Bram Posted March 14, 2004 Report Share Posted March 14, 2004 Got 6 1/2 Month old lab (Built like a brick **** HOUSE ) basic training going great,,, Question at what age should I start training him to blood trail deer and any advice on best way to carry on.. I still intend to train him to retrieve to shot gun quarry as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_stag88 Posted March 14, 2004 Report Share Posted March 14, 2004 Use the lower legs, as they have scent glands in them. Hide them in the undergrowth and let him find them. Also a pop bottle with a hole in the lid tied to a stick, and then filled with deer blood is good. You walk along and dab it on the ground/braken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted March 14, 2004 Report Share Posted March 14, 2004 Bram : At 6 1/2 months , I would continue with his basic obediance until he is finished. After his obediance is finished move on to his field work. Personally I train my dogs to handle in the uplands, and to hunt Pheasants first. I also teach them how to track a running pheasant, before blood work. The reason for this is you will have him using his nose to find, flush, and retrieve birds. Gets him into the habit. You can also start to teach him how to handle for your water work at this time. Once he has gained experience on tracking pheasants and is consistant, than I will teach blood tracking. If you would like I will type you up an outline on starting your dog to track pheasants, and moving him onto bloodwork. Remember keep It FUN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quercus Posted March 14, 2004 Report Share Posted March 14, 2004 Bram, I would recommend Guy Wallace's little book "Training Dogs for Woodland Stalking". Although primarily a pointer man he is an authority on this subject. I think the BDS still sell it. Nttf, I would definately be interested in hearing how you teach your dogs blood trailing. Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff B Posted March 14, 2004 Report Share Posted March 14, 2004 Hi Bram One of the problems of having a 6 month old Lab who is built like the proverbial outhouse is that you are inclined to forget that he is still a puppy. His basic training may be going well but it ain't there yet by a long way. You cannot put an age on when to do this or that, it depends the dog, yourself and how training is progressing. As you intend to train him as a shooting retriever its what NTTF says, do the basics [sit, stay, heelwork, recall especially, and simple retrieving] then move on to his fieldwork [whistle control, hand signals, live game, water work etc.] so he becomes an efficient shooting dog. When you have complete control of him then would be the time to introduce him to tracking exercises. If you start too early without proper control you may end up searching all over the county for him, once he gets his nose on a scent and has learned the rewards of following it he will just put his nose down and go. Remember you have got your dog for 12 years or more so there is no rush, what you do over the next 12 months will set him up for the rest of his life. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bram Posted March 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Thanks for reply's I have a 10 year old Lab which I trained from a pup for general shooting and she is rock steady to all game I intend to do same with pup but am in no rush to enter him to game untill he is rock steady and under full control aswell,, the blood trail training can come later as I said all advice on topic welcome as that side of training will be new to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Will post a training to blood trail training outline in the next day or two...as soon as I get my sick kids sorted..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_stag88 Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Sorry to hear that NTTF, I hope they are in good health soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new to the flock Posted March 15, 2004 Report Share Posted March 15, 2004 Thanks Red: As I have only had 4 1/2 hours sleep in the past 3 days, I'm just not up to posting an outline right now....Would probably forget 1/2 the steps anyway..... The two older ones are on the mend, and the youngest should be on the uptake sometime today I hope. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff B Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 NTTF Sincerely hope the kids are improving and are now on the mend. I would still like to read your outline on blood trail training when you have time. It's not something I have personally been directly involved in so I am more than a little interested. Make sure you have had plenty of sleep though. Cheers Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.