Yesterday, Hank got to do his "thang". No, not that "thang." He jumped in the dog box and tracked a couple deer. Hank is my German Shorthaired Pointer and we use him to find deer.
I will start with the doe I shot. I won't exaggerate. Hank was a bit rusty on my doe. He wasn't staying on the blood trail really well. He kept walking downwind of it and "cheating" by winding the blood trail. I would prefer him to keep his nose on the ground and follow the blood along with the interdigital hoof scent. Not making excuses here, but I will simply call it like it is. Hank was originally trained for police work. I think his training has him a bit skittish in confined areas. We were in the corn and he was really nervous with all the stalks making noise and tangling him up with the leash. He was more concerned about getting out of the corn than he was following the blood trail. Once out of the corn field my doe made it 50yds walking the edge of the field. I would love to tell you he put his nose to the ground and went after the deer hard but he was still winding the blood trail and walking to the side of it. Fortunately, this deer spilled more blood than a horror film and I would have never needed Hank to find her. However, his rustiness and hesitation yesterday left me a good bit disappointed. Shame on me for not working him at all prior to the season.
Fast forward to last night. One of my buddies (and a lurker on the site that never posts anything :smiley_chinrub::smiley_crocodile shot a doe with his crossbow. In all fairness, there was a good blood trail and there would not have been any issues finding this doe either. However, "Slushdog" has been fighting some health issues with a bum foot and I told him to give me a shout whenever he got one down. Always good to help each other out, and good to work the dog whenever possible.
Slushdog put a great shot on this deer and we started Hank at the point of impact. We walked in downwind to the point of impact and he was chomping at the bit as he winded the scent. He kept trying to pull us down into the low area along a creek. I have no doubt Hank was trying to go straight to the deer going off the wind. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I wanted to do in efforts to work him. Once at the shot impact site, Hank was shown the arrow and first blood spots. I had him lick the arrow and Slushdog pointed the direction the doe ran. After we were started on the blood trail, Hank was like a tank! He kept his nose to the ground and hunkered down following this blood trail like a tank. I was literally leaning backward to hang onto him. It is amazing how strong a 70lb GSP can be! He kept his nose to the ground and drug me to where she rested. I was extremely happy with his performance on this blood trail. After we found her was a different story. Hank was without manners and a pain in the butt. lol We had a heckuva time getting this doe out and Hank was without manners. He just wanted to lick the blood up, chew at her butt, eyes, and fur, and generally be a pain in the rump. He certainly would not have won any awards for being a well mannered dog, but his nose to the ground tracking job was one I was proud of!
Deer tracked: 2
Deer found: 2
Deer which would have been found anyway: 2
Now the rust is off. Maybe we can help another hunter to find one which might not have been found otherwise.
I will start with the doe I shot. I won't exaggerate. Hank was a bit rusty on my doe. He wasn't staying on the blood trail really well. He kept walking downwind of it and "cheating" by winding the blood trail. I would prefer him to keep his nose on the ground and follow the blood along with the interdigital hoof scent. Not making excuses here, but I will simply call it like it is. Hank was originally trained for police work. I think his training has him a bit skittish in confined areas. We were in the corn and he was really nervous with all the stalks making noise and tangling him up with the leash. He was more concerned about getting out of the corn than he was following the blood trail. Once out of the corn field my doe made it 50yds walking the edge of the field. I would love to tell you he put his nose to the ground and went after the deer hard but he was still winding the blood trail and walking to the side of it. Fortunately, this deer spilled more blood than a horror film and I would have never needed Hank to find her. However, his rustiness and hesitation yesterday left me a good bit disappointed. Shame on me for not working him at all prior to the season.
Fast forward to last night. One of my buddies (and a lurker on the site that never posts anything :smiley_chinrub::smiley_crocodile shot a doe with his crossbow. In all fairness, there was a good blood trail and there would not have been any issues finding this doe either. However, "Slushdog" has been fighting some health issues with a bum foot and I told him to give me a shout whenever he got one down. Always good to help each other out, and good to work the dog whenever possible.
Slushdog put a great shot on this deer and we started Hank at the point of impact. We walked in downwind to the point of impact and he was chomping at the bit as he winded the scent. He kept trying to pull us down into the low area along a creek. I have no doubt Hank was trying to go straight to the deer going off the wind. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I wanted to do in efforts to work him. Once at the shot impact site, Hank was shown the arrow and first blood spots. I had him lick the arrow and Slushdog pointed the direction the doe ran. After we were started on the blood trail, Hank was like a tank! He kept his nose to the ground and hunkered down following this blood trail like a tank. I was literally leaning backward to hang onto him. It is amazing how strong a 70lb GSP can be! He kept his nose to the ground and drug me to where she rested. I was extremely happy with his performance on this blood trail. After we found her was a different story. Hank was without manners and a pain in the butt. lol We had a heckuva time getting this doe out and Hank was without manners. He just wanted to lick the blood up, chew at her butt, eyes, and fur, and generally be a pain in the rump. He certainly would not have won any awards for being a well mannered dog, but his nose to the ground tracking job was one I was proud of!
Deer tracked: 2
Deer found: 2
Deer which would have been found anyway: 2
Now the rust is off. Maybe we can help another hunter to find one which might not have been found otherwise.