Leashed Blood Tracking Dogs in Pennsylvania – Update

By Andy Bensing

The Senate Game and Fisheries Committee met on Wednesday 12/4/2013 and HB451, the leashed blood tracking dog Bill, was on the agenda.  I was pretty excited when I heard the week before that the Chairman had decided to put the bill on the agenda.  I and other Deer Recovery of PA members have been working for over 13 years to gain legalization in PA.  We have gotten 3 bills out of the House of Representatives during that time and into the Senate Game and Fisheries committee.  Our current bill under consideration in the committee, HB451, was unanimously passed by the House last May.  Well my excitement turned into another letdown when once again the bill was tabled for purposes of further discussion/clarification.  The committee members’ general consensus was that they needed more clarification as to how the dogs would be used and how the program would operate in the field.

This is quite frustrating to myself and other hard working members of DRP.  We have been working for years to educate the legislature.  We send them packets of information, offer unfettered access to us to answer questions and meet with them or their assistants to explain what we do and answer questions.  Just this past August and September one of our members personally met with 10 of the 11 committee members or their assistants in one on one meetings at the capital to explain what we do, why we do it and how it is done in other states.

With all this effort on our part our tracking dog bill has been brought up in the Senate Game and Fisheries 3 times in the last 18 months and always has ended up with the same result.  Tabled because they need more information.

The meeting did have one bright note in that the consensus was that the committee was not completely against the bill, they did table it instead of voting it down, but they wanted more specifics written into it as to how it would actually be run by the Game Commission once enacted.  Several members of the committee spoke with us after the meeting and asked us to assist with that.  Also, the Chairman did commit to holding an informational public hearing early next year to try and work out some of these issues.

So all in all the meeting did not live up to my early expectations but we did inch forward a little bit.  One thing about blood trackers that’s for sure, we don’t give up easily.

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Happy Easter! Tuesdays puppies are one week old

This week has gone by so fast, and, again, I have found myself way behind with posts. Sorry about that as there is a lot to report.  Lets start with Tuesdays puppies, who are now one week old. They have already doubled their weight at birth:

Volt (lime) was 221 gr at birth, now 515 gr

Vincent (blue) was 232, now 470

Viola (pink) was 210, now 465

Vonnie (yellow)was 215, now 460

Vivica (red) was 232, now 470 gr

The first few days were a bit difficult as Tuesday was producing too much milk and puppies could not keep up with her "production".  She was uncomfortable, but this quickly passed and things have normalized.

Tuesday has a good appetite but she has not touched dry food yet. She has been living on raw venison, mixed with rice and egg, plus she drinks goat milk. Occasionally she gets several cubes of cheese. She turned out to be a superb mother, and so far she has been staying with the pups in the whelping box all the time. They are spotless clean. What I like about her that she not too possessive of her pups. She completely trusts us, and even if dogs bark outside my den, she does not get too upset about it

Happy Easter Everybody!

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How to train your experienced blood tracking dog a training report from Darren

This is a report from Darren Doran describing his latest training line for Theo. Regular readers of the blog are very familiar with this tracking team from New Jersey. Darren used a new design of tracking shoes, which is produced by Ray Holohan. We will have a separate post about them soon, when Ray is ready to start selling his product.

TRAINING LINE
The line is 1000 yds. long. This line was my first line using Ray Holohans buck shock tracking shoes. 4 oz. of blood was used. Blood, feet, and articles were from the same deer. The line will be 36 hrs. old when ran and is set in an area the County burned this spring. The soil is very sandy here. The vegetation is sparse due to the burn and the woods are mostly oak and pine. Visibility is good here and the over story is somewhat open. There are numerous 90’S and one backtrack and one wound bed. Three articles were used on this line and were made from deer skin about 2 X 1 stapled to a 4 inch by 1 inch diameter dried piece of stick.

TRAINING GOAL
The goal of this exercise is to work on article identification, stopping and re-starting on the line and the backtrack. I will also start this line as a controlled search and see how Theo does.

ACTUAL LINE
It was 71 degrees, overcast and humid this morning. I started Theo in a controlled search about 80 yds. from the line and about 50 yds. into it from the hit site. I asked him to search and “find the blood”. He worked nicely in a left to right forward arc until we hit the line. He took the line back towards the hit site and through it and began searching. He looped back to the line and took it back to the hit site and was about to pass through it again when I alerted him on it. He stopped and smelled the hair and turned around. I gave him a piece of meat and we started tracking.

I thought this was going to be harder for Theo but his tracking speed told me differently. We did numerous stops on the line and I would reward him with a piece of meat and give him water. He restarted nicely. He found the articles and these were too big for him to swallow. Articles in the past were small pieces of skin and hair that he would pick up, swallow and continue tracking so fast I was not able to reward him for finding them. He took all the turns but one perfectly. The one he missed only took a minute or so to require the line. His tracking speed also caused him to miss the wound bed. The backtrack took seven minutes to work out. This line took 33 minutes to finish and does not include the controlled search.

CONCLUSION
Theo did real well on this line. What I thought was going to be difficult was very easy for him. He handled the controlled search excellent. There was no mistaking his reaction when he hit the line. Stopping and re-starting was good. The larger articles got him to stop and be rewarded for finding them. The backtrack still needs work but is getting better. Theo has a natural tendency to search forward and away from the last scent. When he circles back he doesn’t always make his circles large enough to cross back over the line. He does handle and when asked to “search here” he will respond. I’ll repeat this line and add 12 hrs. to the age and see how he does.

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Kansas and Pennsylvania are big deer hunting states where tracking dogs are still illegal

It is great to see some good articles being published in the states, where the use of blood tracking is still illegal.

• To read "Tracking dogs can sometimes help recover deer", but not in Kansas by Michael Pearce, The Wichita Eagle click here
• And in Pennsylvania the fight for legalization continues - read "Dogs could be useful in deer hunts" by clicking here

This picture shows Darren Dorans young dachshund Theo who recovered this deer in New Jersey yesterday. In New Jersey tracking is done on a special permit only. This was Theos 16th recovery this season (out of 36 calls that Darren has taken).

