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Trails We’ve Walked
Real deer tracking dog recoveries from Cookie in Central Virginia, written up honestly — including the track we had to call off. This is where we log her progress, trail by trail. Follow along for more on Facebook for videos and updates.
Steep Mountain, Rain, And 1.8 Miles
To call this an easy track would be completely wrong. It was probably my hardest track yet, mostly because of the terrain. The hunter reached out through Trakr around 11:00 PM after hitting a buck in the front of the chest. He wasn’t sure about the shot, so he did exactly what he should have done: he backed out, didn’t push the deer, and didn’t find the arrow or any blood. We met at 8:00 the next morning, which put us at about the 17-hour mark.
We had about a mile of steep hiking just to reach the hit site, and it took around an hour and twenty minutes. Cookie took the first line uphill and worked past big boulders for about 200 yards with no blood at all. I was ready to restart her, but I liked how she was working, so I trusted her. Then we found the first tiny bit of blood, and a little farther on what looked like a clot. It had rained overnight, so a lot of the older blood was probably washed away. Once we got into fresh blood, Cookie sped up and got hot on him.
From there the deer was bleeding heavily. We bumped him once and kept going, found another two or three beds, and followed him through backtracking, zig-zags, a creek crossing, and back uphill. Eventually I saw him laying down. He got up and tried to gore Cookie, so I pulled her back quickly. The hunter got a second shot, hitting him high near the neck and spine, and he ran about 40 more yards before he collapsed.
From the hit site to the recovery we ran him about 1.8 miles, and total hiking for the day was around 4 to 5 miles. We had the GoPro running, but the storage filled up right when we got to the buck. I’m really proud of Cookie on this one. She stayed on him through almost no blood at the start, rain, rocks, creek crossings, and some of the steepest terrain we’ve worked. If we had stopped after bumping him, he could have clotted up again and kept moving. Congratulations to Eric Beck on his buck!
More From The Field
More Deer Tracking Dog Recoveries From Virginia
Curious what the blood tells us before we even leave the truck? Virginia’s deer hunting regulations page is a good reference for season dates and reporting requirements while you wait on us.
A Quick Confidence Builder
This one was on a known dead buck from family, so we put Cookie on it for extra practice. He was shot at about 20 yards, ran mostly straight and angled a little to the right, then backtracked toward the stand and crashed there. Cookie worked the 50 to 60 yard track straight to him.
19 Hours Old And A Lesson In Reading Cookie
Our first tough track of the season. Cookie blew past last blood, took a hard left, and pulled harder than I’ve ever felt her pull. She was so sure of the line that I let her go, and she took us almost 2 miles until we hit property we couldn’t cross. While we got ready for a second restart, the hunter found the deer less than 100 yards to the right of last blood. We restarted her anyway and she went right to him. Looking back, I think she may have switched onto a live deer and I trusted the line instead of slowing her down. Cookie is still young and I’m still learning too.
First Of The Season: Straight To Him At 70 Yards
Cookie was put on a known dead deer. Before the track we walked her away from the hit site to see if she would pick up another deer’s track or keep correcting herself. She did neither and went straight to him at 70 yards.
Straight To It Like A Pro
Cookie nailed her 6th deer recovery on a known dead deer. It was a 9-hour-old track, and she went straight to it like a pro — we were so focused we forgot to grab a picture!
Dialed In By The Rain
An 8-hour-old, 100-yard lung/gut hit track. It had been raining for a few hours, and it actually helped Cookie dial in right away as soon as we gave the command. So proud of this girl.
A Practice Track That Found Him In 55 Seconds
Based on the blood color and the deer’s reaction, we suspected a clean double-lung shot — and we were right. We ran Cookie on it anyway, since every track builds experience, even the easy ones.
A Short Track With One Correction
Almost a 100-yard track, but blood didn’t start until past the 40-yard mark. After that Cookie hit harder on the line and got to tug the buck! She needed one correction, but got right back on it.
2.3 Miles, Then We Called It
A rear-leg shot, 7 hours old. Good blood for 150 yards, thinning past 300, then just a few drops every 200 yards after two creek crossings. At the 2-mile mark Cookie could no longer pick up the line, and it looked like the buck was still alive — so we called it off. He turned up on trail camera the next day, limping but fine.
An 8-Point Buck Along The Lake
Very little blood for the first 200 yards, then three heavy-bleeding beds, then nothing for another 100 yards. Cookie needed two restarts from the last blood — but she regrouped and worked the line downhill to a beautiful 8-point buck.
Where It Started
Cookie’s First Deer Recovery!
We’re proud to share a big milestone for our young tracker, Cookie — she successfully found her very first deer! This deer had been gut-shot, with gut material at the hit site and a small amount of blood, but after the first few yards the trail went cold. There was no visible blood for about 80 yards, and what little there was after that had completely dried up since it had been 8 hours after the shot.
Despite the challenge, Cookie stayed focused. She worked the scent patiently, even when it disappeared at times, circling back and using her nose to piece it all together. The deer had run roughly 170 yards before bedding down in a thick thorn patch, where Cookie pushed her way in and found the deer! For a young Labrador still in training, this was an incredible accomplishment — and every track since has taught her something new.
