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.

Finding wounded deer with tracking dachshund Mossy Brooke

Huge shout out to Judy Catrett from Georgia and her tracking partner Mossy Brooke (Viola von Moosbach-Zuzelek) on their 28th recovery of this tracking season. Mossy is going to be two years old in April, and she is a daughter of our Tommy (FC Tom von Linteler-Forst) and Tuesday (FC Tuesday von Moosbach-Zuzelek). Judy and Mossy recover deer faster than I am able to post about it.  Judy wrote:

What a day Mossy and I have had. We received a call last pm from a hunter who had shot a 6 pt. buck and asked if we could help him. As he was over an hour from us, and it was already dark, I told him that Mossy and I would meet him at daylight. Isaac had actually shot the buck at 4:30 PM yesterday and we arrived and started tracking at 8:00 AM.

When we arrived, Isaac was very helpful in showing us exactly the spot the buck was shot and Mossy was asked to find a dead deer and blood. She tracked without difficulty to the last place that Isaac had been able to find blood, approximately 50 yds from the site of the shot. She continued to trail in a light rain and around 500 yards later she ended up at the edge of the head of a pond. Mossy tried to swim into the pond, and at this area the pond was only 50 yards wide, but deep.

We made our way to a crossing that was not above our boots and I asked Mossy to try to find a dead deer and blood as we were then on the side the buck should have exited. She immediately went to the area she had tried to swim into from the opposite side. She again tried to swim into the pond. I did not let her do this on either side as it was cold and I did not want to take a swim this early in the morning. I told Isaac that Mossy was telling us that the buck was in the pond. We looked for any floating objects, but did not spot any.

I then asked Mossy to make a big circle of the area hoping she may pick up on a track of the buck exiting the pond. She made the circle and again led us to the exact spot on the edge of of the pond. Again, she wanted to take a swim. No, Mossy, I am too old for a swim at 8:00 AM in cold weather. I told Isaac that Mossy said the buck was in the pond--he agreed. I advised him to check the pond later for a floating deer. He had to leave to go home 6 hours away in just a couple of hours, so I suggested that he check with the landowner thinking that he would probably check the pond for Isaac.

As we were saying our goodbyes, Isaac asked if he could have his picture taken with Mossy to show his wife. Mossy, of course, obliged. Mossy and I had been gone appx. 5 minutes when Issac called. He had checked the opposite end of the pond near the dam and had seen an unusual object which on closer inspection turned out to be his buck. Mossy and I returned to celebrate with Isaac. I don't know who was happier--Mossy, Isaac, or myself. What an asset Mossy has been to my life and it continues to amaze me the new friendships created because of her. We left Eric skinning his deer with him assuring me the meat would not go to waste now--because of Mossy.

Jolanta, I have tried to let Mossy track every deer possible this year, easy or difficult. I had some concern that the easy tracks may make it more difficult for her to concentrate on a more difficult track. She answered my question today. She has such a desire to track that she has learned from every opportunity at tracking as have I. She and I definitely have the connection that Bear and I had. I do talk with Mossy while we are tracking--as I do when we are not tracking--the communication between us continues to broaden as Mossy's vocabulary increases. Don't think that we are quite at the Darren and Theo level, but we are making progress. If all of your pups are of Mossy's quality, you and John have reason to be proud.

Vonnie is starting to gain her handler's trust thanks to a good tracking job

This message from Mike Martien came on Christmas Day. Mike lives in Monroe, LA, and his puppy Vonnie came from our only 2014 litter of Tommy x Tuesday. In his message Mike refers to Waldo, who was bred by Laurel Whistance-Smith and was sired by our Asko. Thank you Mike!

Hope this message finds all well, and both of you enjoying Christmas.  Wanted to send you a quick note on Vonnie.  Things have been really slow for us.  Had 2 calls for tracking, and both of them came while I was out of town with my work.  However, we had the second live track for Vonnie this evening.

