1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Hey, everyone, Welcome to the Foundations podcast. I'm your host, 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:08,159 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. Today's episode is a special one given that 3 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: it's white tail week here at meat Eater. So I'm 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: going to talk about how we've been mixing dogs and 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: deer up for a long time and how cool that 6 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: really is. So you just heard me say it, but 7 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: I have to say it again so I don't get 8 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: fired and replaced by AI. It's white tail week here 9 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: at meat Eater, and that means we have deer on 10 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: the brains. It also means we have an unbelievable sale 11 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:33,200 Speaker 1: going on. If you head on over to FirstLight dot com, 12 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:36,080 Speaker 1: you can shop around and if you buy something, you 13 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: might just get a steep discount on it, but depends 14 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: how much you spend. So this is the first time 15 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: that meat Eater is offering just blanket discounts. So whatever 16 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,279 Speaker 1: you buy, it's not just new stuff. So for example, 17 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:47,960 Speaker 1: if you drop one hundred and fifty bucks, you get 18 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,040 Speaker 1: free shipping. Eh, bump that up to two hundred and 19 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: you'll save fifty dollars right off the top. It's pretty good. 20 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:57,200 Speaker 1: You spend four hundred dollars save one hundred bucks. You 21 00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:58,920 Speaker 1: can go all the way up to eight hundred bucks 22 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: if you really need a new whitetail kid or something big, 23 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: and they're gonna take two hundred dollars right off the top, 24 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: So twenty five percent discount just for shopping during this week. 25 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:09,119 Speaker 1: So you got to go over to first light dot 26 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: com and you got to do it now. All right, 27 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: enough of that salesy stuff. This episode is a nod 28 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,240 Speaker 1: to all the ways in which we have used dogs 29 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:19,959 Speaker 1: in the deer woods. You know, it's not just an 30 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:22,680 Speaker 1: interesting look at the history of working canines, but also 31 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,320 Speaker 1: highlights some of the behaviors in certain breeds that you 32 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: might want to encourage or you might want to suppress. 33 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: I guess it all depends on what you want your 34 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: dog to be like in the field. That's up to you. 35 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: For now, enjoy this deep dive into the world of 36 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,759 Speaker 1: white tails and what wants. Were wolves, but now are 37 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: our four legged best friends. If you want to understand 38 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: how we've been mixing dogs and deer for a long 39 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: long time, you might naturally assume that Europe is where 40 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: it's at. There's so much modern dog culture that comes 41 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: from Europe, and so many of the breeds we love 42 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: today were fine tuned and handcrafted across the pond before 43 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: ever making it to North America. While europe and European 44 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: breeds definitely play a pretty big role in the story, 45 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,399 Speaker 1: they actually didn't come first. It seems. If you want 46 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 1: to understand big game hunting with dogs and where it 47 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: all got started, you might want to head to the 48 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:26,799 Speaker 1: northwestern corner of Saudi Arabia. Of all places, there, engraved 49 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: into rocks throughout the arid desert are thousands of depictions 50 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: of life that dates back to several thousand years before 51 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: the Great Pyramids of Geez that were completed. While pinning 52 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: down exact dates its tough due to the conditions, the 53 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:43,360 Speaker 1: best evidence suggests that these carvings date back to anywhere 54 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: from nine thousand to five thousand BC. Many of them 55 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,359 Speaker 1: show hunters working with hounds. The scenes, you know, which 56 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: are an incredible glimpse into one facet of life from 57 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: so long ago, show humans with dogs bow hunting for 58 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:03,519 Speaker 1: a wild game. Some of them show dogs on leashes, 59 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:08,079 Speaker 1: and many of them depict coordinated efforts between those hunters 60 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: and those dogs. What makes this even wilder is that 61 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: there is a clear difference between the carvings that show 62 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: hunting scenes and the carvings that show herding scenes. Dogs 63 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: are prevalent in both, but it's the hunting scenes that 64 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 1: are fascinating. One carving shows a hunter with tethered dogs 65 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: at his side while he draws a bow on a 66 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: game animal. Those ancient hunters didn't just draw stick figure 67 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: dogs either. They carved out specific shapes. Many of the 68 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: dogs have a short snout, pointy ears, a curled tail. 69 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: Some have a telltale shoulder stripe or spots. The detail 70 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: is wild, and we can fill in the blanks to 71 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: some extent on why that is. It must be because 72 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: they were an important part of life, and an important 73 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: part of that part of life, which was the means 74 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: to feed themselves. It also explains, or at least lays 75 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: the groundwork for why we are not only so emotionally 76 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: attached to our dogs to this day, but also why 77 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: we so naturally want to take a grip and grin 78 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: photo when we kill a deer, you know, and then 79 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: carve it into the digital cave wall that is social media. 