Ability to self-correct is very important in a blood tracking dog (and husband)

Joeri's recovery #6 took place yesterday in Claverack, NY

John Jeanneney wrote:

Yesterday we had an interesting call down at a site in Columbia County about 45 miles away. The eight pointer had been hit by a Rage broadhead far back in the rib cage about half way down. I took young Joeri, who is doing very well but can always profit from more experience.

The arrow has entered and exited, but the interesting thing was that there was very little blood at the beginning and none after 75 yards. This lack of blood came about despite the fact that there was a two inch entry hole and a somewhat smaller exit hole. You see some strange things! The scent line was about 8 hours old.

Joeri worked slowly and carefully for about 300 yards, but then his body language showed that he knew he had run out of line. We started going back over the line we had just tracked, headed back to the last marker I had put up on blood. On the way back Joeri put his head down and began pulling hard to the left. “I’ve got the line now”, he said. Within 50 yards there was the dead deer.

I can’t be sure whether the deer backtracked from where Joeri ran out of line, or whether Joeri simply overshot a sharp turn and later corrected himself. Joeri communicates pretty well by body language, but he still leaves certain questions unanswered. Anyway he does correct himself. On this point Jolanta, my wife, believes that my dog can teach me something.

Below - the closeup of the last part of the track.