch!

I put a bell on his collar at the beginning of every track. He then associated the bell with tracking and would start searching when the bell was put on him. He never failed me once on a drag. I’d play tug a war with him with the hide when he found it and that was his reward.

He found 3 deer for friends of mine last year and took us on one track for almost a mile that we found light blood every so often until the deer hit a creek that we couldn’t get across. So I’d say he did allright.

So I guess what I’m saying here is don’t think your duck dog won’t trail a deer just because it’s never done it before! My dog was 9 months old and never seen a deer in its life when he found his first one. My method of training, in the beginning, was unconventional and accidental but it worked pretty well.

Here is Reid, a Texas Blue Lacy pup the day he found his first deer!

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Editor's note: For all of you out there trying to train your dog and making it too complicated to be practical, I suggest you lighten up and let your pup be a puppy for the first two years and....

HAVE FAITH IN THE DOG!

Your mantra:

TRUST THE DOG!
TRUST THE DOG!
TRUST THE DOG!
TRUST THE DOG!
TRUST THE DOG!