Welcome to Missouri Deer Tracking Dog. The trackers on this page have proven dogs, years of experience and unparalleled perseverance.
The purpose of this page is to offer services, document recoveries, and inform hunters.
At every Marine Corps Rifle Range is a sign that reads, "The deadliest thing on the battlefield is a well aimed shot".
This buck was recovered after being shot with just the arrow shaft, but it was hit in both lungs!
Coyotes licked and bit the wound, making it appear larger.
Missouri Archery Season starts September 15th. This is my 11th season as a tracker.
We have the only dual certified tracking dogs in Missouri. Our dogs are certified with both American Blood Trackers and United Blood Trackers. We bring two dogs to every track.
On the post, "Shot angle", we can see where hunter's aim, which in some cases may not result in a recoverable deer! For example, aiming behind the front shoulder, regardless of the shot angle is not usually fatal. The object should be to hit both lungs. Pictured is a double lung shot deer that ran almost a quarter mile, and required a dog to recover!
SHOT ANGLE.
A commonality that results in wounded deer is aiming right behind the shoulder, regardless of shot angle. Visualizing the vitals, where would you aim at this deer from a 10' high deer stand?
Drone vs Dog
This buck was jumped 3 miles from the hit site! Once jumped the track was hot and the deer couldn't shake the dog as it was jumped repeatedly, until the buck was dispatched.
When the deer was jumped, the hunter thought it was game over, while a tracker with a good dog knows that it's game on! A tracker knows deer behavior and is on the ground to see sign, and knows the dog is hot on it!
Conversely, would a drone fly 3 miles in the right direction?
Once a drone locates a deer, will it be game over if the wounded deer is jumped?
Don't believe claims that drone recovery rates are 95%. Any experienced tracker knows that approximately 60% of wounded deer are not fatally shot, and that exaggerated claims are simply not true.
Lastly, if a drone fails to find your deer, call a tracker. Dogs recover deer that drones don't, though dogs aren't totally infallible, but watching a good dog track is a thing of beauty.
No Man's Land.
When a hunter says that a deer was hit in no man's land, what does that mean? No man's land is a non-descript term that is vaguely and often misunderstood.
No man's land is that part of the deer that is above the spine to include the back of the neck, where there are no organs. Deer that are shot above the spine are usually not recovered with on leash tracking, which Missouri requires.
Deer shot just below the spine are not shot in no man's land as the lungs fill the entire chest cavity. In the pics, notice that the spine dips down above the chest. The deer with the red circle was hit above the spine!!!
Shooters Make Mistakes.
This book was given to the high shooter in my Battalion by GSgt Carlos Hathcock and is a prized possession. I shot a 247 out of 250, which means I missed 3 times at a stable target on a shooting range. I was the high shooter but I wasn't perfect... nobody is.
Hunters sometimes get buckfever and can't steady their aim. At other times the projectile deflected or the deer moved...
There is a plethora of reasons that hunters make bad shots. I myself have missed the whole deer more than once!
What are things that caused you to miss. I'll go first. I shot the window on my pop-up blind!
WOUNDED DEER THAT WALK AWAY.
The deer that walks away is walking because it's in pain, not because of blood loss or organ failure. The deer will usually hunch up, as a person would do if punched in the gut.
DO NOT think you can catch up to a deer that is walking away. When a deer is shot in the stomach, gut or liver, it is capable of going for miles. The deer usually has no idea why it feels sick, and will usually bed quickly. If pushed the deer is capable of running, and will flee the area!
This buck was gut shot and the hunter told us that it didn't go far because it was slowly walking with its head down. The buck was found alive the following morning, after a bloodless half mile track!
Kenny Mullins and American Blood Trackers Association.
Kenny Mullins and Ralph Bennett are the co-founders of American Blood Trackers Association, and recover 100's of deer each year. Both are a wealth of knowledge and can be followed on Facebook.
Kenny is everything tracking, and trained several of our dogs. The pic is a track made for our Stud dog, with hooves only, no blood, and aged over 12 hours. Clearly, the dog takes away all arguments and guess work. The dog goes where the deer goes.
Where do wounded deer go?
When a deer is wounded, it will usually head for it's bedding/safe area, which is usually remote. On one track the buck led us to a BIG Foot Crossing! We didn't didn't see a Big Foot because of thick cover, and because Big Foot is the undefeated hide and seek champion. ;)
Wait times are critical because, when a deer is hit behind the diaphragm, it will often bed in the vicinity of the hit sight or within a few hundred yards. Since no vitals are hit, the deer is capable of running miles, crossing multiple property lines and leaving a long scent trail that's sure to attract coyotes!
