Deer Dogs?

[air gun ant 1,666]

So, I have a cocker spaniel that I use for beating and picking up during the season, and I'm wondering if anybody has managed to train their beating/picking up dogs for following up on wounded deer? And if they have a problem because of birds in the same woodland lol

And on the same train of thought do the people that use terriers for tracking ever have them get distracted by fox earths etc? I have a cocker ATM and looking to get a new terrier soon as my old girl died just before Christmas but she was only ever a ratter, I was just wondering if a terrier could be used for ratting, a bit of earthwork and still follow up on deer? What's your thoughts? Can you expect a terrier to walk past an earth when tracking a blood trail?

[Jake w 232]

I work terriers only to fox an in my opinion a good dog should not walk past an OCCUPIED earth even if following up on a wounded deer i think it would be a bit of a problem mate but that is just my opinion maybe sombody else can give you better advice/opinion mate

 

Atb jake w

[sussex 5,776]

A g a , my old Lakeland (15) followed a track as good if not better than my Lab , I know two other stalker that use terriers as deer dogs , strangely they are both Lakelands as well but I don't think it's anything other than coincidence . My ones only problem was the nearer she got the louder she bayed, nice to know your getting close but it pushed the deer on . Tracking came naturally , she new instantly when I pulled up the track if I had scored and would take charge of the carcass the second it was unloaded , this may well have been to do with bits that got trimmed off , this was were she learnt what the scent of deer was , and I only found out by chance she had the ability to follow a track after she came out with the Lab on a call out to try & find an injured deer for a friend .She was the first to pick up the scent then every thing just followed her .She was a demon on a fox or rat but if she had her nose down on a track she just seemed to follow that .

[Hydropotesinermis 724]

My first deer dog was a Patterdale, from a keeper I knew, both parents were working dogs. I never encouraged him to go to earth and he never did.

 

Made a cracking deer dog only his legs were a little short for really heavy cover.

 

Personally I wouldn't have a dog for deer that did anything else. So my big dog doesn't do any work on birds or retrieving, just deer. And my terrier is just used for rabbiting. I know people have some dogs that are "all round" but in my experience they just tend to do a couple of jobs to a mediocre standard rather than one job really well.

 

Terriers have an awesome prey drive and if you can channel that to blood trailing they make good dogs, but, if they are entered to earth and know that there is fun to be had underground you will never get one that will pass up the opportunity of an occupied earth.

[Yokel Matt 918]

Last January I saw a border terrier attached to a roe's throat during a pheasant drive. He was chuffed to bits with himself.

 

From a layman's perspective I'd have thought any dog with a half decent nose and in some semblance of control would be handy to have about in the absence of a dedicated deer dog?

[Philluk 181]

I have a working cocker, on a shoot he is a work horse and well known for it, he will flush pheasants and retrieve really well, he will work blind and to the whistle, he goes rabbiting with me and flushes rabbits and when im on the deer he will sit and the bottom of the high seat for hours and when needed ive trained him off lead to follow and bark at the deer, no i havent trained him he has learnt and ive guided his natural instinct, he is coming but not 100% yet i would say 70% there, ive had a couple that he has found and just barks away at them. Ive also had some head shot in long grass and ive watched him go to them like he saw me shoot them and he runs around them tugging and then sits and waits for me, thats no good in thick undergrowth, so i have some work still to do.

 

A friend of mine called me about a month ago he had hit a roe and it was in thick woodland and he had spend 3 hours looking, the dog found it within 10 mins no where near where he was looking, and for a quiet dog he done half make a racket.

 

i have a couple of videos of him in action i will pm you a link.

