I love this! I hope I will get my dachs working as well. The younger one I got before christmas so I haven´t had a chance to try her out (I have seen his fater at work and he is a natural) but the older one is a cannon. A trial judge that instructed her first track said that she needs to work underground 7 days to be worn out enough to track in a normal speed. She passed the exam on the next day but still runs on the track like a mad dog today. I can´t track her because I can´t keep up with her so my SO runs with her.

I really need a person that knows this stuff before I completely mess her up but it is hard to find people that really know bloodtracking training. Mostly it is just the hunters with their dogs- if they fallow the scent then great, if not... well, s*** happens. But for me (a citygirl with minimal knowledge of hunting in general) it is facinating to train and see how much the dogs love it and I truly hope that one day we are good enough to actually assist on a find. So far we try to train as best as we know how and try to not insulted when peole find the idea of dachshund working on anything else other than burrows, ridiculous :P

Jaana, in the blood tracking community in the USA, dachshund ARE the real deal.

Right now I'm torn between little dog on leash, or big dog off leash. There would be pro's and con's for each. I've just got to weigh them out.

'Til then, I'll give Turbo a go. He really runs so hot and cold that I don't know how good he'll ever be.

He ran another one the other day and it wasn't as good as the vid.

Granted, weather conditions were not optimal for a beginner in training, and I probably should've skipped that trail.

In the end he found it, though I wonder how much of that was luck and how much was nose. If there is even the slightest wind he won't work ON the trail, but instead wherever the wind pushed it. The wind was all over the place on the last trail. I couldn't really read him well.

I do know that it is time for blind trails, though. It was difficult the other day to not "push" him towards the end. I don't need to know where the end is at anymore.

I'd like to see one of your pups work if you ever get a chance to video.:smile:

I hope I will! I am really interested in how the pup will take to it- I have seen his father trail and he is a natural working with a deep nose and good speed even though his owner hasn´t done alot of work with him nor does he have a trial result (you have to be a hunter to take the dog on a trial in Germany and she isn´t). Generally the Germans have good instincts but we will see.

I have read alot on the internet about people training in the US and when I say that the dachshund is one of the top breeds (if not THE top) for bloodtrailing, people are often extremely surprised. Tracking on lead is not very common around here (to get the highest grade the dog HAS to work off lead) and some admit that with a laika it poses a problem that the dog will find the animal but if it is dead, often it will not bark. Without a GPS you are left combing the woods to find the game AND the dog sitting next to it :P Dachs usually bark.

I do want to get the highest grade (so far only one dachs has it but the real hunters don´t often trial teir dogs and you can get the Ch title or fill breeding requirements with less) but we still have alot of training to do. The speed is the main problem and I am not sure she will stay nicely next to the carcass and bark without giving it a nice full grip just to say hi at first :P Being spurlaut on the track doesn´t bother anybody around here but it can wear your ears out. I will have to order the Jeanneney book- deer are not all that common around here but I guess the same principles should go for moose and boar. In my list just after the ME videos and an e-collar