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Third edition of Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer

We have been getting a lot of inquiries about the third edition of Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer and when it is going to be available. We expect it this summer. In the meantime you can add your email to our sign up form and we will notify you when it is out. To do so CLICK HERE.

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Save on Tracking Dogs for Finding Wounded Deer and Dead On!

Until December 31, 2015 you can save 20% when you order these two books together. You can place your order here.

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The use of blood tracking dogs is growing two recent articles

There are so many blood tracking dogs working in the field these days that it is impossible for us to include all the reports we have been getting. I have never thought that a day like this would come! For John, who for decades has been promoting the use of dogs in recovery of wounded big game, this spread and rising popularity of canine trackers have brought a lot of satisfaction. Just recently he wrote an article that has been published in the October issue of NYS Conservationist under the title given by the magazine editor: "Born to Track: The Dogs of Deer Search". You can read it on DEC website or download it from click here.

No doubt there is much to be done as big deer hunting states states such as Pennsylvania and Kansas have not legalized the use of tracking dogs yet. However, it is just a matter of time. One of the best articles on this subject has been published by Scot Bestul on his Field and Stream blog "Finding Lost Deer: It’s Time For Tracking Dogs To Go National, where he writes: "We should all strive for close, lethal, and ethical shots on game. But the reality is that, if you deer hunt long enough—whether you shoot a bow, crossbow or firearm—sooner or later you’re going to hit a deer in a spot that makes finding it difficult. And sometimes rain, snow or dense cover can complicate the picture. In situations like these, using a tracking dog is not only logical, there is no more ethical option."

Of course the rising popularity of blood tracking dogs creates new challenges such as recruitment and education of new handlers, dog training and testing, and so on. We will try to make our blog as educational as we can and from now on some posts will have "themes". They will take more time and we wont be able to post daily (especially during hunting season), but in the long run it will be more informative, educational and enjoyable. For example we can write posts under themes such as training on the job, first recovery, liver-hit deer, versatile dogs, multiple finds, adolescence problems, tracking with older dogs and so on. There are many possibilities. Right now we are working on "women handlers".

We are ending this post with reports from calls that ended up with recoveries by two brothers, Theo and Thor.

Darren Doran from New Jersey who tracks with Theo von Moosbach-Zuzelek wrote:I received a call from a hunter who had shot a deer around 12 noon on the 5th. He had tracked the deer with blood about 150 yds. and then lost it. He had gut material on the arrow and had searched all around the area with no luck.

We would be tracking south of my home in Colliers Mills WMA. This is large tract of mature oak, pine and green briars surrounded by oak scrub. This land scape is mostly flat and looks pretty much the same. It is broken up by various fire trails through out. We arrived about 9am 21 hrs. after the shot and proceeded to the hit site. I told the hunter to locate the blood trail so I could start the dog. He had no marks and looked around for a while with no luck. I was beginning to think that I had been misled and was starting to get a little frustrated. I told the hunter to stop and I would do a controlled search with Theo to find the line. I put Theo down and asked him to ‘’search here’’ and within seconds he had the line and was showing us blood.

We tracked the first 150 yds. with ample blood to the hunters point of loss. At this point Theo continued on another 150 yds. showing an occasional drop of blood. We came to a spot that had an oak leaf with a quarter sized drop of blood on it. This was the last blood we found. At this point I had the hunter mark this spot and stay there. Theo continued on and we hit a sandy opening in the brush. He worked around in here a while and I wasn’t sure if he had it or not. I brought him back to the last blood and put him down. He immediately took the same direction and flew down the line. I called to the hunter and followed.

In the next 200 yds. I didn’t see a drop of blood. It was pretty thick here and Theo was tracking hard at the end of a 50 ft. lead and I couldn’t see him. All of a sudden the line when slack and I knew he was on the deer. This track took less than 30 minutes and the hunter was amazed at this. He knew would have never found the deer without the dog. This was Theo’s 9th find and one of our longer tracks that ended in a find. This makes up for the 2 hours we spent yesterday in a nasty swamp coming up empty.

Darren Doran with Theo

Bob Yax, a member of Deer Search of Finger Lakes, owns Thor von Moosbach Zuzelek (Theos littermate) and last weekend this team recovered three deer. This is one of them. The buck laid down about 75 yds from the hit site. The hunter snuck up on him and shot another arrow at him. He missed, but the buck jumped up and went 10 more yards before laying down again. The Hunter then backed out for a few hours, but when he came back the Buck jumped up and ran off out of sight, looking pretty healthy again. The hunter called us and we came in next morning. I was thinking it was a liver hit. We found the deer dead about 150 yds up the trail, probably 300 yds from the hit site. Not sure how long he was alive at that location. The arrow caught 1 lung and put a 3 inch long x ¾ inch deep cut in the Heart. You can see the entrance wound in the other photo. The exit was out the bottom of the deer.

Bob Yax with Thor

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Shot analysis by Bob Yax on the two deer recovered by his tracking dog Thor

These two bucks were recovered last weekend by Bob Yax and his tracking dachshund Thor. 

The Pittsford buck was hit low in the chest with a bow on Sunday morning. See entrance photo attached.   Also, check out the kid wearing shorts while he was tracking with us! Ouch!   We  jumped this liver hit buck twice, 6.5-7 hrs after the hit.  In its 3^rd bed, the kid was able to put another arrow into it.  We found a 1 inch deep slice thru the edge of the liver when he gutted it. That was a long survival for a liver hit!

 *****

We jumped the Honeoye buck 17 hrs after the 7 mm hit,  from its 1^st bed, about 700 yds from the hit site.   Up till then we had only found a few spots of blood to confirm Thor was on the bucks trail.  At times, I was really wondering since Thor took us close to 2 houses and across at least 200 yds of cut lawn and a main road with no blood.  After jumping up from a very bloody bed, the buck ended up  (luckily!) in a deep ravine 100 yds further up the trail.  The hunter was able to shoot  it a 2^nd time from about 40 yds as it tried climbing  up the far side of the steep ravine.   The 7 mm hit was really low in the front of the chest and hit the top of both front legs – see entrance and exit photos attached.  The buck was quartering to him a little.   Not really sure what vitals he hit (maybe low lungs?) but I know he missed the heart entirely, since after close examination, it’s now in my fridge.  I’m going to check out the rib cage after the guy finishes butchering it to see if the bullet did make it inside the chest cavity. 

