Beginnings of the United Blood Trackers

Compiled by Jolanta Jeanneney

The need for a national organization of blood trackers became evident in March 2005 when Henry Holt ran into problems regarding using tracking dogs on public land in Illinois. In his email circulated within borntotrack group (for owners of dogs bred by John and Jolanta Jeanneney), hosted by smartgroups, he wrote:

“Last season here in Illinois there was an emergency administrative rule issued prohibiting tracking on public land. Just before the season opened, Larry Gohlke, Cheri Faust, Al Diehl and I all attended a meeting in Springfield with Tim Hickman, the DNR head of public lands, Jack Price the DNR attorney in charge of wildlife and administrative rules, and Mike Kennedy a Captain in Law Enforcement (and also a Drahthaar trainer). It looked as though everything was on track until I saw a new rule published on the DNR website.

1) Tracking on public land has to be conducted outside of legal shooting hours which are 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise.

2) Dogs must be certified as deer tracking dogs by a national dog tracking organization.”

At the time there was no national organization able to provide this kind of certification. After many emails and lively discussion, several members of borntotrack yahoo group decided to go ahead and form the organization. Ken Parker, an owner of Bavarian Mountain Hounds, was invited as well.

An organizational meeting was held July 21-22, 2005 at the home of John and Jolanta Jeanneney in Berne, NY.

Top row from left: John Jeanneney, Henry Holt, Larry Golhke; bottom row: Andy Bensing, Cheri Faust and Ken Parker. Jolanta Jeanneney was behind camera.

Present were John Jeanneney, Jolanta Jeanneney, Henry Holt, Ken Parker, Andy Bensing, Cheri Faust, Larry Gohlke, Tim Nichols (Friday).

We discussed:  Bylaws, Deer Search, Inc., Testing, Judges, Benefits of Membership, Membership Application and Dues.

The following were selected to serve on the Board of Directors:

Larry Gohlke (2006) – appointed Director of Testing

John Jeanneney (2006) – appointed Director of Education

Cheri Faust (2007) – elected as Secretary

Henry Holt (2007) – appointed as Director of Membership and elected as Vice President

Susanne Hamilton (2007)

Ken Parker (2008) – elected as Treasurer

Andy Bensing (2008) – elected as President

Jolanta Jeanneney (2008) – appointed as Director of Publicity

Initial UBT-approved judges were:

•             Larry Gohlke

•             John Jeanneney

•             Jolanta Jeanneney

•             Henry Holt

•             Andy Bensing

A Board of Directors meeting was held September 23, 2005 at the Black Horse in Denver, PA, and on September 25, 2005 at D-Bar-W Equestrian Center in Reinholds, PA. Present were: Andy Bensing (President/Director-2008), Cheri Faust (Secretary/Director-2007), John Jeanneney (Director of Education-2006), Jolanta Jeanneney (Director of Publicity-2008) and Larry Gohlke (Director of Testing-2006)

The Secretary received a letter from Henry Holt, who resigned as an Officer and Director.  Dave Johnson was elected for the Board of Directors to serve as Director of Publicity.  John Jeanneney was selected to fill the vacancy of Vice President.  Jolanta Jeanneney was appointed as Director of Membership.

In 2005 Bylaws were drafted, finalized and incorporation was filed with the State of Illinois.  A website (www.unitedbloodtrackers.org) was established.  The Board of Directors has exchanged over 1,600 messages via the email group list, in addition to private emails, telephone communications and discussions at other events for organizational purposes. Even though the organization was started mainly by handlers of tracking dachshunds, it has never discriminated against other breeds. From the beginning handlers of all kind of tracking dogs have been accepted, regardless whether their tracking dogs were purebred or not.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors was held on June 12, 2006 at Neal and Debbie Meyer’s, Quincy, Illinois, the site of Trackfest 2006. Even though this event was not officially affiliated with the United Blood Trackers, it was organized by the core of the UBT and everybody present was encouraged to join the organization. The report from this events is at http://www.born-to-track.com/trackfest.html.  Neal Meyer’s dachshund Chloe was the first dog certified by the UBT. This was a press release describing it:

First Dog Certified To Track Wounded Deer On State Lands

Chloe, a wirehaired dachshund owned by outfitter Neal Meyer, was the first dog tested and approved to track wounded deer on state-owned lands in Illinois. The bill passed in 2004 legalized the use of leashed tracking dogs. The associated regulations require that any dog tracking on Illinois state lands must pass a test demonstrating basic ability and training.

