CnC’s Tracking Journal

[Crimson n' Camo]

Gonna start a tracking journal since hunting season is just around the corner. It’ll probably be a little quiet for a while but once hunting season gets here I should have some good stories to tell. For now I’ll just begin by introducing you to my two young tracking dogs.


This is Otis. Otis is a 2 year old Slovensky Kopov. He’s been through two tracking seasons now and has been on roughly 60 tracks in those first two years, with the degree of success varying greatly from one track the next. He was doing well toward the end of last season but I actually think that this coming year, his third tracking season, will be his break-out year when he start growing into a more mature tracking dog. He’s really "grown up" this summer and his prey drive really seems to be coming on strong of late.


Meet Otis……….

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

…..and here’s my newest little pride and joy. Shelby is a 3 month old chocolate lab with a strong American bloodline …trained for duck retrievers and field trial dogs. I believe she’s gonna be an awesome tracking dog when she get older. She loves to use her nose and has a desire to follow a scent line like few puppies I’ve seen. If she’s able to put it all together as she gets older and stay focused on a line, she’ll be one tough little blood tracker.



Meet Shelby……..

 

[outdoorstom]

Both great looking dogs.....looking forward to reading the stories.

 

[wbpdeer]

The hunter in me really likes the color and marking of Otis. He just looks like a hunting dog.

I like people with passion - with two dogs no doubt you have passion and love this stuff.

 

[dogdoc]

Being a vet and dog guy I am really looking forward to following along with both dogs. I have trained several labs for hunting and hunt tests so I understand the amount of time and work it takes in training.

thanks for getting this journal going
todd

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Both great looking dogs.....looking forward to reading the stories.

Thanks!....I enjoy talking dogs just about more than I enjoy talking about habitat management, soil, etc. This is a good outlet for it.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

The hunter in me really likes the color and marking of Otis. He just looks like a hunting dog.

I like people with passion - with two dogs no doubt you have passion and love this stuff.

Thanks.....It's still a fairly new endeavor for me with this upcoming season being #3. I've been learning as I go but me and Otis both are just about to get all the "green" times behind us. I've had help from several older trackers as well that has really helped the learning curve.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Being a vet and dog guy I am really looking forward to following along with both dogs. I have trained several labs for hunting and hunt tests so I understand the amount of time and work it takes in training.

thanks for getting this journal going
todd

Yeah, I'm spending a lot time right now working with the dogs, getting ready for the season to start. It's so hot right now though that we can only do so much before they get tired. I try to make a lot of our work be early in the morning and just before dark. I'm about to run Shelby on a training line late this afternoon.

 

[lakngolf]

Looking forward to the adventures of Otis and Shelby. I plan to repost the thread where some local trackers helped my buddy find a nice buck this past hunting season. What do those boys think of Otis and Shelby?

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Looking forward to the adventures of Otis and Shelby. I plan to repost the thread where some local trackers helped my buddy find a nice buck this past hunting season. What do those boys think of Otis and Shelby?

They don’t what to think of her yet. She's pretty spunky. A more fitting description would be to call her a red-headed lab…..she’s a firecracker for sure.

 

[jlane35]

I don't know much about blood tracking dogs but I do have a few beagles for rabbit hunting. Do your dogs bark when on the track? The lab shouldn't but how about the other? I would assume no since that would alert the deer ahead if it was still alive.

What are there signals they give to let you know they are on scent? Fast tail wag? Louder sniffing?

And are they on a leash during the track or are they off leash?

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

I don't know much about blood tracking dogs but I do have a few beagles for rabbit hunting. Do your dogs bark when on the track? The lab shouldn't but how about the other? I would assume no since that would alert the deer ahead if it was still alive.

What are there signals they give to let you know they are on scent? Fast tail wag? Louder sniffing?

And are they on a leash during the track or are they off leash?

No they don’t bark while tracking but if the deer is still alive when they find it, it sounds like all hell is breaking loose. My dogs track off lead (leash) with a Garmin Alpha system. As far as knowing if the dog is on the scent or not…..that kinda just comes with working with the dog a lot. You learn to read their body language and communicate with one another over time.

 

[jlane35]

Do they attempt to bay the deer if still alive? Working dogs fascinate me and what they can do. If my wife ever decides she wants a house dog that isn't a beagle I think I would try my hand at a blood tracking dog. I just don't think I would ever get one on enough tracks during a season for a dog to reach its full potential.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

Do they attempt to bay the deer if still alive?

Oh yeah!....That's when thing really get exciting.

 

[outdoorstom]

The only time Luna barks is when we're close to a live one.

 

[Crimson n' Camo]

The only time Luna barks is when we're close to a live one.

Otis has a whole different bark he uses on a live deer. It's really high pitched compared to the normal deep bark he has. It's hard to keep your nerves about you when a buck jumps up in front of you and he cuts loose.

 

[wbpdeer]

Otis has a whole different bark he uses on a live deer. It's really high pitched compared to the normal deep bark he has. It's hard to keep your nerves about you when a buck jumps up in front of you and he cuts loose.

Sounds fun - for sure. Love the deer tracking threads.

 

[outdoorstom]

Otis has a whole different bark he uses on a live deer. It's really high pitched compared to the normal deep bark he has. It's hard to keep your nerves about you when a buck jumps up in front of you and he cuts loose.

Exactly the same......only time I hear the high pitched bark.

 

[Twolftg]

Looking forward to the adventures of Otis and Shelby. I plan to repost the thread where some local trackers helped my buddy find a nice buck this past hunting season. What do those boys think of Otis and Shelby?

CNC can you change the thread title? "The Adventures of Otis and Shelby" has a great ring to it. lol

 

[Twolftg]

CNC can you change the thread title? "The Adventures of Otis and Shelby" has a great ring to it. lol

Damn I didn't even notice Brushpile already used that...