Blood Tracking Training
by Ted Hardebeck
I.
Introduction
The first time I saw a
dog work a blood track
was in the fall of 1980
during a muzzle-loading
deer hunt in the
Sacramento mountains of
southeastern New Mexico.
Our hunting group
included Dave Krukar and
his VGP drahthaar Aiko
v.d. Buchenhecken. About
noon on the second day
of the hunt, Dave
wounded a young buck. An
hour later, Aiko was
started on the track and
had an easy time
following the muley,
locating the deer about
a mile from the spot it
was hit. We would have
never found that deer
without Aiko.
Because of this
impressive introduction
to blood tracking, I was
convinced of the utility
of a dog that could
follow a blood track. I
decided that my next dog
would be a blood
tracker. During the
spring of 1982 I started
researching how to teach
a dog to follow a blood
track.
At first, I sought
articles, books, or
anything else written
about teaching a dog to
follow a blood track.
There were numerous
articles written in
German, but I found
nothing available in
English. I talked to a
few GNA club members who
had knowledge of blood
tracking. Each seemed to
have a different opinion
about how to train a dog
to follow a blood track.
Some suggested using
food as a reward, others
were against it.
However, after talking
to some people who train
German shepherds to
follow tracks, I located
an excellent book,
Tracking Dog – Theory
and Methods by Glen
R. Johnson. This book is
the “bible” for German
shepherd trainers. What
I did and will shortly
describe is to adapt
Johnson’s principles to
blood work.
II.
Getting Started
Blood tracking is a team
effort between handler
and dog. To be
successful, especially
under difficult
conditions, it is
necessary that both be
trained to work as a
team. Consequently, the
blood work can naturally
be divided into two
phases. Phase 1 involves
teaching the dog to
follow a blood track and
Phase 2 involves
teaching the handler to
read and believe his
dog.
Before Phase 1 or Phase
2 can be initiated, you
will need the following
equipment:
a. Blood – You should be
able to get cow blood
from your local
slaughter house. Get 3
or 4 gallons at a time
and freeze it in plastic
bags or other
containers. Prior to
putting the blood into
containers, be sure to
break up the clots. Once
the clots have been
broken up the blood will
not clot again. Make
sure to strain and
remove any small clots
before putting the blood
into containers. JGHV
regulations prohibit
putting any additives in
the blood other than
salt.
b. Blood tracking collar
– This is a special
collar that is only used
when working the blood
track. Some individuals
use a leather harness,
but the Germans prefer
to use a wide (1¾ inch)
flat leather collar. It
is wide because the dog
is exerting pressure on
the neck by pulling.
There collars can be
purchased in Germany.
c. Blood tracking lead –
A 10-meter lead is
required. The lead can
be made of either
leather or nylon.
d. Deer hide – You will
need a deer hide to
place at the end of the
blood track.
e. Blood bottle – I used
a dish detergent bottle,
i.e. Joy bottle, to drop
the blood. Some
individuals use a
laboratory squeeze
bottle, almost any
container will do but
you must be able to
control the rate at
which the blood drops.
Some trainers use a dab
method to lay the blood
trail. For this method,
a sponge is attached to
the end of a stick. The
sponge (when attached to
the stick) is soaked in
blood and then placed on
the ground every 2, 3,
or 4 paces.
f. Stakes or wire flags
– The blood track will
be aged before the dog
works it. Consequently,
some method of marking
the track will be
required. I put small
wire flags in the
ground, but you can also
use colored surveyor’s
tape tied to branches of
a tree.
g. Rain suit, latern,
etc. – The dog should be
trained to follow a
blood track in all types
of conditions, i.e.
darkness, snow, rain,
etc.
h. Suitable area – You
will need regular access
to a field or woods. I
layed 90% of my blood
tracks in an alfalfa
field. I recommend
starting in a low cut,
open field and advancing
to forest tracks later.
III.
Laying the Track
It takes practice to lay
a good blood track. The
problem is to get the
proper amount of blood
on the track. Start out
using 1 ounce per 25
yards. It helps to
practice with water
first.
You can lay the track
yourself, but do not let
your dog see you doing
it. Mark the start of
the track with a heavy
concentration of blood
to simulate the wounding
shot. Then walk in
straight lines between
turns, marking each
turn, and place the hide
at the end of the track.
The tracks should be
laid down wind. As was
mentioned earlier, blood
training is divided into
two phases, first
teaching the dog and
then teaching the
handler. For Phase 1 the
handler should lay the
tracks. During Phase 2,
it is critical that the
handler not lay the
track nor have the
knowledge of how it is
laid. For this phase a
knowledgeable assistant
is required.
For the first few
tracks, it may be
necessary to place food
drops (i.e. small dog
treats like freeze dried
liver) on the track to
motivate your dog. Place
the food drops every
other step along the
track, actually placing
it onto of the blood.
Once the dog shows some
concentration of working
the track, you can
increase the distance
between the food drops.
Always make sure you put
food down after you make
a turn to reward the dog
for making the right
decision to follow the
track.
IV.
Training the Dog
After laying the blood
track and letting it
age, bring your dog on a
regular lead to within 2
to 3 yards of where the
track starts. Command
the dog to sit or lie
down. Remove the dog’s
regular collar and lead.
Attach the blood
tracking lead to the
blood tracking collar
and lay the lead out
behind the dog to make
sure there are no knots.
Put the blood tracking
collar on the dog making
sure the lead comes
between the dog’s front
and back legs. By
pulling on the lead from
under the dog’s neck
will keep the head down
and in contact with the
track. Conversely, if
you pulled on the collar
on top of the neck the
dog’s head will have a
tendency to come up and
lose contact with the
ground and track. I use
a “belly band” around
the dog’s abdomen to
keep the tracking lead
up and off the ground.