      

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Alabama blood tracking dachshund puppies

This picture of Tom Munoz was taken at the 2011 UBT Trackfest in Arkansas. Tom is holding Jack (Joeri/Greta son) and Meg (mom to the current puppies).

Tom and Jackie Munozs puppies have turned two weeks old. A couple of boys are still available to serious blood tracking homes (see pictures below)! Both parents of the litter are active, accomplished blood trackers.

Dam of the litter, Meg, is a granddaughter of Agata v Moosbach-Zuzelek, and she was sired by Nicki von Velbert, who was imported from Germany. The pups were sired by eight-year-old Fred (Frederick der Trakker Yergz), a full brother to Gail Bergers Pepper. Freds lines go back to Asko von der Drachenburg, Sabina von Moosbach-Zuzelek, Traelborgs Herbert "Skyder", vom Dornenfeld and Springwoods.

Tom and Jackie Munozs website is at www.alabamadeertracking.com. They can be contacted at deertrackingdog@gmail.com or 256-426-3199. Pups are in Alabama.

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Handling tracking dogs off lead

She is called Mossy Brooke by her owner Judy from Gergia, and she turned six months old on October 12. The pups registered name is Viola von Moosbach-Zuzelek, and her parents are Tommy and Tuesday. Mossy has been tracking now for a week on this Georgia Plantation, and she has already recovered seven deer. Some deer would have been found without her but others would have been lost. 

Mossy is worked off lead and she wears a GPS collar. Judy is not new to blood tracking as she has tracked for many years with a very talented Jack Russell Terrier, Bear, and recovered hundreds of deer for the Plantation that her husband Craig manages.

I post almost daily updates on Mossys adventures on our Facebook. The latest e-mail from Judy is included below. This was the first time when Mossy found a wounded deer still alive.

Tracking "Off Lead" is legal only in certain southern states and in Texas. Georgia, where Mossy tracks is one  of these "legal off lead" states.

Tracking off lead has its advantages and its risks.  The recovery rate, off lead, is higher than we would expect with dogs working at all times on a long leash. They can better penetrate very thick cover without a leash and handler in tow. Also the unleashed dogs can catch up to and "bay" some deer that would probably escape and survive in the North. We all know that the legalization of unleashed tracking dogs is politically out of the question in the North.

One risk of tracking off lead is that  the dog can be gored by an aggressive buck. This is more likely to happen if the tracking dog is young and inexperienced or too game aggressive. And of course small dogs like dachshunds have less "Bay Power" than a 90-pound tracking dog like a Southern Black Mouth Cur or Lab. In general a dog unencumbered by a tracking lead is more agile and better equipped to stay out of trouble when baying an angry, aggressive buck.

In some situations it makes sense to start the dog while it is on lead. Once the dog has clearly established herself on the right line, she can be released. Training preparation for work on older, colder lines is also more feasible if the dog is worked on lead.

*****

Jolanta,

Well, we have the answer to how Mossy will react to a live deer.  The opportunity presented itself yesterday evening.  She trailed a deer that we assumed was dead.  When she found it, it jumped up, Mossy backed off a couple of steps and immediately began baying it.  When I took a step, the deer turned and ran with Mossy in hot pursuit-- yipping.  I was in hot pursuit (for a 62 year old)--which meant I was no where close to Mossy or the deer.  The deer ran to a swamp.  Shortly, I could hear Mossys yipping turn to a bay--a very loud and deep bark.  I finally made my way through the thicket to Mossy.  Weeds/grass were above my head.  I could finally see little Mossy when I was standing directly above her and separated the grass to get a view of the barking.  The deer way laying about a yard in front of her.  I picked Mossy up and then shot the deer with the pistol I carry.  The shot did not phase her one bit--(coffee cans on the kitchen floor work).  Craig had made it to us by then and he and I pulled the deer out of the swamp with Mossy either riding on top or tugging at the deer the whole way out.  The picture of Mossy by herself with a deer is this deer. 

Another hunter had shot a doe and could not find it--on the Plantation--so he had called Craig to bring Mossy. When we got to the field that the deer was shot in, there was a good blood trail.  The hunter said there had been around 10 deer on the field when he shot.  I put Mossy down on the blood trail, but she did not immediately follow it.  She wanted to run around in the field and investigate I suppose.  I think there was just too much scent there for her.  I called her back to me and took her to where the blood entered the planted pines and briar thicket.  She went one way--I thought from blood that I saw that the deer had gone the opposite way.  I have learned from Bear to not second guess a good blood trailer, so I did not try to call Mossy back.  About 200-300 yards from the entry into the woods from the field, my GPS said Mossy has Treed Quarry.  I made my way through the briars to Mossy and there she was with her deer.  Another celebration with Mossy.  We would definitely not have retrieved the first deer without Mossy and probably would have found the 2nd deer only when we saw buzzards on it 2 to 3 days from now--due to the thickness of the briars and weeds.  The first time Mossy was in briars this past weekend, she stopped and came back to me.  I told her to find blood and dead deer--she started hunting again, and the briars have not bothered her since then.

Mossy is quite the blood tracker --This is # 7 for her in her short career of tracking.  There is no doubt in my mind that because of her love for tracking that she will continue to learn and become more efficient.  I just am not sure how I am going to explain to Mossy that we cant go track a deer every day of her life.  If I even walk close to my boots or her collar, she thinks it is time and she begins to beg to go.

Just so glad that we have Mossy.

Judy

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Not all wounded deer can be recovered even if you use a tracking dog

Time to get back to the topic of tracking dogs because we really fell behind with our blogging and emails. I apologize to all our contributors and those who are still waiting for our replies.