A good friend of mine, Mark Hoffman, was hunting with his daughter Gabby this evening, and knew I needed to give Vonnie more experience.  Gabby shot an 8 point, and when Mark found blood, and where the deer left the food plot, he did exactly what I wish all hunters would do, he marked the blood, and left to come get me and Vonnie.  Mark felt like the buck wasn't hit great, and wanted to wait a little while before taking Vonnie in, which was a good call on Mark's part.   

When I put Vonnie down on the blood she immediately started following it through the brush and down a steep hill.  I told Mark I wasn't sure she was still on it, while going down hill, but when we made it to the bottom, we found more blood.  She turned and dropped off into a small creek bed with steep, bluff sides and went 20-30 yards, when we hit a log jam in the creek and Vonnie started try to weave her way through it. I followed, but felt confident she wasn't on it.  Lucky for me though, after going through the pile of limbs that looked completely undisturbed, Vonnie stopped to sniff a leaf that had blood on it.  The bluff banks on this creek were now 10-12 feet tall, and nearly impossible for me to climb, but Vonnie made a 90 degree turn and tried going up it.  After two attempts, Vonnie came back down and went just a little further down the creek, where another drain came into it and started her way up.  While we were doing this, Clay Weeks and Mark shined their lights up the hill from where Vonnie had tried going up the bluff, saw the deer stand up, and finished it off.  Therefore, Vonnie has now earned my trust and I will follow her regardless of "what I think the deer did"...  The track wasn't very long, but thanks to Mark and Gabby Hoffman, they provided an opportunity for me to gain confidence, and Vonnie to prove her ability. 

 

I'm attaching a photo of Gabby Hoffman with her buck and Vonnie.  Please feel free to post the above paragraph and photo on your various sites.  It'll certainly help us get more tracking jobs, and make a little girl happy.  Vonnie is much more methodical in her tracking than Waldo was during his first three years.  She works the line slow and close, and hasn't blown a single turn on any of her 2 tracks she's been on.  Everyone has commented on how well she minds, and how well she reacts to being around numerous people.  I know it's still early to be making a call like this, but from what I've seen thus far, there's no doubt in my mind that she will probably be a better tracker than Waldo, and that's a strong statement, giving Waldo's accomplishments.  I honestly had hoped she'd just be as good as Waldo, but I believe she just might show me that it's actually possible to be better than him.  Many thanks to both of you for providing me with such an outstanding dog! 

Mike Martien's contact info is list on the UBT Find-A-Tracker site at  http://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/tracker-profile/?user=222

Premium list for the UBT Trackfest 2015

Premium List for the UBT Trackfest 2015 is posted at 

http://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/trackfest2015.pdf

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:

Meet UBT members in Grand Rapids, Michigan this weekend!

January 24-26 in Grand Rapids, Michigan - come and meet United Blood Trackers members at the Huntin' Time Expo at Delta Plex Arena. Friday, Jan 24th 1-9, Saturday, Jan 25th 9-7, Sunday, Jan 26th 9-3.

For more info go to:
http://www.huntingshows.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/grand-rapids1.pdf

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.

Introducing a new deer tracking team from Florida

Paul Ohmer has just joined United Blood Trackers and he wrote:

I have attached a photo of "Jack",  a five-month-old beagle/bloodhound mix, with his first deer. This was a paunch shot bow season deer that was shot at 8:30 am and I got a call from my brother in law at about 2:30 asking if I could bring my pup to help find the deer. I loaded up and got to the hunting camp about 3:45 and drove to the shot site and put Jack on the ground around 4:30, and the pup took right to the trail. This shot left no blood at all, just a little clear fluid now and then, and the pup was trailing in a palmetto thicket with nasty undergrowth that was about 4 ft tall. Jack could not see at all due to the terrain and his size. The pup did a perfect job of keeping his head up to avoid the sharp palmettos leaves and trailed this deer to its final bed in a quick 30 minutes. The deer was recovered and loaded in the truck by 5:30. Very happy with the pup's first tough recovery call. Thank you to John J's great book on training tracking dogs and the resource that UBT provides to us all. 
To see contact info for Paul click here.



