Mosquito Creek 'Houlas

09/04/2026

One of the biggest misconceptions in deer recovery is that the amount of blood on the ground tells us how the track is going to end.

After enough real tracks, you learn that blood can fool you in both directions.

We've recovered dead deer that left very little blood for a hunter to follow. We've also followed trails that looked like somebody poured blood through the woods—only to eventually learn that deer was still very much alive.

Wound location, whether there's an exit, how high or low the wounds are, hair, fat or tissue plugging an opening, internal bleeding, and how the deer is moving can all affect what actually reaches the ground. Terrain and vegetation matter too. Grass, leaves, crops, wet vegetation, and bare ground can all affect how much blood you actually see.

A ton of blood does not automatically mean a dead deer.

Some muscle wounds and other nonfatal hits can bleed heavily before clotting up. A deer can leave an impressive trail and still survive or travel much farther than expected.

That's why we don't make predictions from the amount of blood alone.

When you're following a trail, look for more than just blood.

Hair, tracks, disturbed leaves, kicked-up dirt, broken vegetation, beds, direction of travel, the arrow, the deer's reaction, and distance traveled can all help tell the story when the red starts getting harder to find.

We're trying to understand the whole picture—not just how much blood is on the ground.

The same goes for the dog.

A tracking dog isn't simply following blood.

Visible blood can certainly be part of the track, but the dog is working scent associated with that individual wounded deer. That's why running out of blood that you can see doesn't necessarily mean the dog has run out of something to follow.

Since we're talking about the lack of visible blood, let's talk about rain.

Rain is one of the biggest reasons hunters get nervous when blood is already sparse. You see a few drops, look at the forecast, and immediately start thinking, “If I don't go now, I'm going to lose everything.”

That's understandable—but losing visible blood and losing the track are not necessarily the same thing.

Rain can dilute, spread, or completely wash away what a hunter is able to see. But that doesn't automatically erase everything a dog has to work with.

In fact, some moisture can create favorable scenting conditions. That doesn't mean more rain is always better or that heavy rain can't make a track more difficult. Intensity, duration, wind, temperature, standing or moving water, terrain, ground cover, and how much time has passed can all play a part.

The important thing is:

Don't let approaching rain convince you that you have to rush a questionable hit.

If the hit calls for time, that time can still be more important than preserving visible blood. Pushing a wounded deer out of its first bed because you're afraid the rain will wash the blood away can create a much bigger problem than the rain itself.

And we want to make something clear:

We encourage every hunter to make their best effort to recover their own deer.

Not every deer needs a tracking dog. If you've got good sign and a trail you can confidently follow, absolutely make your recovery.

But when the blood suddenly disappears, the sign changes, you find a bed, you're unsure about the hit, or you catch yourself starting to circle and wander looking for the trail—that's a good time to stop and reach out.

You don't have to commit to bringing a dog in just because you called. Sometimes a conversation about what you're seeing, what happened at the shot, and how much time has passed is enough to help determine the best next move.

Because another 20 yards can become a circle. A circle becomes checking another trail. Then somebody else joins in, everyone spreads out, and pretty soon a large area has been covered.

If that deer is still alive and bedded nearby, those good intentions can turn a recoverable situation into a much harder one.

As you track, mark the hit site and last confirmed sign. Remember the direction of travel. Save the arrow. Take pictures of the blood, hair, and arrow before everything gets handled or wiped off.

Sometimes the best blood trail leads to a living deer, and sometimes almost no blood leads to one laying dead nearby.

There are no guarantees in wounded-deer recovery.

Pay attention to everything the sign is telling you, make good decisions along the way, and don't let the absence—or abundance—of blood make those decisions for you.

09/02/2026

A lot of hunters only see the part where the dog goes to work. What they don't always see is how much of a recovery is already being figured out before we ever get to that point.

When we show up, we're coming into a situation we didn't witness. We didn't see the shot, the deer's reaction, where it disappeared, or what happened in the hours afterward. Everything we know initially comes from the hunter and whatever evidence is still there.

That's why the little details matter.

An arrow can tell us one thing while the hunter's description tells us another. The location of the hit, the deer's reaction, how far it was watched, the sign left behind, whether anyone continued looking, and even the lay of the property can all change how we approach that recovery.

And sometimes experience means slowing things down rather than immediately putting a dog on the trail.

We're trying to give the dog the best opportunity possible, but we're also trying to make the best decision for that particular deer. No two tracks are exactly alike, and what worked on the last one isn't automatically the right answer for the next one.