Chloe’s blood tracking test was administered by United Blood Trackers (www.unitedbloodtrackers.org), a national organization, on June 11, 2006. The dog was required to track a blood line with two sharp turns for a quarter of a mile to part of a deer that was placed at the end of the line. The small amount of blood used for the simulated trail, combined with the heavy ground cover, would have made the line very difficult or impossible for a hunter to track by eye.

Dachshund Chloe has little in common with the beloved wiener dogs of cartoonists. She is bred from German hunting stock, has longer legs and a harsh, wirey double coat. Chloe weighs only 20 pounds, but in her own mind she is a “big dog”, big enough to track those huge Illinois bucks, even if they are still alive.

United Blood Trackers Trackfest 2015

February 28 – March 2, 2015

Covered Gate Ranch, Uvalde, Texas

The United Blood Trackers is holding a three day Blood Tracking Workshop on February 28 – March 2, 2015 at Covered Gate Ranch in Uvalde, TX, approximately 2 hours west of San Antonio, TX .

The UBT annual Trackfest has been held in various states throughout the country. UBT has provided testing at several Texas Blood Tracking Events, and now this will be the first actual UBT Trackfest held in Texas.

This workshop is for beginner and advanced dogs and handlers as well as anyone else interested in learning more about the use of blood tracking dogs for the recovery of wounded big game. There will be plenty of hands-on training in the field for dogs and handlers as well as presentations on topics such as Training Techniques, Working with Puppies, Equipment Choices, GPS Use, and Working with Hunters. Again this year we will also be holding the popular Hit Site Evaluation Seminar. This section of the seminar will focus on reading sign at the hit site as well as reading sign found along the trail in order to develop the proper strategy for tracking that particular animal.

The United Blood Trackers will offer evaluations for UBT-I and UBT-II on Monday, March 2, 2015. All individuals interested in signing up for evaluations, please check out http://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/tracking-tests/ , for more information. Another announcement will posted when a premium list for the event is finalized.

Here are some pictures taken at Trackfest 2014 in North Carolina:

Workshop for handlers and their blood tracking dogs: The UBT Trackfest 2014

This report is long overdue but as they say, it's better later than never. The official report was written by Cheri Faust and it can be found underneath my remarks (thank you Cheri!).

In the middle of May I (Jolanta) flew to North Carolina to participate in the Annual Trackfest held by United Blood Trackers. Because at the time we had a litter of pups and because some of our dogs have "special" needs (like 15-year-old Asko), it was not possible for both of us to go. This time was my turn. I really enjoyed the trip, and it was so good to meet finally trackers that had never had a chance to meet in person. Of course, a chance to work with good friends was a great attraction too.

A big thank you goes to Kirk Vaughan from Chapel Hill, NC, who found the great place to host this workshop and made possible that all our needs were met. You are never going to meet anybody more dedicated to blood tracking than Kirk. Of course, his wife Barbara Fields was there too helping whenever she could. And I got to meet mac, Kirk tracking dog, who is a beagle/walker mix.

Barbara Fields and Kirk Vaughan, who is holding Mac.

By Cheri Faust

The United Blood Trackers held Trackfest 2014 at the J. Robert Gordon Sandhills Field Trial Grounds near Hoffman, North Carolina, May 17-19.

Participants started gathering on Friday to renew acquaintances and make new ones.  Those who arrived early had the special treat of watching Andy Bensing and his superstar tracking dog, Eibe, attempt the first running of the UBT III test. The UBT III demonstrates the ability to resolve situations often encountered on natural tracks. The test is designed to be challenging and fun. Each test is likely to be unique, and handling teams may wish to take the test on multiple occasions. 

Andy's track was about 1000 yards in length, four hours in age and was laid using just 3 ounces of blood and tracking shoes.  The track included a directional challenge (a three ring spiral), a surface challenge (an area of the pine plantation had recently been burned and the ground was heavily charred) and a distraction (thanks, Alan, for picking up that road killed armadillo!)  We were all impressed with how steadily and easily Andy and Eibe handled the track.

Andy Bensing and his wirehaired dachshund Eibe at the start of the UBT III test. 

Cheri Faust was judging the test and Al Wade was a track layer. They followed Andy pretty close while observers were further behind. The picture shows well the kind of terrain we were dealing with - very sandy.

Cheri congratulates Andy upon successful completion of the test. the test was not easy and Eibe had to work hard on carrying the line.

Over the course of the following two days, 32 participants received a variety of hands-on training and classroom presentations from the 11 UBT “staff” members in attendance. 

UBT Staff: from the left Cheri faust, Al Wade, Susanne Hamilton, Chris Morris, Jolanta Jeanneney, Andy Bensing, Marlo Ondrej, Larry Gohlke, Kirk Vaughan, Kyle Stiffler and Sean Timmens.