Paul Ohmer with Jack and his first deer.

Learning from experiences of other trackers is invaluable!

A big thank you to Brady Hensington, a UBT member from Missouri. I think we all can learn something from your stories!

by Brady Hensington

I have included some photos from a couple of this year's tracks.  One of the photos is from a Dept of Natural Resources Special Handicap Hunt where we volunteered to track this season.  The hunt was unusually slow this year with only 3 deer being taken during the entire weekend.  Two of those fell within sight of the hunter.

The 3rd deer was shot by John Mease, a young man with cerebral palsy.  John shot the deer with a muzzleloader from about 60 yards away.  The deer was angled towards him, and due to the smoke of the muzzleloader, neither he nor his guide were sure of where the bullet had struck, but they were convinced that the deer was hit as it bolted from the food plot.  An initial search of the area did not reveal any blood or other sign, so they radioed for us to help out.

I had brought along both Caliber, my 3 year old wachtelhund and Chloe, my 14 month old BMH (Bavarian Mountain Hound).  I opted to start the track with Chloe in order to continue her training.  I started her where the deer had been standing at the time of the shot.  She made quick work of picking up the trail, and following the deer's path into the woodline 50 yards away.  We traveled on course another 50 yards into the thick timber when we jumped up the bedded doe.  I was encouraged that the deer had bedded so close to the shot sight, so we continued on.  In another 50 yards we jumped the deer again.  Chloe tried to give chase, but I held her back.  Up to this point the only evident blood was in the wound beds and appeared to be consistent with a muscle hit.  We decided to back out and take up the track later.

After an hour I restarted Chloe at the second bed.  She took the trail up well, but angled sharply right just after starting.  I was sure that I had seen the deer run further ahead, so I was concerned with her change of course.  We had also jumped several turkeys in this area about the same time the deer had jumped up.  I decided to let her figure things out on her own and followed along.  She led into some 6' tall Johnson grass and began running through it excitedly.  I was concerned that she was scenting some small game, and as I suspected she flushed a rabbit from the grass.  My 13 year old son, Caleb was also helping on the track, and he called out to me as the cottontail flew past him.  Still, Chloe seemed undeterred and remained in the grass.  After a minute or two, I pulled her from the tangle of Johnson grass and attempted to restart her where I thought the deer had gone.  She had a difficult time restarting and took a few different paths, but kept wanting to "play" in the Johnson grass.  Eventually, I became frustrated and took her back to the truck.

I decided to restart my more experienced wachtelhund at the hit sight as well.  He tracked well up to the point of the second bed.  He became momentarily distracted by the turkey scent, but quickly corrected when I verbally questioned him.  Then, he too made a hard right turn into the Johnson grass.  At this point I believed that he was "cheating" by following our earlier trail rather than the deer's trail.  Again, I humored him and let him work out the track on his own, while my own frustration level was rising.  When he entered the Johnson grass and began pushing through it, I thought that I saw something run out the back side of the thicket into the adjacent corn field.  Caliber apparently did not notice and continued to track.  When he got to the edge of the field he became noticeably excited and began tracking at a very quick pace into the standing corn.  That's when I saw the deer run through the corn!  At that point I saw the wound, which was a large hole along the deer's right shoulder blade.  The leg was completely severed, though no vital organs were struck.  I called for the guides to come up with the gun, but they were still 100 yards behind us in the woods.