The belly band is simply
a piece of rope that is
loosely tied around the
dog’s abdomen.
Bring the dog to the
start of the track and
get its interest in the
blood by repeating
“What’s this?” or any
other tracking command
you want to use. What
ever you decide to use
be consistent. Give the
dog the command to
follow the track, I use
“suche.” Let the
tracking lead out so
that the dog is about 5
yards in front of the
handler. Anytime the dog
comes off the track,
repeat the tacking
command, and if
necessary, pull the dog
back to the track. When
he/she finds the hide,
immediately praise the
dog and reward it with
its favorite food.
Replace the blood collar
with the dog’s regular
collar. The blood collar
is used exclusively for
blood tracking. Be
consistent, start and
work the dog the same
way each time.
Table 1 is a six week
program designed to
achieve a VGP quality
blood dog (more later on
training the handler).
As can be seen from
Table 1 this program has
an intense schedule,
beginning with 18 tracks
in the first week. I am
sure some people will
object to this intense
schedule. But, note that
all tracks are short and
will be very simple for
the dog since they are
worked immediately after
being laid.
The purpose of the first
week is to teach the dog
the tracking command and
to implant in his head
that there is a reward
for finding the hide
(food). By the second
week the difficulty is
increased by aging the
tracks and the number of
tracks per week is
reduced. By the sixth
week only two tracks per
week are worked; one of
which is very easy. The
rationale for the easy
track is to reinforce
success.
Table 1. Blood Tracking
Schedule*
|
Week |
Day |
Length (Yards) |
Turns |
Age (Minutes) |
Tracks |
|
1 |
1,2,3
|
25 |
0 |
0
|
3 per day |
|
1 |
4,5,6
|
25 |
1 |
0 |
3 per day |
|
2 |
1,2 |
50 |
2 |
15 |
3 per day |
|
2 |
3,4 |
50 |
2 |
15 |
3 per day |
|
2 |
5,6
|
50 |
2 |
30 |
1 per day |
|
3 |
1.2.3 |
50 |
2 |
30 |
1 per day |
|
3
|
4,5,6 |
50 |
2 |
60 |
1 per day |
|
4 |
1 |
100 |
2 |
60 |
1 per day |
|
4 |
3 |
200 |
2 |
60 |
1 per day |
|
4 |
5 |
400 |
2 |
60 |
1 per day |
|
5 |
1 |
100 |
2 |
120 |
1 per day |
|
5 |
3 |
200 |
2 |
15 |
1 per day |
|
5 |
5 |
400 |
2 |
120 |
1 per day |
|
6 |
1 |
400 |
2 |
15 |
1 per day |
|
6 |
4 |
400 |
2 |
120 |
1 per day |
* Blood should be
dropped at the rate of 1
ounce per 25 yards for
the first 2 weeks and
then reduced to 1 ounce
per 50 yards thereafter.
One word of caution, the
above table should only
be used as a guide.
Adjustments will be
required for individual
dogs. You may also have
to adjust the age of the
tracks, because of
weather conditions. For
example, a 30-minute
track in the middle of
an open field in 90
degree temperature with
90 percent humidity and
15 mile an hour wind is
much more difficult
thatn a 3 hour track in
the forest in 50 degree
weather.
V.
Training the Handler
After six weeks the dog
should be getting
proficient at following
the blood track. Now it
is time to train the
handler. This requires
the aid of an assistant
to lay the tracks.
Continue with week six
schedule, that is 2
tracks per week, 1 easy
and 1 difficult. The
handler must learn to
read his dog. When is
the dog on track and
when does he loose the
track and/or become
distracted. The dog’s
body language, i.e. tail
carry, position of head
(down or up and moving
side to side), the
strength of the dog’s
pull on the tracking
lead, are all indicators
to watch.
During this phase of the
training, the tracks
should be laid in the
wood. The handler must
learn to maneuver around
obstacles such as dead
falls, trees, bushes,
etc. During the later
portions of this phase,
the tracks should be
aged to 4 hours and be
400 yards in length.
Remember, this is a team
effort, no dog is
perfect. At times, when
the track is lost by the
dog it is up to the you
the handler to help the
dog relocate the track.
VI.
Summary
The blood training
program described above
is not just a theory.
This method is how I
trained my first
drahthaar Blucher vom
Dunnhof and he turned
out to be an excellent
blood tracking dog. I
encourage anyone who has
an interest in game
preservation to put in
the effort to train your
dog to follow a blood
track. Some people claim
that blood tracking can
only be taught to young
dogs, this is nonsence.
An older dog is just as
trainable as a young
one.
VII.
References
Regulations for
Association Utility Test
(Official Translation of
JGHV test regulations
for Utility Tests [VGPO]).
Can be purchased from
GNA.
Tracking Dog – Theory
and Method
by Glen R. Johnson.
Arner Publications Inc.
1977
You should check out the
following web site:
http://www.leerburg.com
Ed Frawley raises
working German shepherds
and is associated with
tracking for police work
and search and rescue.
There are numerous very
good articles regarding
tracking and scent work
on his web site.
Although his dogs are
trained to track human
scent, the principles
and training techniques
are very similar to
those used for training
a dog to blood track.
Access to his library is
free on his web site.
Ed also has tracking
videos and DVDs for sale
on his web site. I
personally have
"Training a Competition
Tracking Dog", "Problem
Solving in Training a
Tracking Dog", and
"Training S&R – Police
Tracking Dogs – Level 1
Country Tracking."
These videos will
provide you with a good
basis to train any dog
to track.
