Bloodtracking

I promised to write about the blood tracking after I had the course this spring. Here is great Finnish instructions for people who understand our weird language, pictures are usefull to others also!

I have always been doing tracking and blood tracking with my dogs but never had real course where they teach tracking. This spring I take part to bloodtracking course what was arrenged by Helsingin Seudun Mäyräkoirakerho ry (Dachund club of Helsinki). It was really interesting course and I learned much. This text is written by their course material.

So what is bloodtracking? 

Main thing is to figure out dog's ability to track wounded game animals. It should be something what dog enjoys to do and it is also social interaction to the dog's owner. It is great hobby to meet new people who think the same way. People who practice blood tracking dont take it so serious (or most of them dont!) and people are nice and open for new comers. In Finland bloodtracking is also a way to get your dog to be tax-free and some breeds need result from bloodtracking to become Finnish Champion.

Every dog knows how to track. You just need to teach them to focus on the bloodtrack and forget other interesting things what they might wnt to follow. While tracking dog use scent of blood to track and also signs on earth and smell of the tracked animal or human who have made the track. When dog combines these things it can track chosen thing easily. There is different kind of tracking dogs, but mainly dogs work when they are in long track leash and the owner follows the dog in the track.

What you need for tracking? 

Here is list what you will need when you go and do bloodtrack for your dog.

• Map and compas, if you dont know the area where you are doing the track and can't be sure you have straight line.
• Blood. I use mainly cow blood what we can buy from supermarkets. Don't need much at the start. 
• Sponge or piece of old mattress (they said mattress is better) 
• Equipment for marking the track for yourself! Bright colored clothespin, stickers or ribbons are usefull. And you will need lots of those! With normal track you will need about 100 clothespin. 
• Plastic bag for bloodsponge and bloodbottle. You need to carry it out from the forest without dropping the blood or leaving another bloodtrack, so plastic bag is good for this. 
• Tracking collar or harness and 6 meters of tracking leash. For leash I have used mainly horse longe line (much cheaper than the line what they sell in pet store for dogs..) but anything works. Important thing here is the lenght because the 6 meters is the official lenght and it cant be any shorter or longer. 
• Medication for snakebites! 

Paavo tracking at summer 2011

How to make the bloodtrack? 

One important skill is that you know how to navigate with map and compass! Here you can forget navigators and other new technology because they dont work that well in the woods. Map reading is important skill because you need to be ablo to go straight for 200-400 meters when you fo the track. And you cant get lost in the woods when you know how to navigate :D If you have map for the area, make sure it is new and correct. In Finland they cut forests down quite often so it might be big suprise when you go there and whole forest is gone and you cant do bloodtrack on that area. It is too difficult to move, almost impossible and at summer time it gets really hot what might be dangerous for dog. I'm not going to explain here how to use map and compass, better that you get someone who teach you to use it in person if you are not familiar with it.

One good thing is to know how many steps you need to take for meter. Most people take about one meter with two steps. When you count two-steps you know also how many meters you have waalked in the forest.

When you do the track you first walk trough it and mark it. At start you can use more marks so you can find the start of the track easier. Remember that dog doesnt need to know where the track starts but you need to know! When you have marked the track well you know when the dog is on the track and when it is getting off the track.

Good tips for marking the track: 

• If you use ribbons, use long enough ones with bright colors.
• If you use stickers, put those on the leafs. 
• Ribbons tied with slipknot are easy to take off 
• Use landmarks what you can see easily when you do the corners of the track

When you finally get to the woods with the blood and sponge etc you need to use blood evenly. When you do track you need to have animal's ”sleeping place” at the start, corners and at the finish. You do this by scratching the land from 30 cm x 30 cm area and you add the blood to the sponge on these places. If the sponge looks dry you can add some more blood to it carefully when you do the track.

Tips for ”blooding” 

• Remember to wet the sponge really well before you go to the track
• at the start sponge will take more blood, so be carefull that you dont over do it
• If there is water areas on the trackline, you need to lift the sponge up to the other side. Dont let the sponge get on the water because then the water will take the track!
• Remember that the blood sponge comes behind you on the line what is about 1,5-2 meters long and it is always the last thing what goes on the track before you get the dog. 
• At the  finish take the bloodsponge to plastic bag so you dont leave wrong signs off the track. 
• With the ”sleeping places” remember to kick enough the earth, you need to be able to see the spot. 
• When you add blood to the sponge, drop it all over the ”sleeping place” 
• Remember to have good price at the end! Normally people use deer leg or something similar to that. 

Open class track

How to start the bloodtracking? 

The first track is best to do when your dog is still puppy. Then it will remember it when the dog grows up. At the start you should make really easy tracks and those shouldnt be longer than couple hundred meters. Another good idea is to use little bit more blood on the track than what you would use on normal track. Make it little bit easier for the dog at the start and get it excited. Normal track is about 12 hours old but it doesnt need to be that old at the start, couple hours would be enough or you can even do it when it is still fresh.  After some time you can start making it harder for the dog by adding the lenght and time.

At the start you need to tell dog what to do! You can even crawl on the ground ad show the dog what you want it to do. At the start it might be also wiser to use shorter leash. Though some dogs know what to do straight from the start and you need to slow them down. It is not good that dog goes the track too fast either. Patience is the key!

Dog can track tracks what are several days or even weeks old. You need to be carefull that you dont get your dog tired with the tracking. Dogs use really much energy when they are tracking. It doesnt need to be long track and you will have one very tired dog. Remember to keep breaks and dont do tracks too often. Once a week or once a two week would be good. You need to keep it interesting for the dog!

If your dog is having problems to stay on the right track (meaning the bloodtrack you have made) you can instruct the dog by the leash to stay on the right track when you practice. You can also tell the dog that it is wrong thing to do by saying no.

Make different practice track in different places and get some distractions for the dog. In real situation there can be several distractions so it is good to tain your dog for it.

Try avoid the situation where strong wind can carry the scent from the finish to the dog. Then dog can start using air scenting and go straight to the finish. Never let the dog go back on the track and dont take it with you when you take the track marks off!

Tips for practice:

• Track doesn't need to be official lenght or really long all the time
• it is better to practice with tracks what are different lenght and in different environment
• At the practice track there can be several ”sleeping places” and corners, you can practise the problem parts! 
• Tech your dog one word what mean the track. When you use it the dog will automatically know what it needs to do. 
• Learn to walk in the woods! Good shape is always plus for both, the dog and the owner. 
• Learn to understand your dogs. That makes your working easier when you know what the dog is thinking and doing. 

Dog's sense of smell is really sensitive so dont use perfums when you do tracking. Avoid smoking in the car or near the track. Basicly try to avoid anything what smells really strong. It will make dog's working much easier.

I wont explain how you can get into competitions because I dont know how it works on other countries. If you have something to ask, please contact me here or send me email to address saija_raj (ät) hotmail.com. I'm not professional with tracking, just starting it for serious, so I dont know all the answers. But I can always try to help and ask someone who knows more! :)