Let me note that typically in Missouri, neither tracker nor hunter can carry a bow or firearm, however on this DNR sponsored hunt, we had received clearance by the Department that wounded animals could be dispatched with a muzzleloading firearm.  In the meantime, the deer broke off deeper into the corn.  Caliber and I were in hot pursuit and he aggressively bayed up the deer.  While the deer was bayed and the guide tried to hurry to our position, I got the bright idea that I would slip up behind the deer and make a fatal wound with my hunting knife.  I closed to within a few feet before the deer turned and hit me in the chest like an NFL linebacker.  That was enough for me to back away and count my blessings that it was a doe, rather than a buck!  When the guide arrived moments later, I was able to call of Caliber, allowing him a shot.  Retrospectively, Chloe was on the right track all the time.  However, Caliber was instrumental in the recovery as he had the determination to bay up this wounded deer.   I think that it is safe to say that this deer would likely never have been recovered without the use of a tracking dog.  Everybody was elated that we had recovered John's much deserved deer.

The picture includes both of my dogs, Caliber and Chloe, as well as my 13 y/o son, Caleb
and the hunter John Mease.

The other picture is of my BMH Chloe with her first recovery.  After several difficult tracks without a recovery, we were finally able to make a successful recovery.  I had shot this doe earlier in the morning with my recurve.  The shot looked very solid, and I thought the track would be a simple ego booster for the dog.  I waited 2-3 hours after the shot before putting Chloe on the track.  Because I  thought that the track would be too simple for her, I started her where I had seen the deer enter the woods about 50 yards away from the hit sight.  Chloe quickly sorted out the trail and tracked up to my arrow.  Smelling the blood on the arrow obviously excited her and she progressed another 50 yards or so before we jumped up the deer.  I was very surprised to see it alive.  We backed out of the area and returned a couple of hours later.  It was nearly 90 degrees on that day, and we had worked on some projects while waiting on the deer to expire.  When I put Chloe back on the track she refused to track.  Instead she kept crawling into the bushes to lay down.  No matter how hard I tried I could not get her to progress.  Looking back, I think that she was hot and tired from our work out in the heat.  After combing the area for sign unsuccessfully, I decided to walk Chloe beside me as I searched for sign.  Several minutes into our search I looked over to see and hear her sniffing at a spot on the ground.  She had found blood!  She took up the trail immediately and led me another 100 yards or so to the liver shot doe who was long dead by the time we found her.  Chloe had found her first deer and again had recovered a deer that due to the thickness of the area where it had expired would likely have gone to the coyotes without her assistance.

Chloe, a Bavarian Mountain Hound, with her first recovery

Two veteran trackers have started another tracking season with gusto

Hunting season opened in our pat of New York on October 1. John has taken three calls and the last one ended with a successful recovery. This is what he wrote: This buck was shot high through both lungs, but he left almost no blood. The hunter found a few drops in the first 50 yards across a golden rod field--- then nothing. Tommy had no problems with this four hour-old scent line and went another 150 yards to this nice 8 pointer. This was SO easy after the two previous deer calls that did not produce.

John Jeanneney with Tommy

Walt Dixon with Ari

Another Old Timer, Walt Dixon from Tully, NY, also recovered a very nice buck in much harder conditions. Walt tracks with a 10.5-year-old Ari (Ariel von Moosbach-Zuzelek). He wrote: I just came back from Elk Hunting in Colorado and received a call last night that a bowhunter hit a deer at 6:30 pm and after waiting a short while, and before he could start to track, the skies opened up pouring rain washing away any visible sign. He called last night, said he thought he hit the deer near the liver, and I advised him to look for the arrow in the morning and leave the deer alone. It rained again during the night and this morning he called after finding the arrow broken in half near the edge of the woods the deer entered after being shot.

 

With no visible sign, Ari smelled the arrow then entered left the grass field and entered the woods under an apple tree. She seemed to be working hard so I let her go and about 400 yards away she found the buck who was hit in front of the left rear leg, quartering toward the bowhunter, exiting low and puncturing the right rear leg. Intestines hung about 10 inches out of the bottom of the buck and there was no sign visible the entire trail. Even after all the rain, the 15 hour old trail left enough scent for Ari to recover it! This old tracking pair is off and running for another season!

