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Deertrackers is based
on the edge of the Cotswolds with the main species of deer in the area being muntjac, roe & the occasional fallow. I also
work my hounds on foxes when requested to control them. This just adds another dimension of work for
my hounds.When hunting, whether from high seat or
stalking on foot, I always have a hound at my side. Stalking without a K9 companion would be so much less enjoyable.In the past I have trained Labs,
spaniels & the one who gave me much pleasure was my cocker X Brittany, Barrington. It wasn’t until I purchased my
first B.M.H, Wallace, from Jan Andrews that I became aware of the work I had been making for myself
by using other breeds. At twelve weeks of age I laid the first track for Wallace, aged it for approximately
six hours, what an eye opener! You could see by his whole attitude, the way he buried his nose into the whole blood track,
how he didn’t lift his head, that this is what the B.M.H lives for and excels at above all other breeds. To
train a B.M.H takes a lot of commitment. If all you require is a dog for hot scent work then get
a labrador.
Bringing
on your B.M.H I
personally keep my hounds living indoors, rather than choosing to kennel them. I personally prefer to have them around me,
which is part of what owning a dog is all about. Other people kennel their hounds, but the B.M.H is
such a loyal companion, I feel they do better spending as much time with their master as possible. It will also depend on
individual circumstances of course.Even though the B.M.H is a natural cold scenting hound this needs
nurturing, from a very early age they are best encouraged to get a love of blood. Eight weeks old is not too young. This is
easily done by dragging a piece of deer liver or heart a short distance across grass, give it
ten minutes, take your pup to the start of the track, encourage him to sniff the ground and follow the trail. Don’t
worry about how long he takes, just praise him, your pup might seem to take for an age to move on; as he wants to lick all
the blood up as he goes. At the end of the trail should be a piece of liver/heart, as a reward, it is also good to have something
the pup can play with at the end, as this will register with the pup - tracking results in reward, food and play time. I have
found the tail of a deer is good as they can easily carry it and if the bone is left intact it gives them something to chew
on. The best reward you can give your hound is much praise from you the master. You now can progress slowly, never overmatch your hound at such an early age, as it will only bring
disappointment to you, which your hound will pick up on. As your pup grows, swap the dragged liver/heart to just some deer
pins(hair) at the start of the track with a fair amount of blood, this is to replicate the point of shot. Dribble the blood
from a bottle to where you want to end, use plenty of blood until you can see your hound is really working, once it is obviously
working for the scent you can start leaving gaps between blood spots, introduce a few shallow turns and introduce the slots
of deer to the tracking training. This is easily done by wearing yourself tracking shoes, which are basically a metal or rubber
sole that you attach deer slots to, and then wear them over your boots. To start with you can just use a decent hazel stick
with a slot attached by jubilee clips.
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| waidwerk tracking shoes |
What
you should be trying to achieve, is for the hound to make a relationship with the smell of blood to the smell of the deer
slots. Always when using two deer slots, make sure they are off the same beast. You want your hound to
be able to track individual deer through herds of the same deer. You and your hound now slowly progress, longer tracks, turns of various degrees,
lays included on the track, using less blood and ageing the track. You should at the very least be looking
at tracks of twenty four hours old, by the time your pup is nine months old.
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