The Hit Site Seminar presented on Saturday was an especially big “hit”.  The seminar followed the format described in our post from June 2013.

 

The Hit Site Evaluation Seminar ended with participants examining several sites for signs of wounded deer such as blood, bone fragments, hair etc. In real tracking situations when a handler is asked to track a wounded deer or bear, he starts at a hit site and by careful examination of all the signs left by a wounded animal he has to reconstruct what had happened and come up with a tracking strategy for the specific situation.

The Hit Site Evaluation seminar has become a very important part of Trackfests as it is an excellent educational tool for trackers and hunters. Just recently Cliff Shrader from Louisiana wrote: 

This past Sunday at Hunters For The Hungry Louisiana, I put on a small Hit Site Evaluation display. I set up several mock hit sites simulating what a hunter would find when he checked his shot on a deer. This is like Deer Hunters CSI. This form of education has never been seen in our area before and was very well received. I didn't count the number of people that went through it but it must have been over 40 people. Each and everyone that went through it had very positive things to say. Thank you Andy Bensing, Larry Gohlke and Alan Wade for the evaluation that you put on in May as I was able to pass this education on!

...... to be continued

Trackfest 2014 to be held in North Carolina on May 17-19, 2014

Trackfest 2014

May 17 – 19, 2014

J. Robert Gordon Sandhills Field Trial Grounds

Hoffman, North Carolina

The United Blood Trackers is holding a three day Blood Tracking Workshop on May 17 – 19, 2014 at the J. Robert Gordon Sandhills Field Trial Grounds in Hoffman NC, 1 hour west of Fayetteville NC. 

This workshop is for both beginner and advanced dogs and handlers as well as anyone else interested in learning more about the use of blood tracking dogs for the recovery of wounded big game. There will be plenty of hands-on training in the field for dogs and handlers as well as presentations on topics such as Training Techniques, Working with Puppies, Equipment Choices, GPS Use, and Working with Hunters. Again this year we will also be holding the popular Hit Site Evaluation Seminar. This new seminar will focus on reading sign at the hit site as well as reading sign found along the trail in order to develop the proper strategy for tracking that particular animal.

 

The United Blood Trackers will offer evaluations for UBT-I and UBT-II on Monday, 5/18/2014. All evaluations will be done on leash. Please check www.unitedbloodtrackers.org for more information about evaluation requirements as well as more details about the event as they become available.

The pictures and video show the grounds.

5th Annual Eastern Lacy Field Day, Feb 21-22 in Georgia

Trackfest through the eyes of a new UBT member

Many thanks to Willette for this great report from Trackfest.  

By Willette Brown

As I waited for my turn to run my UBT II test track, I reflected on the last few days… The three of us had driven with five dogs from Maine and New Hampshire, a twenty plus hour drive. My friends,  Joanne and Susanne, are experienced trackers with all the stories to prove it.  I am a neophyte with a handful of tracks, (a few "finds" I might add), and lots of mixed emotions. I complain about my ankle, I worry about bears,  I'm not really fond of blood or you know, the other stuff, and having been a Bambi lover in my early youth, I struggle a bit to find the unequivocal "go ahead".  I guess my prey drive is a bit on the weak side.  But I have this totally awesome dog, and when I watch her work my pride is bigger than all of my misgivings or fears and all I want is to understand her more deeply and help her become the best she can be.

So... I loaded up my gear and chimed in a story or two as the miles fell behind us.

The testing morning was cool and sunny, the fields were heavy with dew (good scenting), and the view from the hill was spectacular. Green fields rolled away to deep woods for 360 degrees. The first dog was down and working beautifully.  He was slowly and deliberately crossing the field and approaching the second check.  The hay gently swayed as he moved and all I could see was the white tip of his tail above the timothy.  My confidence wavered. Would I find the two beds? Would I see the blood spots after 20 hours overnight? Would we make at least two checks?   Would I even be able to read her, or for that matter, believe her? "Trust your dog" I keep repeating to myself, we have learned that over and over all weekend.

For two days we have shared more information than I think I can possibly absorb about training and tracking.  I am awed by the collective experience that I am in the company of.  John Jeanneney, who is a walking encyclopedia, would probably pop up first if I were to google "tracking wounded deer".  He is so generous with his knowledge and has so much depth of experience that I find myself hoping new questions will pop in my head so I can get as much out of him as possible.  I am certain that there is no question he can't answer.  Andy Bensing, a tornado of a person,  is intuitive and confident. He  truly "knows" how to  read dogs and train their handlers. This is a gift that he has maximized in every way.  He tries to stuff as much information as he can into our heads as the weekend unfolds.  I  briefly worried that he may use that e-collar on me if I'm not careful, but as it turned out, Andy was a steady, supportive guide for me and my dogs.