Remember that the deer usually doesn't know that a hunter shot it, but will figure if out when it's jumped, and will leave for parts unknown.
Hunters who are worried about the deer spoiling if they wait, need to understand that a wounded deer is alive and is not spoiling. We have jumped wounded deer over 20 hours after the shot!
Calling us is free, and together we can make a plan to recover your deer.
The nose knows.
Quite frequently, what the hunter sees, hears and thinks after the shot, can effect the timely recovery of their deer. In this case the dog was pulled off the track because the hunter was certain that the buck went splashing across a creek, and there is little doubt that in poor light conditions he did see and hear a deer, but it wasn't the buck he shot!
I have to wonder what goes through the dog's mind, when the dog is dead on, gets pulled off the track, and is forced to go away from the track? So it was that we flailed aimlessly away, wasting precious time and energy.
Eventually, the hunter was told that the dog was his best bet to find his deer, and that's exactly what the dog did. We have amazing dogs that are dual certified with both American Blood Trackers and United Blood Trackers.
Hunters can be wrong, no matter how honest and well intended, but the nose knows!
Looking at entry wound statistics, it's obvious that hunters should stay away from the shoulder during archery season.
There are two blood tracking organizations in America:
United Blood Trackers (UBT) and American Blood Trackers Association (ABTA). UBT2 is represented by a red ribbon, which is better than UBT1. ABTA Seasoned is represented by a green ribbon.
All of our dogs are dual certified with both ABTA2 and UBT2, so that hunters know that our dogs are skilled, trained and certified to find your deer!
Congratulations to Brad Shoemaker and Andrew Mullins for producing some fine dogs. Kenny handled one and John handled the other. They both did phenomenal on their seasoned on lead Test.
MEET SOPHI
Last May, my wife broke her hip and I became her caretaker while Sophi was busy with a litter of 9 puppies. Knowing that Sophi was a good dog and was deserving of recognition, I began a search for someone to have Sophi tested.
To my good fortune, I called Kenny Mullins in Florida, who in my opinion is simply the best. Kenny finishes the job! Kenny kept Sophi until she passed all her tests, to include UBT2, ABTA1 & ABTA2.
The UBT2 test was nearly impossible because the nearest judge was 100 miles away and was influenced by a higher up to not run tests. Sooooo, Kenny drove to Louisiana, 10 - 15 miles from Texas! The 10 hour drive gave Sophi travel sickness, so she couldn't complete the test.
My heart sank! Sophi returned to Florida, but Kenny said he was working on another option and took Sophi to Mississippi, where she passed UBT2 with no call backs, even though the judge laid the track through a 3D Archery Course!
Kenny and his assistant worked Sophi everyday and went far beyond expectations to finish the task against all odds. Kenny Mullins and Ralph Bennett have established the American Blood Trackers Association to do educational events and testing throughout America. Sophi is one of a handful of dogs in America that are dual certified!
Thank you Kenny Mullins and John Vaughan, I will be forever grateful!!!!!!!
CERTIFIED TRACKING DOGS
Trust recovering your deer to our CERTIFIED tracking dogs, that are bred, born and trained to track. These 6 UBT2 ribbons belong to our dogs/kennel.
THE JACOBSON'S ORGAN
This buck was shot several days before we were called to track it. Additionally, tracking conditions couldn't have been worse. Moisture holds scent and it hadn't rained in weeks!
I selected Breeze for the job, and she struggled, but Breeze has a great sense of smell, and she's smart. Breeze is UBT2 Certified and knows the task. While Breeze has a good nose, she also has a good Jacobson's Organ, which is part of her olfactory system. The Jacobson's Organ detects scent molecules that the nose alone can't detect.
You too have a Jacobson's Organ, it's the two rough patches just above and behind your two front teeth.
THE INTERDIGITAL GLAND.
The term, "Blood tracking", is a misnomer. Our dogs track scent from the INTERDIGITAL GLAND, that is on both front and rear hooves. Deer communicate by using the interdigital gland! For example, when a deer busts a hunter and stomps the ground as it snorts, it leaves a danger signal that will last for days!
When a deer is shot, the interdigital gland produces scent that signals declining health, which signals the dog to track the wounded deer, and not other healthy deer. If a deer's health stops declining, the interdigital gland will stop producing the signal and will become like that of other deer. Unless infection sets in, the deer will survive to be hunted again.
CAUTION.
When tracking a wounded deer, interdigital gland scent is transferred from the ground to footwear, and spread everywhere the tracker walks, so be careful to not contaminate the track.