 

a dog will do whatever you teach him, but i think its rare to say if he was rabbiting and a deer got up he wont hunt it, to them quarry is quarry.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Philluk

[air gun ant 1,666]

that's what im worried about with my cocker phil, the woods we beat and shoot usually hold a lot of deer that come hurtling back through the line. he ignores them at the moment but im sure it wouldn't take much for him to start thinking that he has to find and bay at all deer which would be a tad embarresing! lol that's why im thinking terrier, and I really miss having one about the place lol

[foxdropper 17,092]

Any dog can be trained to blood trail ,its very easy to train a youngster with a jug full of blood from a chest shot gralloch by laying a trail to a piece of liver ,kidney .The amount is then reduced until only spots are layed .We are in the process of training a young lurcher owned by my daughters boyfriend .Let's not confuse hot scent trailing with blood trailing as the former can lead you into trouble with the law as it stands .All dogs will scent trail but we choose to steer them onto whatever the day is about .With the terrier breeds blood trailing I would be concerned about earths but probably due to what I expect from a terrier.A good deer dogs for me would be defined by what happened when it found an injured deer .To see a terrier swinging on a deer is testament to their drive but not necessarily what brings a beast to book .A larger dog that can overpower a deer is my choice and if it then bays at the carcass all well and good .Failing that its child play to get them to return to it if they come back to you .

It was mentioned before that here in the UK we probably ,no not probably ,we do have an excellent record for instant despatch not shooting on the run as in Europe which has an effect on our dog culture .I do agree stalkers should have access to deer dogs as the day will come when things go tits up and a dog becomes invaluable .

[3175darren 1,093]

that's what im worried about with my cocker phil, the woods we beat and shoot usually hold a lot of deer that come hurtling back through the line. he ignores them at the moment but im sure it wouldn't take much for him to start thinking that he has to find and bay at all deer which would be a tad embarresing! lol that's why im thinking terrier, and I really miss having one about the place lol

Remember ant you are training the dog primarily on blood,they are easy to start and get going the dog will change to suit the morning, my pointer was a superb duck dog absolutely outstanding,good on pheasants/rabbits too,but when the rifle came out he would flick a switch and hug tight to you, my Teckle's the same,even though I never really needed to follow up,if a animal ran before dropping 30 yrd or so, I always put the dog in as if it had to follow up, to keep the dog practiced at what they do, the pointer would find, then come back to me and walk me in to the kill,the terrier all hell brakes loose,the lab and the lurcher will follow a long blood scent,back to a skin very well indeed,and both will do this on fields with other ground scent of other game,make sure your stop command is well ingrained,and start it on a long lead,nice and steady,I used a lunge line from our lasses horse kit,so you can stay in control,the Teckle I let follow up loose as she is slow and purposeful,I have a mate who I have taken plenty of times stalking up here, he has a Hungarian wire haired visla I have tried that when he left it with me,a couple of yr ago and the dog took to it like a duck to water, I will say this the lurcher works a local wood with me for rabbits, there's always deer gets up,and stopping him has been no problem,he will come off them almost instantly,

[Philluk 181]

I didnt train him using blood or any scents, but then i didnt train him to find pheasants, my background is a huntsman and as such to train hounds you took them hunting and let them see what was going on, i took him on a shoot as a young dog, i didnt expect anything and didnt ask anything i let him do what he wanted close to me, if he went in he went in if he didnt it didnt matter. i encouraged him to do it thats all. when im in a high seat he sits there i shoot a deer and he was there, if a deer is out of site from him i will leave him and go and drag it and hide it, then i would take him to where i shot it and let him off and he would find it and i made a big fuss of him, it became a game and one day he barked and i encouraged it out of excitement.

 

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Edited April 2, 2015 by Philluk

[Wullz 408]

I have my Teckel on a tether to me at all times on most of my ground, reason being is the number of badger setts. If I let her run loose, she would be down an occupied sett in a flash, couldnt stop her, its just basic drive....not trained that way. its how they are. BUT if there is a blood trail, she will follow that without fail, passing setts to get to the beast, I think its the knowledge that she will get easy tidbits off the dead beast......even then tho, to stay out of trouble for myself or whoever shoots the beast, she is on a long line.....dont want the hassle!!

[sikastag_1 689]

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Edited April 2, 2015 by grant_c

[foxdropper 17,092]

I have my Teckel on a tether to me at all times on most of my ground, reason being is the number of badger setts. If I let her run loose, she would be down an occupied sett in a flash, couldnt stop her, its just basic drive....not trained that way. its how they are. BUT if there is a blood trail, she will follow that without fail, passing setts to get to the beast, I think its the knowledge that she will get easy tidbits off the dead beast......even then tho, to stay out of trouble for myself or whoever shoots the beast, she is on a long line.....dont want the hassle!!

Understandable mate ,I wouldnt either .