Other speakers were equally informative. Larry Gohlke, whose stories of how to jump on a deer made us laugh (and mentally weigh ourselves), demonstrated a wealth of knowledge and experience hunting, tracking, and training.  He is the "go to" guy for anyone looking for encouragement and an extra pair of hands. Alan Wade led the talk for tracking equipment. Lights, GPS, and other essential tools for trackers to use… it is also worth mentioning that he did a demonstration with a spear (a spear, who knew?) that would be coveted by a Masai warrior. And, channeling Martha Stewart, Cheri Faust showed us how to process, store, and use blood for training.  I was relieved to learn that she kept a special blender just for that…I suspect that the handouts, the schedule, the food, and the speakers were all organized by her as well. No detail was missing.

Each day was well balanced with lots of hands on work.  We practiced pacing 100 yards,  then laying 300 yard lines, and then after a couple of hours ( and a good lunch) we put our dogs down on the lines.  My young dog needed a lot of encouragement to stay focused on the line. I think he was looking for rabbits at first,  but Alan, our instructor, patiently helped him find his way around the track.  My older, more experienced dog went the next day and Andy picked an exercise for her to help her focus on the task at hand.  I have never felt her pull on the end of the line with such confidence and certainty.  And a big thank you to Chris who sat in the brush and waited for her to find him and a particularly stinky lure.  We learned our weaknesses (many) and our strengths (a few) and we learned what to do to make our partnership better. It was obvious that the trainers had all shared what they observed from the first day and worked to make the second day really productive.

My friend, Susanne Hamilton, was also judging and teaching. She has endless energy for sharing her time and knowledge about tracking, and she has a "No Deer Left Behind" policy that makes many hunters here in Maine tip their hats in admiration.   She was either roaring off in a Gator to teach,  laying lines, or most importantly, posing for pictures with her legendary tracking dog, Buster.  (Truth: Buster was a bit bored with all the paparazzi and genealogical connections.  He simply wanted to get out there and track SOMETHING). Chuck Collier, also a judge/trainer, and Susanne took a bunch of pics of their dogs together.  Chuck's dog, Moose, is a famous tracker himself, and a son of Buster.  I think they were comparing conquests… or at least their owners were.

 Now it was day three, testing day. I watched Kirk, "Hound on a Rope" Vaughan, working his dog, and I knew that he was a handler whose heart beat straight down the rope and into his dog.  I felt humble and awed, and not a little out of my league. I listened as Cheri gave Kirk a wonderful recap of his test.  It was clear to me that she had truly observed their working relationship and was able to offer a constructive, thoughtful critique.  His pride in his dog was evident. And his smile was as wide as the field we stood in when she said he passed with flying colors.

After a truck ride to a remote field, it was time to run my dog, Quilla.  I brought her up to the start, listening carefully as my judge described the point of loss.  As I put her down and directed her to "find it," there was barely a split second before she leaned into the leash and began to work. No time for me to be insecure.  "At YOUR pace", Andy's words, were in my head. She took me forward, past the last flag and on to the unmarked track. "Look for confirmation," I thought, and there it was!  I noted it to the judges following me and kept going.  I glued my eyes to the line that Quilla was working. She yipped quietly every so often and I knew ( I knew!) to look more carefully there because she was telling me "there's a spot!"  Down the road we went and eventually after some looping at the first check (including her climbing up a bank that I was pretty certain no one would have laid a line on) we went down into the field.  Then the first bed appeared, YAY!

My confidence began to grow. More blood, here and there, then the second bed emerged in the tall grass. Wow, what a thrill!  What an awesome dog!  My heart rate increased as I realized that she was dead on, still certain, and still moving with that perfect pull on the line.  Before I knew it, we had arrived at the end, and I was surprised to feel a bit disappointed...finished already? I leaned over and lavished praise on Quilla. When we got back to the truck, Andy said, " If that test had been in Germany your dog would have gotten a 100. It was a picture perfect track."  Now it was my turn to grin from ear to ear.

After the testing was finished we sat down to a late lunch and I asked Kirk, who had driven 17 hours from North Carolina to be at Trackfest,  what he thought about his experience.  He said, " I feel like I have a whole new family!"

I couldn't have put it better myself.

This picture of Quilla was taken at a field trial a couple of years ago.

