A friend and I were both hunting yesterday afternoon. About 6:00pm, he texted me that he had shot a doe. He said the shot looked good, and that he would get down and look for her before it got dark. At about 7:00, he texted me again saying he had good blood for a little bit but then lost it. He said he was still confident the shot was good, but was gonna back out to let my tracking dog Zeke find it. My friend is colorblind, and as such, it's got to be good blood for him to see it.
Anyway, I ended up not seeing anything to shoot at, so at dark I got out and went back to meet my friend and go track his doe.
My dog is a Jack Russell Terror :laughing:. He is crazy full of energy and can be very hard headed. That being said, he is also the best dang dog I have ever had!!!
[attachment=1,msg2980376]
Anyway, I got Zeke ready and his tracking collar on, and he was ready to go. I carried him over to the arrow, and while looking at it thought I noticed some guts in the shaft. I asked my buddy if he was sure if the shot and showed him what I thought I was seeing on the shaft. He still said he thought the shot was money, and that she should be dead in short order.
Well, Zeke got on a scent trail real fast. I run him on a leash and he was pulling extra hard. We went a ways in a direction that seems off from what my friend had told me was her direction of travel. Maybe 75yds out, I was just about to pull him off and go back to start over again, when BAM, there was a spot of blood on the ground. So we kept going, and the blood spots became more frequent. In with the blood, I could also see guts. At this point, I knew the shot was not what he thought he had seen!
Zeke was really pulling me hard, and thru some thick stuff too. About another 100yds into it, we rounded a clump of brush and the deer jumps up and runs, still alive!!! Zeke drug me thru some patches of shin oak that were thick. I lost my hat and headlight. Luckily I caught them on the way to the ground and just kept going with them In my hand. I heard her jump up a second time a little farther on, and figured she must be pretty bad off to not want to go any farther than she did before lying back down. The third time we caught up to her, she was pretty much done for. The deer was recovered!!!! The shot ended up being a solid liver hit, with maybe the back of one lung hit also.
Im not sure if we would or would not have found this deer without Zeke, but we positively did recover her with him. When I got him, the intention was to make a tracking dog out of him. It's been a long couple years with some good recoveries, and some disappointments where we did not recover. It's a long learning process, mostly for me, as he knows what he is doing.
Anyway, I just love to see him doing his thing and finding wounded/lost deer that we likely never would have found on our own! I didn't get any pics of Zeke with "his" doe (he thinks they are his after he finds them, and is very possessive of them) as I left my phone at the vehicle when we started tracking.
But here's a few pics of Zeke doing his thing:
[attachment=2,msg2980376]
[attachment=3,msg2980376]
[attachment=4,msg2980376]
[attachment=5,msg2980376]
[attachment=6,msg2980376]
When I started, I didn't really have a clue what I was doing with training Zeke to track critters. I do however hunt quite a bit, so he gets lots of chances to get after critters. I am certainly still learning to read him and figure out whether he's actually on a critter or not. We are getting better and better as we "hunt" more and more together. It is sooooooooooooooooo cool and rewarding to see him be successful at finding these critters.
Anyway, just thought I'd brag on my pup a little!!
Bisch
Sorry for the pics that are sideways!!!
Bisch
AWESOME !! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Quote from: Bisch on October 29, 2021, 10:11:54 AM
...Zeke was really pulling me hard, and thru some thick stuff too... Zeke drug me thru some patches of shin oak that were thick. I lost my hat and headlight...
Bisch
HaHa! Great story and great recovery!
Good stuff Bisch
Tim B
Dogs can be amazing tools for animal recovery. Congrats!! Great story
Awesome story... Thank you for sharing. Someday I would like to get a dog like Zeke :)
Bragging rights...?? I say, use'm if ya got'm, Bisch!!!! :thumbsup:
That's a great little dog right there!!!!! :clapper: :clapper: :clapper:
My feist is also a deer tracker. We had one several years ago when he was a pup that quit bleeding after a few yards so I decided to see if oz would track a blood trail. In 14 years there has been only one that we didn't find and it was a bad hit. He is slowing down this fall and I'm not sure how good his nose is still working. He also claims every deer he finds and he is right in the way until he gets his chunk of liver then all is good.
I have to tell anyone that is around after we find a critter to stay away from the critter till I pull Zeke off. He is a gentle a dog as there is till you try to mess with "his" critter!!!!! :biglaugh:
And every time he gets meat treats from the critters he finds. He loves venison!!!!
