My wife wants a house dog thought maybe I could double down and make it a house dog/tracking dog. I have two setters but they're crazy outdoor dogs (just the way I like them) but she wants it inside. Any suggestions? Breeds...

Some breeds will be better than others and even among breeds certain bloodlines will be bred specifically to be blood trackers.  Case in point would be wire haired dachshunds.  With proper training from a good bloodline they are among the best.

That being said, any intelligent dog with a good nose cam be trained to trail blood and do a fine job of it for most of us.  I have a Boykin Spaniel that does great as long as I do my part as a handler.

Labs can make great trackers as well.  My concern with them,  or any larger dog, would be controlling them on the leash while trailing.  Put an excited dog on a hot blood trail and you could have your hands full holding him back.

I agree with Whip. Wire haired dachshunds your best bet for a house type dog. I use a lab but track off leash, just to big and strong for a leash. Your most important thing is to try and select a good hunting bloodline what ever breed you get.

Ximo

All of the above are good suggestions. A wounded deer will go through the darndest stuff. A small dog almost has an advantage getting through there. In Michigan they MUST be on a lead. I use a long (25 - 30') lead with no loop on my end. If Curly goes through a nasty, thick pile of brush, I just drop the lead, run around and grab it again on the other side of the mess.

Go to the United Blood Trackers web site for some more good info and an excellent book to read before you lay out your coins.

Tracking a wounded deer and learning to read (and trust) your dog is an education in itself. The nose knows!

I acquired a border collie about a year ago that needed a home. She has shown a great nose including tracking me a half mile to a neighbors farm. This year I put her on the blood trail of a doe I shot and she did extremely well following the trail right to the doe, then worrying the carcass. I have great expectations of her being a very good tracking dog. She sleeps right beside my bed and is a great inside dog.

Great info thanks guys kinda new here can't not go on "Tradgang " every night!

Welcome!  Lots of good info and helpful guys here!

If you go under the search function up top, type in "project wiener" and search the "powwow" forum under "subject only" you'll find a large thread I started about the training and first couple years of tracking with our dog, Oskar. It has quite a bit of input from other folks as well.  We've been at it for 7 years with him now, and he just found his 50th deer.

Search "blood tracking dog" and you'll get a bunch of threads with your same question, and pages of answers.

There are lots of breeds out there and each has their advocates.  Sorry to say, but there is NO BEST, NO one size fits all, though some breeders will say otherwise.  Look through all the threads on the searches and you'll get a bunch of breeds to think about.

R

Hey Ryan, thanks so much.... great info. I know what you mean about advocates. 12 years ago I got into bird hunting when I couldn't get over target panic and decided to put the longbow down. There are a lot of opinions in that genre as well. I appreciate all the positive input from the replies and for that matter Tradgang in general. I only joined last June. The information I have gained is incredible in this short time, thanks again!

Love My wirehair Dachshund
Outside


And inside


Her first track was at 3 months old

My feist does a really good job of finding our deer and when not tracking blood he does a good job of finding squirrels.

Beagle