Trackfest 2013 was a good opportunity to learn from old timers, network with other handlers and test your blood trailing dog

I am sure that we will have a more formal report from Trackfest 2013 held by the United Blood Trackers in Arena, Wisconsin on June 1-3. John was there on Saturday and Sunday. From the feedback that participants have left on Facebook it sounds like it was a very successful event. I am sorry that I had to miss it!

Damian and Dachs von Tierspur - two very promising young blood trackers

I have a lot of catching up to with all the material that you, our patient readers, have been sending to us. This coming weekend, again, I will be at field trials in Maryland, but after I get back I hope to find more time for the blog.

This blog post talks about two brothers Damian and Dachs, who were bred by Genti and Beth Shero. The parents of these two very promising males are our Billy and the Sheros' Mae. A big thank you to Shaun and Walt for writing about the two brothers!

The first part of the post  is written by Shaun Brandenburg, a United Blood Trackers member from Winchester, OH. Shaun is an owner of Damian von Tierspur, whom he calls Buddy. The pictures were taken when Buddy was 6 months old. I have to say that in these pictures Buddy looks just like Billy, his sire.

This is what Shaun wrote:
 Just wanted to give you an update on Damian (aka Buddy) son of your Billy and The Sheros' Mae. He is now almost 9 months old and is just amazing in the field and the family. He is my first tracking dog, and I couldn't be happier with where we are at this point in the adventure. We have worked very hard and continue to do so as we enjoy what we are training for. We have had great support from our breeder and other trackers as well and give a great big thanks to all who have contributed to what we feel is success in training up to this point. Many who don't even know that they have been a great help and also drive for us to grow as a team. I am always checking your blog for new info in the story's in which you report, and you guys do a wonderful job and contribute a lot to the tracking community.

Shaun Brandenburg from Ohio with Buddy

A little info on the way we have trained up to this point, and then I will tell you how we have done it. In the beginning we did some liver drags and then we went to blood. He did very well with both most of the time. We had a few bumps, and I bet we will have a few more. From that point I went to hooves at about 4 1/2 months old and also diluted my blood 50/50 with water. Naturally was using less and less blood and things just seem to slowly get better and better as we worked each line week in and week out. 

Buddy at the age of 6 months

Now when I first started using the hooves all I had was tobacco sticks to attach the hooves to and that was no fun at all but it worked. I then designed and made my own shoes and I must say that was a game changer for me. It let myself open up and make some serious training lines for us to work. We have done 1,000 yard lines and we have done 300 yard lines. I try to mix it up and not just keep running those longer lines. It seems to work good for the pup and I feel it keeps it more real and not like we are just training for competitions. He has no problem going 1,000 yards and farther. I know a 1,000 yards isn't all that far but I feel very good about his ability to track to the next town if needed. 

Our last line was 24 hrs old and was laid with hooves with approximately 2 oz of blood watered down 50/50. This line was 600 + yards and started in the woods by a creek. At the hit site I always have some blood and hair, I forgot to mention that I use deer hair. I take the pup out to our starting point and tie him up about 20 ft or so from the hit site. I then walk to the site and stand there like I am investigating the area. I won't track until he calms down and is sitting there focused on the task at hand. This took awhile but it really seems to be paying off. 

I now go and get the pup and carry him over to the hit site and set him directly on the area. He sniffs around and we are off. Now he will usually go off track within the first 20 yards and smell up the area for a minute, then he picks it right back up and it's over after that. He works the turns like he is on a rail most of the time. When he does miss it puts a smile on my face to watch him figure out that the deer went another direction. He will make a circle until he picks up the line and that is all him. We cleared the first woods that had one creek to cross that is very steep and 5 or 6 turns in it. At this point we come to an open hay field that is 250 yards across. No problem for the pup even with a slight breeze. We leave the hay field and cross a old fence row (no fence there) into a soybean field from last year, another 200 yards across it with no problem and to the next small creek and back into the woods. I was very pleased, more liked thrilled the way he was working. We had a hill to cross and two more turns to recover our deer. The time on the track was just a few seconds over 13 min. I just wanted to share our progress and the way we have been training on our lines. A big thanks once again to all who have helped along the way.

Sincerely,

Shaun Brandenburg Winchester,OH

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Damian's brother Dachs lives in Tully, NY with Walt Dixon, who is a veteran Deer Search tracker and UBT member. Dachs has done very well in his training, and on April 16 was certified by Deer Search of Finger Lakes on a 20-hour-old line. He was not even 9 months old at the time. Walt continues to work with Dachs and recently had him on another blood trail, which was 22 hours old. He did well. Although Dachs is Deer Search Certified will continue his training and development.

Dachs is a handsome young dog