Bisch
Great story and outcome.
My last Cairn terrier was awesome on blood. Took him ground hog hunting a couple of times then had to stop. He had learnt that there would be blood soon and he would pull so hard on the leash (tied to my belt) that it would nock the arrow of the shelf.
I've been following your adventures with Zeke since you started him out. He is one great looking dog. Great pics Well done!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Deno
It sounds like your little buddy, Zeke, is quite a dog. You are lucky to have such a hunting partner.
What a cool little partner you've got there!
Way to go Zeke!
So awesome and Big congrats to Zeke!
Excellent story nothing better than a good dog. Congrats to you and Zeke....
A good tracking dog is hard to beat! Just hang in there Zeke people are hard to train :laughing:
Zeke appears he doesn't want Anyone touching any of his recovered critters :biglaugh: :clapper: Way to go Zeke
Awesome story and you have a great dog there! Thanks for bragging on him and sharing with us Bisch! Way to go Zeke! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Been busy as a cat coverin up dooky so I just now got to read your story Bisch. Thats a good one. Watching a trackin dog is as much fun as huntin to me. Im a dog man/lover too. Congrats on the track.
Zeke found another one yesterday:
[attachment=1]
And then another this morning:
[attachment=2]
There was a 3rd shot this morning, but it was a high hit, likely above the spine, and we didn't find that one!
Bisch
Awesome report! Like how you had faith in your dog. I pulled my dog off a trail once when I became convinced the deer could not have gone that way and that she was following pigs instead of the deer. Rule no 1, trust your dog. I found the deer a day later in exactly the direction she was leading me.
Zekes a stud!
Isn't it cool to see the passion of a good working dog?
Zeke did it again this evening!
[attachment=1]
I love my dog!!!!!
Bisch
Good stuff bisch. I know the feeling and although I'm a novice, my dog is way smarter than I give credit
Yes sir! Good stuff !
Great story. Glad to hear my friend Zeke is doing so well. Tell him I said hi!
That's so cool... I've been watching YouTube videos of tacking dogs lately. It's just crazy what they can do. It looks like you have a great huntin there Bisch congrats man
Zeke found another one on Thursday! Didn't get a field photo. :knothead:
[attachment=1]
Bisch
Go Zeke!
That is an amazing hunting companion buddy! Looking good. :archer2:
Nothing like a good dog. Enjoy!
I'm in the process of getting new pup. I'd like to train for blood tracking and search and rescue. Leaning towards a Redline Airedale.
Great story ,Great dog . Glad you found deer
It's been a few weeks since Zeke got to do any work, but he found 2 more this weekend.
First was a whitetail buck Friday morning:
[attachment=1]
Then an axis doe this morning:
[attachment=2]
He was not all into it this morning and we had to use our eyes some so stay on the blood trail. He veered off a couple times, but ended up going to her.
Bisch
Awesome, I love seeing dogs work.
Awesome story and follow ups. I once had a Heinze 57 that did great tracking. Her biggest problem was her trainer! She's gone now and dang I miss her.
Zele found one for me the other day! She only went about 75yds so it wasn't much work for him, but he so loves his deer meat treats!!!
[attachment=1]
Bisch
Zeke found a couple more the last few days!
First was a small axis doe that was hit low and back. When I first put him down in the track he went right too her. The problem was she was still alive and jumped up and ran off. We backed out and waited a few more hours. When we went back in, Zeke made quick work of the trail and led us right to the deer. I proud of him for this one because he does not have a very good record on these types of situations. I hope he's starting to figure it out. Anyway, here's the deer Zeke found!
[attachment=1]
Then today, the same hunter shot a real big boar. He made a perfect shot this time! The pig only went about 100yds, and we didn't really need Zeke to find him, but I put him on it anyway and he was on the pig in no time!!!
[attachment=2]
Bisch
Thanks for sharing your story! He looks like a great hunting partner!
You are making me want another dog.
Congrats, you must have done something right!
Gary
Fun read. Love a good story with a dog in it.
Way to go Zeke. You keep getting it done..
Zeke is a good guy to have on your team!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
That's just dandy!!!
Everybody need a Zeke,congratulations for your great dog,but I think you helped it to grew up,plenty of chances
That's awesome! I've never saw a Jack Russell used for tracking.