We received this letter from Judy Catrett on December 10. As you recall Judy lives in Georgia where it is legal to track with a dog off-leash. Mossy (aka Viola von Moosbach-Zuzelek) is an eight-month-old daughter of Tommy and Tuesday. Thank you Judy!

Just a note to let you know how Mossy is progressing.  We have now started doing a fair amount of tracking for hunters other than those that are guests of the plantation which Craig manages.  I had read Johns books, Dead On!  and Tracking Dogs for Wounded Deer prior to tracking season, but have found myself using them as a reference after several tracks recently.  I am always wondering what we (Mossy and I) did not do when we were unable to retrieve a wounded deer--so I dig into the books hoping to obtain a little more knowledge along with rethinking what we did and could have done differently on each track. 

Mossy Brooke continues to be an excellent tracker and her name has become well known around our little town and county as well as into some neighboring counties.  Since I last emailed you, we have been on several tracks that we were unable to find the deer.  One deer had a broken front leg--the hunter shot the deer straight on into the brisket area. Leg bone, a fragment of the bullet, and muscle tissue were found at the site of the shot.  Mossy and I arrived approx. 5 hours after the deer had been shot and after 2 inches of rain.  She immediately picked up the trail and actually jumped the deer within 100 yards of the last blood the hunter had found (this had been washed away by the time we arrived).  She was tracking off leash as she was in an area that was safe for her to do this and the briars were so thick and tall that it was almost impossible for me to keep her on leash.  I was 40 yards behind her when she bayed the deer. The deer immediately ran and she bayed it twice more during her trailing, for only a few seconds each time.   The deer had stopped bleeding and crossed 2 creeks during this tracking.  We trailed this deer for 1 1/2 miles and it was showing no signs of slowing down, so I stopped Mossy as I felt that this was another wound that would not slow the deer enough for us to retrieve it.

We had a similar experience with a buck that I think was shot above the spine and stunned for a few minutes.  This was the second buck that we have tracked this year with this type of injury.  Mossy tracked it on leash for over 1 mile. This track was 11 hours old when we arrived.  On arrival, she immediately picked up on the blood trail which dwindled to no blood within 150 yards.  She continued to pull strong on the leash throughout the entire track.  I finally had to stop her around midnight as this seemed to be a nonfatal injury with no bleeding being noted along the trail past the first 150 yards and I had to work the next day.

We then tracked a deer that was gut shot 24 hours previous to our arrival.  This deer was probably shot in the stomach as acorns and corn were noted at the shot site.  I certainly thought that this buck would be found.  There had been 2 to 3 inches of rain during the 24 hours that had passed since the shot.  She trailed the buck for approx. 1 to 1 1/4 miles total, off leash. She bayed the buck in a very thick pine thicket with terrible briars for a few seconds, but when the buck heard me coming it ran.  Mossy trailed it to a large pond which neither she nor I could cross.  The hunters (age 12) father owned this land and decided that there was no easy way to get to where the buck may have gone if he was able to cross the water and that he would watch for a floating deer or buzzards in the next few days.  This is one track that I am still puzzled over.  I certainly thought that the deer would be in the edge of the water and that the wound would be significant enough that Mossy and I could catch up with the deer.  I am still mulling this over in my head trying to decide what should have been done differently.

Craig took Mossy on a track in which the deer was tracked for 1 1/2 miles.  She was on leash on this track and Craig did not have a gun as the hunter was carrying a rifle and going with them.  After 3/4 mile, Mossy walked into a briar thicket and actually put her nose on the deers hip.  The deer was still alive --shot through the flank areas (gut shot)--and it stood up when Mossy touched it.  The hunter had been unable to keep up with Craig and Mossy in the briars and when Craig had to yell for him to come with the gun, the deer ran another 3/4 of a mile at which time Craig had to stop tracking due to property lines.  Craig has not tracked as much as I have and did not realize the importance of being self sufficient and having his own gun.  A lesson well learned he said after being dragged through 1 1/2 miles of briars by Mossy.

I am realizing that wounded bucks will let Mossy Brooke get fairly close to them and they will have a stand off with her if they still have enough life left in them to possibly survive. This I think occurs because of her small size and bucks detecting her as not being threatening.  If I try to approach a buck with a wound that may not be fatal, it immediately bolts as soon as it detects a larger creature approaching.  It is almost impossible for me to get to the buck without making noise due to the thick vegetation and briars.  I would appreciate any feedback on how to handle these situations.  I think that this is one reason a lot of trackers in the south use larger dogs who actually catch the deer and keep them at bay until the person with a gun can get there.  Dont worry, I would never trade my Mossy Brooke for a larger dog.

Mossy Brooke is an awesome little dog with a love for tracking that cannot be described.  I consider myself very lucky to have her--for tracking and more so as a companion.   She is almost 8 months old and has now found a total of 26 deer (December 10).  

Hope you and John have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Judy

Mossy modeling her camo jacket with Erin prior to going hunting. Mossy stays in the car very quietly with her camo jacket when I take the kids hunting. I am also sending a picture of the buck that Erin killed on our hunt a couple of hours after this picture was taken. Mossy was not in the picture because Erin dropped the deer in its tracks. Mossy still had fun acting like she found it. All of the kids love Mossy as she does them. I take most of these kids turkey hunting in the spring also, so, if Mossy finds a deer for anyone, when they ask what they owe for her services, I request the favor of being able to bring one kid to their property for a turkey hunt next spring.  I am now having to keep a list of the places Mossy has earned us the opportunity to turkey hunt.  When I sit back and look at all Mossy has done here in Georgia--in addition to tracking wounded deer--I am overwhelmed. Introducing kids to hunting, the outdoors, and WHDs is awesome.

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New Jersey’s Leashed Tracking Dog Program Call to Action

by Darren Doran

This article was published in the Winter 2015 issue of Tracks and Trails, publication of the United Bowhunters of New Jersey

Unlike in the Southern States dogs and deer hunting have never mixed in the Northeast. Over fifty years ago the New Jersey legislature passed a law that prevented dogs to be used to hunt deer. The law is as follows.