New Jersey handlers promote the use of blood tracking dogs

On September 14 and 15 The United Blood Trackers had a booth at the New Jersey Outdoor Expo. This event is hosted by the Division of Fish and wildlife and was held at Colliers Mills WMA. The event was attended by 8,400 visitors over the 2 days. This is a 17% increase in visitor participation from the 2012 Expo. Together with exhibitors and volunteers, a diverse crowd of more than 8,700 people participated in this successful outreach event. The event is free and has a multitude of outdoor activities that are geared towards adults and kids that don’t necessarily have allot of knowledge about the outdoors.

 

The UBT booth was manned by members of the New Jersey tracking permit. Stan Kite and Rilla, Nola Wunderlich and I with Karl and Theo were there on Saturday. Rich Stollery and Ember, John Drahos and his daughter Rylee along with two new trackers Jeremy and Arthur Garey filled in on Sunday. This was pretty good considering this was the opening weekend of our archery season.

 

Blood tracking demos were held both days and were well attended by spectators. The dogs were a real magnet to kids and adults alike and we were able explain a tracking dogs function to people that had no idea what we did. This type of positive exposure to the general public will pay off later.

 

On a side note:

Over the last three years the UBT has been a member of The New Jersey Outdoor Alliance and has a seat on the Conservation Foundation. The NJOA has been assisting the tracking dog legalization effort here in NJ. At a recent meeting with the Governor’s office, the NJOA discussed the legalization of a leashed tracking dog. A bill is being crafted and is being backed by Governor Christi. Our next step will be finalizing the language and getting a Republican and Democratic sponsor. Over the last five years our tracking permit has been issued, we have slowly won over Fish and Wildlife, the Law Enforcement component, and finally the Politicians. This has been hard work and the amount of paper work our trackers have had to submit is cumbersome. I would like to thank them all for their commitment to the cause.

 

Submitted by Darren Doran, NJ Tracking Permit Coordinator

 

Arthur Garey and Dennis

 

Stan Kite with Rilla and Karl

Jeremy Garey and Faline

Daren Doran's tracking dachshunds: Karl and Theo

Rylee Drahos with Theo and Karl

A big thank you to Darren Doran for all the work that he has put into the New Jersey tracking permit. It is starting to pay off, that's for sure!

 

A memorable bear track for Buster and Susanne

This picture shows Susanne and Buster on one of the tracks they did in 2012.

By Susanne Hamilton

The saying that things get better with age is true although for me it comes as a two edged sword.

My dog Buster is 11 years old and has many jobs of which all of them he takes very seriously. He is my best friend, my constant companion, my horse show dog, my field trialing dog, my agility dog and last but not least my tracking dog. My friend Jolanta always says that there is no such thing as the perfect dog, but  to me this little guy is the embodiment of perfection and all I wish is that I could make time stand still to keep him just the way he is right now for ever and ever! 

I want to tell the story of a recent track  in which although we did not end up with a find, everything went right...

It was at 11:30 at night and I was just ready to get to bed when I got a Facebook message that someone was looking for a tracking dog to find a wounded bear in Maine. After a short conversation on the I couldn't resist going on this track even though I realized this was two and a half hours away. It was our first call of the season and both Buster and I were itching to go.

The man that called, Chris, is an experienced hunter and guide, and he was devastated because a good shot turned into a bad one. The bear moved the moment he pulled back the release of his bow, which resulted in the arrow landing on the upper part  of his hindquarters. The bear had taken off with a loud roar, then crashed, then got up again and crashed again, and after that there had been silence.

From the description of the shot, I did not think we had a fatally wounded animal, however, there is always the question "what if", and Chris, my hunter was really anxious. The arrow was a fixed blade, and from the description,  it was at least ten inches in the bear. I pondered it for a short while, and decided to take a chance.