BLOOD
When we arrive at the hit site the hunter almost always says there's good blood but when we arrive we can't find it. The big pic on the left is fresh blood. The pic on the right is 12 hour old blood, and it did NOT rain. This clearly shows why the blood trail needs to be marked.
Lacking anything to mark the trail, some hunters tear off pieces of clothing, which works while the clothes last. Lol. Other hunters have marked the trail with sticks that are difficult to locate, while others mark the location of blood on their phone. All of these methods are makeshift.
We recommend biodegradable toilet paper, which leaves a visual trail of direction of travel and will be there for all to clearly see.
The arrow is evidence and should be preserved for the tracker to examine. This arrow shows that the buck was gutshot. From evidence on the arrow we can often tell where the deer was hit, and a plan can be made with the hunter on how to best proceed. PRESERVE THE ARROW AND SHOW IT TO THE TRACKER.
Frequently we find that the arrow has been stuck in the ground at the hit site, which destroys evidence on the tip of the arrow, and sometimes a critter finds the arrow and carries it off!
The gutshot deer in this pic was pushed by the hunter and was recovered after a 3 mile track, where it was still very much alive 20 hours after it was shot. Had the hunter called sooner than later, evidence on the arrow would have told us to wait and the hunter wouldn't have been left with a buck 3 miles from the truck!
Don't let these be your deer. The buck was likely shot during bow season and didn't leave a good blood trail for the hunter to follow, but we'll never know?
The doe was recovered while we were tracking a buck, and the hunter said that he shot at the doe, but didn't think he hit it. OUR DOGS TRACK HOOF SCENT AND DON'T NEED BLOOD TO FIND YOUR DEER.
This buck ran headlong into a tight barbed wire fence, sending hair and blood through the fence, making it appear that the buck crossed the fence. In cases like this, don't be fooled, as bucks often rebound and run in the opposite direction, as this one did.
This buck was also unique in being a big 6 point.
We named the puppy with the purple collar "Buddy". Buddy has always been a standout, so we might decide to keep and train him, unless the right owner comes along, who can give Buddy the life he was bred for.
Springfield, MO
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We have the only dual certified tracking dogs in Missouri. Our dogs are certified with both American Blood Trackers and United Blood Trackers. We bring two dogs to every track.
There are two blood tracking organizations in America: United Blood Trackers (UBT) and American Blood Trackers Association (ABTA). UBT2 is represented by a red ribbon, which is better than UBT1. ABTA Seasoned is represented by a green ribbon. All of our dogs are dual certified with both ABTA2 and UBT2, so that hunters know that our dogs are skilled, trained and certified to find your deer!
We named the puppy with the purple collar "Buddy". Buddy has always been a standout, so we might decide to keep and train him, unless the right owner comes along, who can give Buddy the life he was bred for.
These are 7 week old European Wirehaired Dachshunds/Teckels that are born to track. There are a two available.
Tess was trained to track, and was expecting to find a treat. Lol. Tess's reaction is common with young dogs on their first recoveries. With reassurance from her owner, Tess conquered her fear as seen in the photos below. Good job Amanda and Tess!
When the weather is warm, call a tracker sooner than later! Heidi recovered this beautiful buck, but it was so spoiled that she quickly lost interest.
Faith is a water dog.
Training is continuous throughout the year, as even professional athletes train in the Spring and Fall. Here a dog is being taught to ignore critters and deer tracks from healthy deer to remain on a cold track to recover wounded deer only.
Timpetu and Sophi have outstanding tracking bloodlines. Timpetu is from the Kobeddus Kennel in Austria and Sophi is half Kobbedus and half Scottish. They are Teckels or European Wirehaired Dachshunds who have been bred for centuries to track wounded game.
Look where Heidi found this buck. The buck crawled under a Multiflower Rose Bush that a tree had fallen on. This buck would not have been recovered without Heidi, plus it took me with a helmet and briar suit to drag it out.
This is the "Original Deer Tracking Dog", her name is Elkie. We bought Elkie from Margie Hollinagel on Thanksgiving Day in 2014. Elkie is a spayed female and loves to track. Elkie is retired, but has never slowed, which is plain to see. Now Elkie's only job is to nudge me out of bed in the morning, but Elkie can still track if she's needed.
Friends of Dickerson Park Zoo Elephants
N Fort Avenue
Happy Tails Doggie Daycare & Boarding
S Enterprise Avenue
Springfield Side Kick Dog Training, Boarding,
N State Highway Nn