23:4-46. Dogs not to be used

No person shall at any time, or for any reason, hunt for, track, search for, seek, capture or kill a wild deer with a dog.

Amended by L.1957, c. 116, p. 488, s. 1, eff. July 2, 1957.

This law was enacted to protect a fragile, recovering deer population from over-hunting, and what was considered an unfair advantage with the use of dogs.

Since that time New Jersey and its whitetail population has vastly changed. The loss of habitat to development and the ability of white-tailed deer to adapt to these landscape changes has created a thriving population of deer as well as greatly increased hours of recreational hunting in order to manage this increased deer population. Bow season now starts as early as mid-September in some parts of New Jersey when it is typically hot and the forest is still in full foliage. Add the seemingly increasing presence of coyotes to the scene and it becomes extremely important to recover deer that have been shot by hunters as quickly as possible to prevent spoilage or loss of venison from scavenging.

Most deer shot by bowhunters are recovered by the hunters themselves, but every bowhunter knows that even a well placed arrow that kills quickly can produce a blood trail that is very sparse or non-existent for a human to follow. A deer is a valuable resource and every ethical hunter will do everything in their power to recover a deer they have shot. A leashed tracking dog is a conservation tool that can help recover a deer that a hunter might not have been able to recover him or herself. This law that was originally designed to aid in the restoration of whitetails never took into consideration the conservation use of a leashed tracking dog to help recover a deer for a hunter.

Currently there are 37 states that allow some kind of big game recovery with a dog. New Jersey’s experimental tracking program began in 2008 when the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife issued a special wildlife management permit to study the usefulness and feasibility of using a leashed tracking dog to recover deer that had been shot by hunters who were having issues recovering those deer on their own.

The research permit is issued to Dr. Leonard Wolgast and it is he who is tasked with compiling and analyzing the data from the sub-permitees which are the dog handlers. That first permit had only three handlers on it which covered a limited area of the state, and had a very limited scope. Today there are 11 certified handlers and dogs on the permit, and tracking by these handler/dog teams may be conducted statewide.

The tracking permit is issued before the start of the early bow season in September and a new handler must be certified by mid-August in order to be included on that permit.

In order to show credibility to the program and basic ability, a handler and dog must complete at a minimum, a United Blood Trackers UBT 1 evaluation. This evaluation is a pass fail evaluation administrated by a UBT judge and requires the dog and handler to complete an unmarked test line consisting of 8 oz. of deer blood, 400 meters long with two 90 degree turns and 1 wound bed. The line is at least 2 hours old and the dog must lead the handler to the deer skin at the end. There are currently two UBT judges in New Jersey.

Upon successful completion of the evaluation, the handler and dog team will receive a certificate from the United Blood Trackers and inclusion on New Jersey’s permit. The handler by inclusion on the permit is then required to complete the tracking data and submit it monthly to Dr Wolgast. A tracker that does not submit their monthly reports or year-end report may be removed from the permit.

Before a tracker enters the woods with a hunter a track report is started. This includes the name, address, phone, email and CID number of the hunter. The location of the property is also included on the report. The hunter then signs the top part of this report stating that he has permission to hunt this property and that tracking is allowed. The handler then calls the regional law enforcement office in that area and reports the tracking attempt to the office. If the deer is recovered the hunter must sign the report stating that the deer was recovered.

During the tracking process all Fish and Game laws and regulations pertaining to that season must be followed. The tracking of a deer does not allow trespassing on private property without permission of the land owner.

In the early years of the research permit, few New Jersey hunters knew this service was available to them. As time passed the word has spread, and today more and more hunters are taking advantage of certified tracker and dog teams to assist in the recovery of a deer they can’t find on their own.

All the trackers are volunteers and there is no cost for this service (though a tracker is allowed to accept a donation for fuel, vet bills, dog food etc.). Please keep this in mind when you call a tracker and they are unable to respond. They all have jobs, family commitments and most of them are hunters themselves.

The New Jersey permit has stood the test of time. Past and present permittees have proven that a certified leashed tracking dog can work successfully in New Jersey. There have been no incidents involving law enforcement since the study’s inception. The United Bowhunters of New Jersey, The Traditional Archers of New Jersey, the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsman Clubs, and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife support this. So why isn’t it legal? The answer is simple. The law needs to be amended by legislators in both the state Assembly and state Senate and then signed by the Governor. This is not a law that can be changed by members of the New Jersey Fish and Game Council via a Game Code amendment.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife has proposed the added language that would legalize tracking in the state of New Jersey and is as follows,

23:4-46 Dogs not to be used

“No person shall at any time, or for any reason, hunt for, capture or kill a wild deer with a dog. This shall not preclude the use of certified tracking dogs on leads by persons permitted by the Division of Fish and Wildlife to search for and recover deer lost by hunters during the regular deer seasons.”

We have reached our goals with this permit, and it’s now time to approach our legislators and let them know this is important to us. Every hunter I have ever tracked for, whether we found the deer or not was grateful and supportive of the service. We’re here to help you and now I’m going to need to ask you for some help. In the near future, with the help of the UBNJ, I need to initiate a letter writing campaign to selected legislators to let them know this is important to voting hunters. Very few bills that are introduced are ultimately passed each year in Trenton, and in order to stand a chance of amending a bill that most legislators would consider insignificant they need to know it matters to their constituents. A flood of letters from voting hunters will get their attention.

If this amendment became law a certified tracker would still need to call the Division of Law Enforcement before tracking, track on lead, obey the game laws, and respect the private property rights of landowners.

It will be the responsibility of the handler to obtain the required UBT 1 certification for each dog they track with and have it in their possession while tracking. If asked to produce it by a Conservation Officer while tracking, the handler must produce it or risk a citation.

The reason this will be required is to insure that this amendment will not be used as a loophole to have a dog in the field actually hunting deer. Calling the track in and having the certification will insure that the use of the dog is for the ethical recovery of a deer. The handler and leashed tracking dog team is a conservation tool used for the recovery of a dead deer. A leashed tracking dog being used to recover already shot deer is no different than a retriever used for recovering upland birds or ducks. The hunting of the deer has already been done.

