How can I train a Labrador Retriever for blood tracking?
Begin training by combining the two methods described on page dedicated to dog training. Be sure to give the dog lots of praise when he finds the fresh deer skin or the easy deer that has been tagged and left in the woods for the lab to “find”. In parts of the South where dogs can legally search off lead, you can gradually begin letting the long leash loose to drag behind the lab once he is well settled into the line. As a rule labs do not have as much line sense as a hound, but they combine working ground scent with quartering and using wind scent. They can do this either off lead or on the long lead as circumstances and legalities require. The more experienced the dog the more you will be able to rely upon him to stay focused on old, difficult lines while off lead. The labs that we have seen do not stay on the line as well as hounds, but they do find wounded deer in their own way. There are a number of hunting preserves in the South that have used labs on a regular basis for this kin
