Leashed Tracking Of Wounded Game
There is a time for business, and a time for play.
While I am 100% dedicated to the horse sport and my clients, in my free
time my passion belongs to our two little dogs.
When nine years ago Cliff and I decided to get a wirehaired dachshund from
Germany, we had no idea how much this little dog would change our lives. The
dachshund is a hunting breed, and dachshund field trials and tracking
wounded deer for hunters have become our passion. At a field trial
dachshunds are put on the scent line of a rabbit and judged on the quality
of their work on the scent line. Buster has done really well at field
trials, he is a field champion, and he won a national field trial twice.
When fall season comes around, we help hunters recover wounded big game such
as deer and bear. There are many reasons why a hunter might not be able to
find the deer he shot. Tracking dogs can be of great help in such
situations. With their superior noses they can follow a trail of a wounded
animal, even when there is no visible blood. A deer, even if mortally
wounded, can cover much ground in a very short period of time, and it can
take hunters hours and even days to find it. Sometimes coyotes find the deer
before a hunter does. Often deer are never found. The tracking dog's job is
to recover the wounded deer quickly so that it can be tagged and put in the
freezer, and not be wasted. And while I am not a hunter myself, I love
tracking wounded game for hunters. There is nothing more satisfying than
tracking with my dog, watch him work and having a complete trust in him.
In 2006 a small group of dedicated trackers from all over the country
started an organization called the United Blood Trackers. United Blood
Trackers is dedicated to promoting resource conservation through the use of
trained tracking dogs in the ethical recovery of big game. We support
recovery efforts afield, the education of hunters, the training and testing
of dog handlers and their dogs, and legislative efforts to promote blood
tracking. I am honored to be one of the founding members of that group, and
to be on the board of directors.
For more information go to:
United Bloodtrackers.org