Currently there aren’t enough trackers permitted in the state to meet the demand. Legalization would open the doors and attract more handlers that might be interested in tracking, but aren’t really interested in doing the paper work required to be on the permit. The more trackers available the less chance a deer with no blood trail or a lost blood trail will go unrecovered. We as hunters owe the deer we hunt every legal option we can use for recovery. A certified leashed tracking dog is another conservation tool to help meet that goal.

If you have a dog that you would like to check to see if it has an aptitude for tracking you will need to get some training materials. One way to do this is to collect blood, the liver and skin from your own deer harvests. Collect the blood and liver when you gut the deer and put it in a zip lock freezer bag. Once at home put the blood in a blender, strain the blood pour into 8 oz water bottles and freeze. One bottle will be the right amount for a training line. Take a cap of the same type of bottle and drill a few small holes in it. When you are ready to dispense the blood, switch caps. The liver can be divided into thirds and used as a drag. Take a knife and poke a slit through the liver and attach a piece of parachute cord for the drag. These can be frozen and used more than once. The hide will be saved and used to represent the deer at the end of the trail. A half of hide is plenty and these can be refrozen and used over. You will need something to mark the line so when you come back with the dog you will know exactly where it is. Clothespins with strips of flagging material work well. Clip these on branches or brush at eye level. Remove the pins as you pass with the dog. Don’t make the line too hard. Remember your first step is to see if your dog has an interest in this activity. Place the skin at the end, wait a couple of hours and see if the dog can get you to the skin. You may just find that your dog is a natural.

The time to legalize the use of certified, leashed tracking dogs to recover deer in New Jersey has come, and with your commitment to help this might become a reality.

For additional information about tracking dogs in general go to www.unitedbloodtrackers.org.

For additional information about the New Jersey program or certifying a dog please contact Darren Doran at Darren@rvwsinc.com.

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Blood Tracking Dogs and Snow

Alain Ridel, who lives  at Mont Carmel between the St Lawrence River and the State of Maine, is a long time tracker with a brilliant wirehaired dachshund that he imported from France as a puppy. He has been an active in the Quebec handlers association, ACCSQ,  and he is also a member of UBT.

Alains specialty  is tracking wounded moose, but he also tracks whitetails. This story supports our American ideas about tracking a scent line under snow cover. However, we would all agree that it is a major achievement to track a wounded deer when six inches of snow have fallen on the line.

By Alain Ridel 

Is it possible for  a blood tracking dog, especially a dachshund, to find a deer after a good snow fall? The answer is YES.

My dog Théo, who is six and a half years old, proved this to me on November 3, 2014. I had already taken several deer calls with Théo after a good snowfall, but we had never been able to recover the animal, and this left me with doubts about the capability of a dog to follow and find a wounded big game animal in the snow.

Monday, November 3 at 11:15 AM, I got a call to track a deer that had been shot the previous day at 3 PM. The hunters had waited an hour, and then they had taken off to track their game. Unfortunately they jumped him  at 180 meters from the hit site, and because darkness was coming (its dark at 4:30) they decided to wait until the next day despite the fact that snow was predicted overnight.

Tuesday morning, when they woke up, six inches of snow had fallen. In spite of this, they decided to go back to the woods in order to find the deer. They had found blood and  also stomach contents in the bed where they had jumped the deer. Despite three hours of searching by three people, they had found no sign of this wounded deer. There were only numerous tracks in the snow made by other deer that had roamed around all night long. They decided to call me. So I found myself out in the woods in a six inch+ layer of snow, and I was there to find a deer that had been wounded nearly 24 hours earlier.

When I started Théo at the hit site, the only place that the hunters had marked, he stuck his nose, and practically his whole head, down into the snow; after several minutes he took off on scent line, which only he could figure out because there was no visual sign that I could use to confirm that he was on the right line. But as usual when we tracked together, I accepted the fact that Théo is better in these matters than I am, and I had full confidence in him.

Obviously this search took place without much of a track to follow, but at every bit of remaining   scent, I could read my dog like a book. He would enthusiastically plunge his head down into the snow, and as I followed  10 meters behind, I could hear him breathing in the scent of that deer.

The first 180 meters to the deers bed, from which he had been jumped the day before, took 25 minutes.  Théo showed the bed to me as he scraped down to the ground where blood and stomach contents were still visible. Two other times he dug down to the earth and showed me blood on the soil that he had uncovered. With the  snow often coming up to his chest, Théo  also had to contend with fresh deer tracks everywhere, but he was never  distracted and never left his line. The area was also tracked up by the hunters, who had searched, but that did not bother him either.

After an hour and 55 minutes, he found the buck dead, half buried in snow, on the edge of a lake. He had traveled 1,315 meters.

Summary

The search took place 24 hours after the shot.

There was more than six inches of snow.

The temperature was -8 Celsius,  17.6 Fahrenheit.

There were numerous  deer tracks in the snow.

The search lasted for an hour an 55 minutes.

French version: Les Chiens de Sang et la Neige?

Est-il possible à un chien de sang et, particulièrement à un teckel de retrouver un chevreuil  après une bonne chute de neige?

La réponse est : OUI

Mon chien Théo, âgé de 6 ans et demi m’en a fourni la preuve le lundi  le 3 novembre 2014.  J’avais déjà effectué plusieurs recherches avec Théo après une chute de neige abondante mais, nous n’avions jamais pu récupérer l’animal blessé, ce qui me laissait un doute sur la capacité d’un chien de sang à suivre et retrouver un gibier blessé dans la neige.

Lundi, le 3 novembre, à 11h15 , le téléphone sonne pour une recherche sur un chevreuil qui a été tiré le dimanche, 2 novembre à 15h., les chasseurs ont attendu une heure, puis sont partis a la recherche de leur gibier.  Malheureusement, ils l’ont relevé à 180 mètres de l’anchuss et comme la nuit allait tombée (il fait nuit à 16h30), ils ont décidé d’attendre le lendemain pour poursuivre leur recherche malgré  de la neige annoncée pour la nuit.