There's a lot more to this work than following a dog through the woods.

Good tracking starts with good information—and knowing what to do with it.

09/02/2026

The 2026–2027 Ohio Deer Trackers List is out! 🦌🐕

Save it now. Hopefully you never need it—but if a shot doesn’t go as planned this season, you’ll already know where to turn.

There are experienced tracking teams spread across Ohio ready to help hunters make every reasonable effort to recover their deer. Take a few minutes before season gets rolling to find the trackers who cover your area, save their numbers, and don’t be afraid to reach out ahead of time.

And if you happen to be looking around Champaign County and the surrounding area, you’ll find us at #36 on this year’s list. We will travel as well schedule permitting.

Here’s to a safe season, good shots, short tracks, and hopefully never needing to make that call. But if you do—when in doubt, back out and call a tracker.

Good luck this season, Ohio! 🇺🇸🦌

Be sure to save and share this list!

08/30/2026

👀

🐾 TRACKING TRUTHS 🐾

A WOUNDED DEER DOESN’T ALWAYS GO WHERE YOU THINK.

All the myths and theories I learned growing up have been proven wrong more times than I care to share… sorry Dad and Grampy 😬

One of the biggest mistakes in deer recovery is assuming a wounded deer will simply run to the thickest cover, water, or the nearest hiding spot.

The truth is, deer are creatures of habit—even when they’re wounded.

A wounded deer may continue along familiar travel routes, trails, edges, funnels, bedding areas, or escape corridors it already knows.

And during the rut, there’s another factor many overlook:

🦌 Does can influence where a buck goes.

A wounded buck may continue moving with or toward does because of familiarity, social behavior, and the powerful biological drive associated with the rut. The scent and pheromonal cues of a doe can keep a buck moving when you might expect him to isolate himself.

A wounded animal is still trying to survive.

It may circle.
It may backtrack.
It may cross its own trail.
It may stay with familiar deer.
It may bed in an unexpected location.
And it may travel much farther than you think before finally lying down.

🐕 Trust the nose, but most importantly when you think the path is weird and wrong….trust the nose again because that deer can and will do anything to get you off its trail. The woods don’t follow myths and theory, they follow survival.

08/30/2026

There’s no shortage of people offering deer recovery anymore, and having more options available to hunters can be a good thing. But more options also means hunters need to know who they’re putting their recovery in the hands of.

A dog, a drone, a page, or an impressive number of claimed recoveries doesn’t tell the whole story.

When it comes to a tracking team, look at the work they’ve put into becoming one. Training throughout the year, testing themselves, certifications, real tracks, continued education, and involvement with other established trackers all tell you something about their dedication. Certification alone doesn’t make a great tracker, and neither does being on a list—but being part of a credible statewide network where people know one another and there is some accountability should carry some weight.

The same scrutiny should apply when considering a drone operator. Someone may be extremely capable at operating a drone and locating deer from the air, but that doesn’t necessarily tell you how much they understand about wounded-deer recovery on the ground. Ask how much boots-on-the-ground experience they actually have. Have they worked difficult recoveries? Have they seen what happens when a marginally hit deer is pushed? Do they understand why certain hits require significant wait times? Have they worked alongside experienced dog trackers and learned from them?

And maybe most importantly, are they willing to tell you when their approach isn't the best option?

Good dog trackers know there are situations where another approach may help. Good drone operators should recognize when putting an experienced dog team on the track makes more sense. Nobody should be trying to force every recovery into whatever method they happen to provide.

Numbers deserve some perspective, too. Hearing that somebody has "hundreds of recoveries" sounds impressive—but ask what that actually means. Locating a deer isn't necessarily the same as recovering one. What happens if that deer is still alive? What happens if the hunter walks to the location later and the deer is gone? Does the person stay involved and help determine the next move, or was their job finished when they dropped a pin?

The same goes for dog trackers. A person shouldn't earn your confidence simply because they own a tracking breed, bought a harness and started taking calls. Look at the training they've done, the experience they've accumulated, who they've learned from, and whether other established trackers will stand behind them.

None of this means someone has to have been doing it for twenty years to be worth calling. Every experienced tracker was new once. Every real track teaches us something, and some of the tracks where we don't recover the deer teach us the most. What matters is whether someone is putting in the work, continuing to learn, being truthful about their experience, and knowing the limits of what they know.

There are good dog trackers and good drone operators out there. There are also people in both camps who can sell themselves a whole lot better than they can recover a wounded deer.

Ask around. Ask questions. Pay attention to reputation. And don't be afraid to ask WHY someone is recommending what they're recommending.

