Razen's first buck provided a great tracking experience

I apologize but I still have not caught up with all the e-mails and stories. This one was sent to us almost two weeks ago we by Ray Holohan from Ashkum, Illinois. This is a first tracking season for his wife Claudia and their new wirehaired dachshund puppy Razen. Now two weeks later, I am sure, his numbers are very different.

Razen was able to find her first buck today. She had to work pretty hard , but was able to pull it off. The track was 22 hrs old and about a 1/2 mile long. The hunter shot the buck last evening and managed to get two arrows in it. He thought the first shot was far back so he looked a little and found one arrow and some blood, and he backed out. When he called me I told him she should wait until morning or afternoon to go after it, and he agreed.

 

He got a call in the morning from a hunter that was hunting across the river and saw a buck laying in the water. It didn't look in very good shape. We decided to go after it in the afternoon. Meanwhile he went across the river with the hunter to look at the buck but it was gone. I decided to start Razen at the river to avoid spooking it up. It didn't take long and she picked up some blood and started to track north along the river. Then she went up the bank and into the woods to where we picked up a good blood trail. However, I soon realized that she was back tracking it. I let her follow for a while, then picked her up and went back staying on the blood til we got close to the river, then put her back down, going in the right direction.She tracked right at the waters edge for about 50 yards, wanting to go in the water every 10 feet or so. Finally we located a drop of blood a little further up the bank. She made it to that point and then went further up the bank where I found another spec. Then she went into a real thick thicket and I was on my hands and knees, but I found another spec. About 40 yards further we found the buck dead.

 

It was a great track. That was her 4th track this weekend. She found a doe on Friday night, then we ran another track last night with both dogs where we tracked off the property and had to call it. We were actually coming back from a track today when we ran this one. Right now we have done 15 tracks with 7 recoveries between the 2 dogs. We have two lined up for tomorrow, those will be Claudia's. It's starting to get busy cutting into my hunting, that's OK I like doing this as well.

PS.

Jolanta the two tracks I mentioned for tomorrow above, were completed and Razen found another buck. Claudia got stuck in the mud up to her butt while trying to cross a shallow creek . They had to help her get out, but she didn't give up and found the buck. We were talking about the tracks and she said even though its a lot of work its kind of fun and she really enjoys doing it.

 

Thanks Ray, Rosco, Razen,and Claudia



Claudia and Ray Holohan with Razen Kane and the buck she recovered. Great job!