Lundi matin à leur réveil, il avait tombé 6 pouces (15cm) de neige, malgré cela, ils ont décidé de retourner en forêt pour essayer de retrouver ce chevreuil car, sur la couche du cerf relevé le soir d’avant, ils avaient trouvé à part du sang, du fumier de panse.  Malgré 3heures  de recherches à 3 personnes, ils n’avaient vu aucun indice de ce chevreuil blessé à part de nombreuses pistes dans la neige de chevreuils qui avaient voyagé toute la nuit. Ils ont donc décidé de m’appeler, et je me suis retrouvé  en pleine forêt avec une couche de neige de + 6 pouces  à la recherche d’un chevreuil qui avait été blessé il y avait presque 24h00.

Suite à la dépose de Théo à l’anchuss (seul endroit de la recherche que les chasseurs avaient marqué) celui-ci commença en mettant son museau et pratiquement toute la tête dans la neige, et au bout de quelques minutes il parti clairement sur une voie qu’il était seul à comprendre car il n’y avait aucun indice visuel pour nous confirmer qu’il était sur la bonne voie, mais comme en recherche, je pars du principe que Théo est meilleur que moi, je lui aie fait entièrement confiance

Évidemment, cette recherche  c’est déroulée avec beaucoup de perte de  voie, mais à chaque fois je lisais mon chien comme un livre ouvert et celui-ci replongeait gaiement la tête dans la neige, et nous qui étions à une dizaine de mètres (30 pieds) derrière lui, nous l’entendions inspirer tous les sentiments de ce chevreuil,

Le premier 180 mètres jusqu’à la couche où le chevreuil avait été relevé le jour d’avant a été atteinte en 25 minutes et Théo nous l’a montré en grattant la neige jusqu’au niveau de la terre où le sang et le fumier du chevreuil se trouvaient encore.  Deux autres fois (drapeau rouge) il creusa la neige et à chaque fois il y avait du sang sur le sol découvert.  Avec de la neige souvent plus haute que ses pattes, des pistes de chevreuils fraîches (Théo n’a jamais pris un change) de nombreuses traces de pas (les chasseurs dans leur recherche) ,   il retrouva ce cerf mort sur le bord d’un lac à moitié enseveli par la neige au bout de 1h55 de travail sur une distance de 1315 mètres.

Pour résumer la recherche :

-    - recherche effectuée 24heures après le tir,
-+ de 6 pouces  de neige au sol,   
- température de -8 degré,
- nombreuses pistes de chevreuils dans la neige,
- durée de la recherche  1H 55 minutes .                                            
  

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Urgent call for help! Support legalization of blood tracking dogs in Pennsylvania now!

These are just few pictures of many that show deer recovered by Andy Bensing and his tracking wirehaired dachshund Eibe this fall. Even though Andy lives in Pennsylvania these deer were tracked in Maryland. Andy loves helping hunters recover deer that they are not able to find by themselves but unfortunately the use of blood tracking dogs is illegal in Pennsylvania. Read more what Andy posted on Facebook today:

 

I and many of my friends have been working for 13 years to change a hunting law in Harrisburg to legalize the use of leashed tracking dogs to help recover deer that a hunter has shot and has not been able to locate himself just using his eyes. Our current bill is very close to becoming law. If you would like to help please read the rest of this message and send a few emails to Harrisburg ASAP.
Thanks in advance,
Andy Bensing

Recent developments in Harrisburg make it urgent that you email or call to all the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee Members immediately. Please contact them yet tonight or tomorrow. Send your email on Thanksgiving day if that is all the sooner you can get to it but PLEASE get it done.
Chairman Alloway is considering putting HB451, our Blood Tracking Bill, on the agenda for passage next Wednesday, December 4th, but it will only happen if the other committee members express their support for HB451 to Chairman Alloway in advance. Thats why you need to contact all committee members right now and ask them to support HB451 and request it be put on the agenda.

Get any of your interested friends and relatives to write as well. The more the better. With enough hunter interest and support this may actually happen finally this year.

Here is a list of all the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee email addresses. Just address your email, "Dear Senator" and BCC copy it to them all.
Write your own letter or use the Sample below but please just write and do it immediately. There is no time to waste.
alloway@pasen.gov wdando@pasenate.com cmcilhinney@pasen.gov jscarnati@pasen.gov lbaker@pasen.gov mbrubaker@pasen.gov jcorman@pasen.gov rrobbins@pasen.gov boscola@pasenate.com brewster@pasenate.com SenatorSmith@pasenate.com

Sample letter:
Dear Senator,
I am very happy to hear that Chairman Alloway is considering putting HB451, the Leashed Blood Tracking Dog Bill, on the December 4, 2013 Senate Game and Fisheries Committee meeting agenda for passage out of committee. I support the legalization of leashed blood tracking dogs here in PA and I hope you do as well.

I ask that you let Chairman Alloway know that you are in favor of HB451 and you would like to see it come up for a vote at the upcoming committee meeting.

The legalization of the use of leashed blood tracking dogs for the recovery of wounded deer and bear has been rapidly spreading across the country for the last 10 years. All the major PA sportsman’s clubs (PFSC, UBP, NWTF, USP, QDMA) support HB451. The PGC has supported HB451 with a resolution and Governor Corbett on the advice of the Governors Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation supports the bill as well. With all this support I hope now will be the time to finally pass this bill. I hope you can help.

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Happy New Year to you and your tracking dogs!

We are joining Tuesday (in the picture) to wish all of you a Very Happy New Year! BTW, Tuesday will be bred this week to Kunox, and hopefully we will have some puppies born in nine weeks. Unfortunately, our waiting list is full and closed, and we are not taking more reservations.

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Help find Bella a blood tracking dog from Claremont NH

Update: Bella has been found!