There was no evidence of blood at the hit site, and Chris had really never found any blood during his search for the bear he had shot at 6pm that evening,  but Buster does not need blood to follow a track. We knew the bear had been hit high, with no exit wound.  The people who usually need blood evidence, are either a) the tracker, who would like to know that his/her dog is persuing the right animal or b) the hunter, who feels awful, that he took a bad shot, and made every effort to find a "bloodhound" and now doesn't really trust that a little 20 pound dog  on short legs with a blonde chick at the end of a tether could  in all actuality sniff out and recover his wounded game.

When we arrived at the bait site at about 2:30 AM, my eyes fell on all the bait scattered at the site...   to me it stank, but to Buster, it must have smelled like a feast.  I wondered for a split second, if Buster was going to show more interest in the food than in the bear track, but I was mistaken, and he never even glanced at it. As always, he was all business.

Chris  showed me the exact direction the bear had taken off after being hit, but Buster gingerly chose an entirely different trail in front of the trail camera.  I was puzzled,  and trusting my dog, I let him lead the way for a bit, but then  chose to reset him back onto the trail that the hunter showed me, and that he had been certain, the bear had disappeared. Buster threw me a short glance, put his nose down, and started tracking.

Off we went, and Chris who was searching for any evidence behind me was excited. He felt that this was exactly the direction the bear had taken,  just before he heard him crash.  Buster confidently kept up on the trail, swung slightly to the left after about 300 yards, and kept a good pull on the lead. He felt very consistent to me but after a half a mile with absolutely no blood evidence I made the decision to go back to the bait site to see if Buster would take the same track again.

My general rule is, if Buster tracks it once, I may on occasion be allowed to be a skeptic, especially if there is absolutely no evidence or signs to prove we're on the right track,  but  if he takes the same trail twice and he is committed to that track, I had BETTER follow his lead.

I carried Buster back to the bait site,  put him  on the same trail and asked him to "find that bear".  He gave me a look that one would get from someone who feels a bit sorry for you because you're a little slow on the uptake, but then turned, and patiently took me along exactly the same trail we had taken before.

I love tracking at night, there is something serene and quiet about it. There aren't any of  the loud abstract colors and distractions  that appear in the daylight, my entire world exists in the low glow of my headlamp and everything around us is dark. It gives you a feeling of being almost encapsulated. The little world includes only myself, my dog and often my hunter. One’s senses tend to sharpen to details of the trail.

 This time,  about 300 yards into the track, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a tiny black spot, I did a double take low and behold, on a small fern, with only six or so fern leaves, there was a pin drop of blood. I hollered for Chris to come and check it out, and the excitement grew.  I marked the spot with some tape, and also marked it in my GPS. This pin drop of blood was to be the only blood we found on the entire trail.

We tracked to our half mile mark, and just when I told Chris that we were now passing the spot where we had decided to reset Buster the last time,  I found the chewed off  end of the arrow. Buster had stopped and pointed it out to me.

From that arrow, we could now tell that it probably had only penetrated about 4-5 inches, which made me suddenly realize, that this bear was probably at the most just "pissed off".

 However, Buster really pulled and told me to get going, and Chris really felt that he wasn't finished "looking" ye, so  we marked that spot and off we went again. This time, the track took us on a large circle, which after fifteen minutes ended exactly where I had marked the arrow. Then suddenly we heard a loud crashing through the woods, VERY close to us. Buster jumped directly behind me.  I have to give it to him.... He knows he's in charge of finding these bears, but when it comes to "killing them", he'd rather leave the job to one of his two- legged hunting partners.

 From this moment on, Buster tracked very close to me, which is usually a sign, that the bear is very close by.  This was evident on many levels, being that we had a heavy morning dew at this point, we could see where the dew was disrupted. It was also evident that this large male bear lived here.  There was evidence of bedding places, and bear trails, and Chris knew from the cameras, that this was the only male bear in the area. He had over 400 pictures of this bear, and we where literally right  in HIS living room!!!

