Thanks for your help this morning Harold and Otis. We didn't find the buck, (might still be alive), but these guys were a lot of help and very friendly and professional. We were set to meet at 8:30 and I got there 15 minutes early and he was waiting on me.

I highly recommend them if anyone ever needs their services

Found this one earlier this morning. It was shot by a young 12 year old boy yesterday afternoon sitting with his dad. Unfortunately, he had to go to school today and couldn’t be there for the recovery. He’ll have a surprise waiting on him this afternoon though.

Very pleased with how Otis worked this track. The track was 19 hrs old and wemt through a swamp bottom with lots of bare dirt and standing water. I knew it was going to take patience for Otis to work it but I was unsure if he could control his excitement well enough to work a line like this. He worked this line though with maturity like I haven’t seen out of him. The track was 600 yards total and he worked it very slow and meticulously the whole way. The only bump in the road was right at the end of the track. About 100 yards before we found the deer….another one jumped up in front of Otis. I could tell by his reaction that either we had gotten the deer up that we were tracking or we had jumped another deer. We stopped Otis and did a restart at last blood. A hundred yards later he had his prize. You can see the entry hole on this side of the deer. The exit hole was just under the hind leg.

I’ll tell you the best part about today’s track but I’ll have to preface it with another story……

A few weeks or so ago, AJ and I were on a track that had a really messed up search area to work through. His older dog started working through all the different scent trails…. slowly picking her way through it. While she was doing all that, AJ sat down on a stump eating something that appeared to be sunflower seeds and started in telling me and the hunter a semi dirty joke. He didn’t have to even worry about the dog….she was busy working and didn’t give a damn what we were doing. So we’re all there shooting the chit and listening to AJ’s dirty joke while in the background the old dog is just working the hell out of this search area. I thought to myself at the time….”I can’t wait to be able to just sit down and tell a dirty joke while Otis does his thing.” After we got to the punch line and everyone had a good laugh…the old dog took the track off and AJ said “Let’s go fellas!”

Well cut to today……..The deer we were tracking had actually been jumped last night at about 100 yards out. After he ran another 150 yards or so, he got in a little thicket and stopped. I’m pretty sure he wandered around in circles in this area because when Otis tracked up to that little thicket he started circling around and around and around. I knew it was going to take him a minute so I just pulled a stump and started shooting the breeze with the hunters while Otis worked. He walked over to me a time or two and checked in but I just told him he was doing a great job and to keep it up……and he went right back to picking through the circles of scent. After about 10 minutes he finally figured out where the deer had went and he took the line on. It was nice to just sit there on that stump though and watch my dog work without having to do anything else. I may need to stock up on my dirty jokes.

Gonna be a happy kid..

Great job and story CNC!

Congrats, H.& O. There is an article/picture in the Sept. 2011 GON mag. about J.J. & Rosie recovering a 10 year old girls first deer after midnight and getting her out of class the next day for pictures.

Thanks folks.....


TNC, I really enjoyed getting to meet JJ last year. I hope after the national convention is over, you all consider having another event next year like the one I attended. JJ is one of those guys I could sit around and talk "shop" with all day. He reminded me a lot of BSK.

Good stuff. Really like the story about sitting on the stump and letting Otis do his thing. I bet you didn't even think that was an option 2 months ago. Being able to do that just adds to the nostalgia of the hunters being there and being able to watch a good dog track.

Thanks 3FF……Otis is still really young for a tracking dog but I’m very pleased with how far he’s progressed this season. We’ve been tracking a lot here lately and all the experience he’s getting has been great for his training. Distractions are still an issue sometimes. He works much better if only one or two people goes with me and things are quiet. He also works much better if I don’t rush him or pressure him. I can’t wait until next season. That’s when I think the fun will really begin. I think as he matures he’ll work most tracks slowly like he did this last one. It makes it very enjoyable to watch when he works like that.

Btw……Got an update last night on the bow shot stuck in the back. The deer was seen again yesterday and is still alive. It’ll be very interesting to see where that arrow hit if someone is able to eventually kill him.

With a couple of exceptions, I have learned more about practical tracking and training tracking dogs from J.J. than anyone I can think of. He has a unique way of explaining every aspect. I'm still trying to figure out who BSK is.

He used to post on here and the QDMA forum. Really smart guy with a way of explaining things in an understandable way just like JJ. They both seem to like analyzing data and taking topics to a little deeper level than the average person would. He also manages property similar to what JJ does.

trackncur.......Are you taking any calls in Alabama this year?

Around Dothan if I am where I can travel that far. I took a couple of tracks last week in Fla. southeast of Dothan.

10-4....I need someone else to network with to my south. Last weekend the calls all came in a big flurry and it was more than what could be gotten to. It’s a long way for me to drive to try and get anything south of say Troy or Eufaula. I thought maybe you might want to get in on some of those tracks but looking at the map you’re still a long ways off. Have you talked to Tony in Dothan? He seemed to be doing well at the first of the season but I haven’t heard anything from him lately.

I referred a few tracks to him earlier this year, some in Ga. but I haven't heard from him lately. His dog is doing a good job. I may be able to go to the area south of Abbeville,Ala. or Ft. Gaines, Ga. but will have to charge $100 an hour, one way travel time. You never know when we may be in the area, tho.

10-4.....I think I'll give Tony a call and see how Luke is doing.

The link below is to the national Trackfest that’s being held in GA this year. If any of you guys are interested in getting started tracking then this is a great first step. They'll be trackers from all over the country there. If you’re thinking about getting a puppy then you’ll get to see all kinds of tracking dogs to help you choose. I attended an event similar to this one last year and really enjoyed it. Trackncur was one of the speakers at that event.

http://www.unitedbloodtrackers.org/2016trackfest-premium.pdf

trackncur……Did you just mail your money to the address at the bottom? I assume that’s it but its not really clear.

H., I think you make the check out to UBT and mail it to Linda Hamilton. They only have time/room to certify 25 dogs and I think they are already full. Linda can tell you for sure.

Talked to Tony and Linda from UBT. Tony is doing well and said he would be at Trackfest. The address is not the one on the flyer. It’s a Wisconsin address. Call Linda to let her know that you’re coming and she’ll give you the address if anyone is interested. The twenty dog slots are full but they’re considering taking more dogs. I told her it didn’t matter to me if I got to run the training lines and she said it was ok to bring Otis just to hang out if I wanted to bring him. ….So Otis and I will see you there.