08/05/2026
Training a Deer Tracking Dog: Is It Right for You?
It's that time of year again. Hunting season is getting closer, and at least one new person every week reaches out asking how to train their dog to recover wounded deer. As the season approaches, that number usually grows to two or three people each week.
I always try to make time to help. Many of those conversations happen while I'm driving to or from a track, but this year I'd like to try something different. Instead of repeating the same conversation over and over, I'm writing this article in hopes that it helps new handlers get started.
Is Tracking Right for You?
The most common thing I hear is, "I just want a dog for personal use to track one or two deer a year for family and friends."
I usually try to talk people out of that idea.
I've participated in many hunting sports with Labrador Retrievers, and none of them require the amount of training that tracking does. To have a dog that truly knows what it's doing, you need around 10 real-world recoveries where there is little or no blood and the dog is actually solving the track. To have a dependable tracking dog, you're looking at closer to 30 recoveries.
If your dog is only seeing two or three real hunter-lost deer each year, it simply won't gain the experience needed to become consistently reliable.
My own dogs don't even take real hunter calls until they've completed around 150 mock tracks, passed a certification test, and successfully completed several known-dead recoveries. By that point they've already accumulated hundreds of hours of training.
The Training
For those I haven't scared away, in my opinion there are only two proper methods for laying practice tracks, and both involve using deer hooves.
The first is a homemade tracking stick built from 1¼-inch PVC pipe with a hose clamp. The second is a set of tracking shoes. Darren Minor of Deer Dogs and Drones Deer Recovery sells an excellent set of tracking shoes that I highly recommend.
One thing I never do is drag a hide or a hoof.
Start with a simple 20-yard track and encourage the dog to follow it. Give a food reward at the end (carry it in to avoid food searching). A tanned deer hide does a great job representing the end of the track and the goal object. Once the dog understands the game, gradually increase the distance to 30, 40, and 50 yards.
After that, introduce turns. Run 30 yards, make a 90-degree turn, and continue another 30 yards. Continue increasing both length and complexity until you're around 250 yards with three or four 90-degree turns.
Once the dog is confidently completing those tracks, begin aging them. Start with one hour, then two hours, then three hours. If the dog starts struggling, stay at that level for a while before making the tracks more difficult again.
One mistake I see from new handlers is that they either don't progress their dogs enough or they make tracks longer instead of making them more technically challenging.
Training Frequency
I recommend training on mock tracks at least three days each week. Some dogs won't tolerate that frequency, but most benefit from it. Many dogs do exceptionally well with five training sessions each week.
When you're first starting, those short 30-100 yard tracks, you can run multiple, two or three different ones in a single session with a short break between each one.
The majority of my training consists of one or two tracks between 150 and 300 yards. Longer tracks, from 400 to 1,250 yards, are generally limited to one per training session.
Mock Track Length
The vast majority of my mock tracks are around 250 yards.
One drill I use frequently is interval turn training, placing a 90-degree turn approximately every 30 yards.
Keep most tracks relatively short and focus on whatever your dog is struggling with. That's where improvement happens.
Those really long tracks—800 yards or more—only make up about one out of every six training sessions. They're primarily used to build endurance and stamina.
Many new handlers become obsessed with track length. My advice is simple:
Keep it short. Keep it difficult. That's how dogs learn.
Should You Use Blood?
I'm actually a fan of using blood, even though I don't use much of it with my own dogs because it's time-consuming.
With puppies or new dogs, I like blood on roughly two out of every three tracks. With experienced dogs, maybe one out of every five.
Blood helps the dog associate blood odor with the overall scent picture of a wounded deer.
That said, blood is absolutely not required. Dogs can be successfully trained from puppyhood using only deer hooves. Remember, the hunter is calling you because there isn't a blood trail to follow.
What Scent Are Dogs Following?
Dogs are primarily tracking the scent profile of a mortally wounded deer.
Current belief is that the interdigital gland plays an important role, but it is certainly not the only scent involved.
In reality, dogs are following a complex combination of odors associated with a deer's declining health, and many of those scent components are present on the hooves.
Which Hooves Should You Use?
The common belief is that hooves from deer that traveled the farthest or lived the longest after being shot make the best training hooves.
I follow that tradition and keep my gut-shot deer hooves almost sacred in the chest freezer.
That said, I've found that virtually any dead deer hoof works well.
Double-lung archery deer, firearm kills, fresh roadkill, or deer from a butcher all make perfectly acceptable training hooves.
How Long Do Hooves Last?
I usually keep one pair of hooves each week in the refrigerator for training.
They come out for an hour or two during training and then go right back into the fridge.
Typically they're good for at least a week and several thousand yards of tracking.
If both of my dogs suddenly begin struggling on tracks they should easily complete, it's usually time to replace the hooves.
My Dog Keeps Missing 90-Degree Turns
If your dog consistently overruns turns, I don't stop at the corner and wait with a tight leash for the dog to come back.
In my opinion, that can teach the dog that leash pressure means it's off the track, even when it's actually correct.
Instead, I'll allow the dog to work about 30 yards beyond the turn. If it never slows down or begins searching, I'll walk back approximately 60 yards and restart the dog about 30 yards before the turn.
We'll repeat that process as many times as necessary.
I never want to show the dog where the track goes.
The dog is there to show me the way—not the other way around. I never want a tracking dog looking to me for help while working a track.
Final Thoughts
This article provides a framework to get started.
Most importantly, have fun. Tracking should be enjoyable for both you and your dog.
Don't become frustrated when things aren't going well. Dogs quickly sense that frustration, and one bad training session can set your team back for weeks.
Patience and repetition are the keys to success.
I also strongly encourage every new tracking team to work toward passing either a United Blood Trackers (UBT1) or American Blood Tracking Association (ABTA Started) tracking test before offering tracking services to the public.
Tracking tests provide hunters with confidence that a team has demonstrated a minimum standard of competence and isn't simply someone with an untrained dog advertising recoveries.
For local handlers who would like in-person help, we offer training sessions from February through August.
This article covers the basics, but, a seasoned tracking dog's training is way more complex. Distractions, scent gaps, scent bubbles, terrain changes, thermals, and scent challenges are all involved with later training.
Tracker John Keslick
Luna's Deer Tracking