 

The bear's picture caught on a trail camera

 

 When we had traveled a total of about two miles,  had tracked for 3.5 hours and the first signs of daylight where visible in the sky and it was 6:00 am , I looked at Chris, and on his face, I could tell that he was finally satisfied, that he had done the best he could, and that aside from the feeling of guilt causing an animal to suffer, he could accept that this bear was not going to get caught... not that night anyway! 

 I took off Buster’s harness, and we checked compass and GPS for the way back to the truck. Tired, sweat soaked, thirsty, but satisfied, I climbed into the car for a two-and-a-half hour ride home.

 Our reward....  Chris's awe and  pure amazement at what my little dog had done for him. We had taken a donation towards gas money, but that means little in comparison to the enthusiastic praise and re-capture of things he had seen Buster do, that "for sure made him the SMARTEST dog he had ever seen in his life..."  that "boy oh boy, he was sure glad that Buster didn't track HIM, because that is 20 LBS of NASTY". Hunters like  Chris, remind me why I can spend an entire night driving and tracking, not get a wink of sleep, but will walk around all day long, with a smile on my face :o)

 Chris called me at 10:30 AM to tell me that he had checked his trail cam, and that the bear had come back to the bait  five hours after he had been shot, with the arrow already gone and hungry for a snack. So I have much confidence, that his bottom will be sore for a few days, with the embedded broad head in it, but that he will recover fully.

 On a short note, the evidence of the camera showed that the bear  left the area EXACTLY where Buster first chose to track him until I reset him onto the colder trail.

 Upon getting home, my tired Buster refused to eat his breakfast, until, according to our tradition, I told Cliff the whole long tracking story. Buster  will sit in front of Cliff, wagging his tail, looking back and forth from me  telling the story to Cliff, ooooh-ing and aaaaaah-ing , and occasionally giving a woof  of encouragement.  It is only then, that he will eat and climb into bed...

What an AWESOME dog!!!

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BTW, this is a note Chris left on the United Blood Trackers Facebook: You folks offer a great service and being somewhat of a skeptic prior to this event, I can tell you that I am not a skeptic anymore. This is the first time I have ever relinquished control on a tracking job to anyone else and it taught me a good lesson... A good dog is worth a thousand men, maybe more. Buster is THE MAN!

Video shot at the United Blood Trackers Trackfest in Wisconsin

WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports

News from Georgia where the handlers and their tracking dogs have to be tough

Randy Vick is an outstanding handler and UBT member based in Pavo, Georgia. We have written about him and his blood tracking dogs before. His primary tracking dog is an eight-year-old Annie, a Kemmer Stock Mountain Cur. This year he was also using his young Drahthaar Pepper.

Randy Vick is holding Annie, his outstanding Kemmer Stock Mountain Cur

In Randy's own words:

Here are some pictures of the 41 deer that we recovered in south Georgia and north Florida during the '12-'13 season.

The picture was taken at the end of the outstanding 70-hour old track that had been rained on for 3 hours the night before we tracked it. It was a gut shot and all blood was washed away but Annie followed it 1200 yards on lead. The only sign was a half dozen drops of intestinal matter along the track and finally 6-8 beds along a 100 yard stretch. The buck had only been dead a short time when found.

Several deer were bayed alive, off lead, and though we did not know it when this picture was taken, my Drahthaar, Pepper, had been gored by the buck pictured in the cypress swamp (picture above, which is showing Annie with the buck). She quickly recovered from her wounds.

On one track I did shoot wrong deer that Annie jumped on the trail, but the hunter excused me and we went on to recover his wounded deer. He paid to have my buck processed.

Pepper was gored in the back and hip, Annie lost one front upper tooth, somehow, and I have fell and bruised/tore my kneecap twice.

Luckily, all fairly minor injuries, and we are all healed and ready to go tracking. At a 46% (41 for 91) recovery rate, we were blessed with another great tracking season.