At the end of the day, this shouldn't be about somebody's ego, numbers, dog, drone, or Facebook following.

It should be about giving that deer the best chance at recovery.

08/28/2026

As trackers, we completely understand what happens after a questionable shot. You’ve invested time into that deer, adrenaline is high, and every part of you wants to go find out what happened. Sitting at home for 6, 8, 12 hours—or sometimes longer—when your deer is somewhere out there is not easy.

But sometimes doing less gives us more to work with.

A wounded deer that hasn’t been pressured will often do something predictable: get away from the immediate danger, find cover, bed down, and stay there. Once people start walking around looking for blood, circling the area, checking beds, grid searching, or repeatedly pushing forward “just another 50 yards,” that situation can change quickly. A deer that may have been recoverable from its first bed can get bumped and travel much farther.

That’s why one of the first things a tracker is going to ask about is the shot.

Where did the deer stand? What angle was it at? Where do you believe you hit? How did it react? What did the arrow look and smell like? What kind of blood did you find? How far did you follow it? Did you find a bed? Has anyone been beyond last blood?

𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀.

We’re not asking those questions to judge your shot. Every hunter who spends enough time in the woods will eventually make one they wish they could have back. We need accurate information because it helps us decide what we may be dealing with and, more importantly, when we should put a dog on that track.

And sometimes the answer is going to be: wait.

That can be frustrating when another tracker says they can come right now. But sooner does not automatically mean better. There are hits where going in too early can dramatically reduce the odds of recovery. If the tracker you scheduled tells you they want to wait until morning or give the deer several more hours, there’s a reason.

This is also where communication and respect come into play.

If you’ve scheduled a tracker, communicate with them. If circumstances change, tell them. If you find the deer, great—call them and let them know. If you decide you’re going another direction, have enough respect to tell them that too.

What becomes frustrating is when someone schedules a tracker, is specifically told to stay out, then continues searching anyway—or starts calling other trackers until they find somebody willing to come sooner.

The tracking community is a lot smaller than people realize. Most of us know one another and talk regularly. We refer tracks to each other, help each other, discuss difficult hits, share information and work together. If we can’t take a track, many times we’re trying to find another qualified team that can.

So calling five trackers hoping to get five different answers usually isn’t helping the situation.

And there’s another side of this that hunters may not always see.

A tracker may be planning their entire day around your recovery. They may be turning down another track, rearranging family plans, loading equipment, preparing a dog, driving an hour or two, or getting up at 2:00 in the morning so they can meet you at first light. For many of us, this isn’t simply showing up with a dog and taking a walk through the woods.

We take these recoveries seriously.

That’s also why repeatedly ignoring a tracker’s advice can affect whether that tracker is willing to help you again. It isn’t about holding a grudge. If we’re going to commit our dog, our time and our resources to a recovery, we need to know the hunter is willing to work with us instead of unintentionally working against us.

There’s etiquette on our side too.

A good tracker should communicate clearly, explain why they’re recommending a certain wait, be realistic about what the sign is telling them, respect property boundaries, respect the hunter and the animal, and know when another tracker or another approach may be the better option.

This should never be about ego or who gets credit for a recovery.

At the end of the day, the hunter, tracker and dog all have the same objective:

𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

So after a questionable shot, mark the location of the hit. Mark last blood. Take good pictures. Back out before you turn a clean track into a contaminated mess. Call a tracker early—even if the actual track won't happen until many hours later—and then have a conversation.

Ask questions. Tell us everything. Listen to the reasoning behind the plan.

And once we agree on that plan, let’s work together and stick to it.

Because when that dog finally puts its nose to the ground, every decision made in the hours beforehand comes into the woods with us.

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

08/26/2026

🐾 𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗬 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗚 𝗗𝗔𝗬! 🐾

Today we celebrate the dogs that make life a whole lot better.

For us, they’re more than tracking dogs. They’re our partners in the woods, our companions on the road, training buddies, camp buddies, and most importantly, family.

They put in countless miles, long nights, early mornings, and hours of training, and somehow they’re always ready for the next adventure.

We ask a lot of these dogs, and they give us everything they have in return.

So today, a little extra appreciation for 𝗧𝘆𝗱𝘂𝘀, 𝗟𝘂𝗻𝗮 & 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, and all the incredible dogs out there that make our lives better just by being part of them. 🐾

𝙃𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘿𝙤𝙜 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙠 ’𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙨!

Let’s see yours! Drop a picture of your four-legged partner or best friend in the comments. 👇🐕