High Caliber Blood Tracking welcomes "Bullet"

Bullet is a 4 1/2 month old Bavarian mountain hound who comes to us from Texas. He will be used to track on and off lead for wounded deer and hogs. Like every BMH that I have met, Bullet is full of character and personality. He had never run a real or artificial track, so we had the pleasure of being a part of his first ever training line.

We picked Bullet up in Tulsa, OK, and didn’t waste a minute. He was put on the training lead from the moment we met, and got plenty of exposure to people and noises that he wasn’t used to as a country ranch dog. Aside from a tantrum or two, he did great on the pinch collar, healing and sitting like a pro. He’s a quick learner.

Because Bullet is several months old, we skipped the liver drags and went right on to a hoof/blood drag. On these lines I place a few drops of blood on a small piece of fresh hoof, and drag it the entire course of the track. This leaves a lot less scent than a hide drag, and incorporates deer smell and blood. His first track was exactly as you might expect…SLOW! I will spare you the video of me coaxing him down the first 2/3 of the 50 yard line. This is exactly what I anticipate from most dogs. He has no reason to know what is expected. Not to mention he is in a brand new environment with all sorts of new distractions. The important thing is that he made it to the end. He got his meat reward, and learned that deer and blood scent leads to good things.

Here is Bullet’s second track ever. Believe me that the first track was an exercise in patience. On this track you will see that Bullet already has purpose in his search. He wants to follow the line to see what is at the end.

What you don’t see is Bullet’s response to the hoof at the end of the line…or lack of response. Aside from licking the blood, he really wasn’t interested in the hoof. In fact, even the fresh elk meat reward didn’t seem to amp him up too much. I needed to find something to stimulate his interest a bit more.

Today was day two, and we worked on prey drive. I introduced a green hide at the end of the trail. It took about 10 minutes of coaxing, but then he really turned on. I expect to see a much more focused and driven dog over the next few days, so stay tuned.