TRACKING DOG SERVICE & FEES
Our Professional Tracking Dogs
LET US FIND YOUR TROPHY
Our service utilizes trained tracking dogs for the recovery of wounded deer and exotic game. We began working with blood tracking dogs in 2006. We firmly believe that a skilled tracking dog represents the absolute best chance of recovering your trophy. They are trained to follow the odor of blood as well as microscopic scent particles eliminated from an animal's wound and scent glands. A tracking dog must have a good nose, intense prey drive and capable of working out the most confusing trails with a combination of ground and air scenting. If they find a live wounded deer, our dogs will bay up to keep the animal in place until help arrives.
Our Services
AREA COVERED
Our core area is Dimmit and Lasalle counties in southern Texas. We may travel to other areas, depending on the situation.
We are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
If you need to contact us, please leave a voice or text message and we will return your call as soon as possible.
SERVICE FEES
We charge $200 to show up and track and an additional $150 if we recover your deer. We also offer discounts for assisting youth hunters. Call for pricing.
WHEN TO CALL A BLOOD TRACKING DOG
Ideally, the hunter should start making efforts to find a deer tracking dog as soon as he realizes there is a problem. If you track a deer 200 yards and still haven't found it, stop, call us, and wait. If you don't disturb the area, and the deer is mortally wounded, we have a good chance of recovering him.
Our experienced deer dogs track exclusively off-leash with GPS collars. Therefore, we rarely take tracks on small, low-fenced properties. The deer and dog can get on to a neighboring property in a matter of seconds. Any time there is a possibility the deer may cross a fence, please alert your neighbor and any hunters he may have in camp. We will not cross a fence to pursue a deer if we do not have permission. This is for our safety and the safety of our dog.
RECOVERY RATE
Gut and Liver shots - We have been very successful at recovering these deer. Signs of a gut shot are white hair, blood that is very dark in color or has pieces of food mixed in or green matter.
Broken legs - Pieces of bone indicate a leg hit and there is a very good chance of recovering these deer.
Shots high in the body - These deer are very difficult for us to find because, in most cases, no vitals were hit, the deer has four good legs under him and can easily outrun the dog. If the deer was shot from an elevated position and the projectile traveled down through the body cavity, we have a better chance of recovering him. Neck shots, high shoulder shots and shots in the back (backstraps) are the absolute worst, especially with a bow. If you find meat, fat, and hair on your arrow or the arrow is very clean with little to no blood, the odds of finding the deer are very poor.
Rifle vs. Bow shots - Our success rates are generally less on bow-shot deer and higher on gun-shot deer. Our best chance of recovering a deer is in the first few hours after the shot but we have found many deer 12 to 20 hours after the shot. Our ability to follow an aged trail depends largely on weather conditions.