Rob and Diane Richardson from New Hampshire are looking for their blood tracking dog Bella. In Dianes words:

We were doing a wounded deer track on 11/14/13 at 379 Jarvis Hill Rd, Claremont, NH and just as Rob was reeling her in to call a halt to the track and the night, Bella somehow got off her gear and zipped off still tracking the buck. We searched all night and never found her. She ALWAYS comes to Rob so this is very unusual.

Bella is a Southern Black Mouth Cur (looks like pit X Lab mix to some people) red/yellow/tan. about 50 lbs. 23-24" at shoulder and last seen wearing a green nylon collar that has her name, license (Unity), Rabies tag and Microchip tag.

She is people and dog friendly. Traffic naïve and will run in front of autos without thinking. She is a trained (licensed by NH Fish & Game) Blood tracking/Wildlife recovery dog and is trained to track wounded deer. She may still be in pursuit of or with the buck she was tracking - do not shoot her! Bella has SEVERE food allergies and needs a specific diet!!!

If found in need of medical care transport immediately to her vet Claremont Animal Hospital.

$100 reward for her safe return no questions asked.

Diane & Rob 603-542-7344 or Claremont Animal Hospital 543-0117 or the Claremont Police Department.

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Are leashed blood tracking dogs going to be legal in Pennsylvania soon

It has been a very long and difficult road to legalize the use of blood tracking dogs in Pennsylvania. Nobody knows it better than Andy Bensing, President of the United Blood Trackers and Deer Recovery of Pennsylvania. In October 2014 he wrote an excellent article "Why Cant I use My Dog?", which gave a good analysis of the situation and objections to tracking dogs in PA and other non-legal states.

Next week identical bills allowing leashed tracking dogs will be voted on in the PA House and the Senate. See the full text here.  Quote: "It shall be lawful to do any of the following:

(1) Make use of a dog to pursue, chase, scatter and track wild turkeys during the fall wild turkey season.
(2) Make use of a leashed blood-tracking dog to track a white-tailed deer or bear in an attempt to recover an animal which has been legally killed or wounded during any open season for white-tailed deer or bear." 

According to Andy there is a very good chance that both bills are going to pass. We are going to keep our fingers crossed that PA is going to turn green on this map:

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Workshop for handlers and their blood tracking dogs The UBT Trackfest 2014

This report is long overdue but as they say, its better later than never. The official report was written by Cheri Faust and it can be found underneath my remarks (thank you Cheri!).

In the middle of May I (Jolanta) flew to North Carolina to participate in the Annual Trackfest held by United Blood Trackers. Because at the time we had a litter of pups and because some of our dogs have "special" needs (like 15-year-old Asko), it was not possible for both of us to go. This time was my turn. I really enjoyed the trip, and it was so good to meet finally trackers that had never had a chance to meet in person. Of course, a chance to work with good friends was a great attraction too.

A big thank you goes to Kirk Vaughan from Chapel Hill, NC, who found the great place to host this workshop and made possible that all our needs were met. You are never going to meet anybody more dedicated to blood tracking than Kirk. Of course, his wife Barbara Fields was there too helping whenever she could. And I got to meet mac, Kirk tracking dog, who is a beagle/walker mix.

Barbara Fields and Kirk Vaughan, who is holding Mac.

By Cheri Faust

The United Blood Trackers held Trackfest 2014 at the J. Robert Gordon Sandhills Field Trial Grounds near Hoffman, North Carolina, May 17-19.

Participants started gathering on Friday to renew acquaintances and make new ones.  Those who arrived early had the special treat of watching Andy Bensing and his superstar tracking dog, Eibe, attempt the first running of the UBT III test. The UBT III demonstrates the ability to resolve situations often encountered on natural tracks. The test is designed to be challenging and fun. Each test is likely to be unique, and handling teams may wish to take the test on multiple occasions. 

Andys track was about 1000 yards in length, four hours in age and was laid using just 3 ounces of blood and tracking shoes.  The track included a directional challenge (a three ring spiral), a surface challenge (an area of the pine plantation had recently been burned and the ground was heavily charred) and a distraction (thanks, Alan, for picking up that road killed armadillo!)  We were all impressed with how steadily and easily Andy and Eibe handled the track.

Andy Bensing and his wirehaired dachshund Eibe at the start of the UBT III test. 

Cheri Faust was judging the test and Al Wade was a track layer. They followed Andy pretty close while observers were further behind. The picture shows well the kind of terrain we were dealing with - very sandy.

Cheri congratulates Andy upon successful completion of the test. the test was not easy and Eibe had to work hard on carrying the line.

Over the course of the following two days, 32 participants received a variety of hands-on training and classroom presentations from the 11 UBT “staff” members in attendance. 

UBT Staff: from the left Cheri faust, Al Wade, Susanne Hamilton, Chris Morris, Jolanta Jeanneney, Andy Bensing, Marlo Ondrej, Larry Gohlke, Kirk Vaughan, Kyle Stiffler and Sean Timmens.

The Hit Site Seminar presented on Saturday was an especially big “hit”.  The seminar followed the format described in our post from June 2013.

 

The Hit Site Evaluation Seminar ended with participants examining several sites for signs of wounded deer such as blood, bone fragments, hair etc. In real tracking situations when a handler is asked to track a wounded deer or bear, he starts at a hit site and by careful examination of all the signs left by a wounded animal he has to reconstruct what had happened and come up with a tracking strategy for the specific situation.

The Hit Site Evaluation seminar has become a very important part of Trackfests as it is an excellent educational tool for trackers and hunters. Just recently Cliff Shrader from Louisiana wrote: 

This past Sunday at Hunters For The Hungry Louisiana, I put on a small Hit Site Evaluation display. I set up several mock hit sites simulating what a hunter would find when he checked his shot on a deer. This is like Deer Hunters CSI. This form of education has never been seen in our area before and was very well received. I didnt count the number of people that went through it but it must have been over 40 people. Each and everyone that went through it had very positive things to say. Thank you Andy Bensing, Larry Gohlke and Alan Wade for the evaluation that you put on in May as I was able to pass this education on!

...... to be continued

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