80 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: It's hard to say what game animals those as desert 81 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: dwellers were bow hunting with dogs seven thousand years ago, 82 00:04:26,960 --> 00:04:30,160 Speaker 1: but it wasn't a whitetail. The dogs used in Europe 83 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: much later, they weren't hunting white tails either, although they 84 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: were closer to setting the stage for modern deer dogs 85 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: here in the States. Take the Scottish deerhound here, which 86 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: you know by its name, you can deduce an awful 87 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: lot about where it was bred and what it was 88 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: bred for. These tall, shaggy dogs are affectionate, friendly, and 89 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: pretty rare. Their roots date back to Scotland in the 90 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: sixteenth century, and they've gone by a few names, the 91 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: Highland deerhound, the rough greyhounds, Gottish greyhound. While it's easy 92 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,359 Speaker 1: to forget since hunting is a sport mostly available to 93 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: anyone here, that wasn't the case in Europe, and still 94 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,919 Speaker 1: kind of isn't the case, although it's not reserved solely 95 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: for nobility these days. The Scottish deerhound was bred to 96 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: hunt deer in two ways, by coursing and by stalking. 97 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: They could kick them up and allow someone else to 98 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: get a shot or catch them themselves, apparently, although information 99 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,159 Speaker 1: from the sixteen hundreds is a little murky on that front. 100 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: Other breeds, many of which hail from Germany, were used 101 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,719 Speaker 1: in a similar fashion for a long long time. This 102 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,760 Speaker 1: style of hunting with dogs naturally followed people as they 103 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: left the Old Country and landed on the shores of 104 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: North America, where the white tail was waiting for them. 105 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: By then, firearms were popular enough that the dogs weren't 106 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: really tasked with catching fur as much as getting it 107 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,840 Speaker 1: moving in front of the hunters. This type of deer 108 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 1: hunting was common, and it exists to this day in 109 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 1: some Southern states, although we kind of have a weird 110 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 1: view of it. In fact, I'll admit that I have 111 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: a very weird and not a very practical or logical 112 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 1: view of hound hunting, white tails and big game in general. 113 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:14,680 Speaker 1: While there is nothing I love more and this is 114 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 1: the honest truth, than when my dog gets on the 115 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,320 Speaker 1: scent of a rooster and finally forces him to fly 116 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 1: hopefully within shotgun range of me, I have a hard 117 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: time getting behind the hound hunting thing. It's stupid, it's 118 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: a personal hang up, and I don't really know where 119 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: it came from. I mean, part of it has come 120 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,040 Speaker 1: from dealing with some hound hunters who chase bears in 121 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: Wisconsin where I hunt, where it seems like they view 122 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 1: property boundaries as a mild suggestion, especially on Monday morning 123 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: when most folks are at work. That's not the dog's fault, though, 124 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:45,839 Speaker 1: And honestly, I don't know why it matters to me 125 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: so much, but maybe it's something that most of us 126 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: have been fed for a long time a certain narrative, 127 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,040 Speaker 1: which is, you know that running deer with dogs is unethical. 128 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: How that has become the pervasive mindset in the white 129 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,360 Speaker 1: tail hunting culture is weird, and it really doesn't make 130 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: much sense when you consider that baiting deer is widely 131 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: accepted in plenty of states. And to make it even weirder, 132 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:09,480 Speaker 1: is it on that bait pile you can run a 133 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: cell camera and put up a box blind, which tips 134 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: the odds in favor of the hunter in a way 135 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: that might make someone question the ethics of the whole 136 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: thing if they thought about it too hard, especially when 137 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:23,000 Speaker 1: compared to something like how hunting. But we just take 138 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: that as how modern hunting is, and we don't generally 139 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,520 Speaker 1: like to think of folks releasing the hounds and then 140 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: posting up at the end of a swamp to shoot 141 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 1: a deer as they run by. Now, for people who 142 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 1: have never done it, that might seem unfair, a little 143 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: too easy for anyone who is still into it. They 144 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: know how much bullshit it takes to make that argument. 145 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: Deer have been avoiding canines for tens of thousands of years. 146 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: I doubt there is a place with wild whitetails to 147 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: this day where they don't face the threat of at 148 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:54,960 Speaker 1: least coyotes on a pretty much daily basis. In many 149 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 1: places now they also face the threat of wolves. Somehow, 150 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: Despite this, there are new deer on the landscape every year. 151 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: Dogs are good, canines are good hunters, but deer are 152 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: often just a little bit better. It's common for hound 153 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: hunters to talk about deer doubling back, which is a 154 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:15,679 Speaker 1: simple and effective way for them to avoid getting shot. 155 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: To those hunters, it's clear the deer learned the game 156 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: pretty quickly, and why wouldn't they. White tails live off 157 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:27,120 Speaker 1: of their noses, just like canines. Sight and sound both 158 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,480 Speaker 1: pretty important, but scent is the truth and there is 159 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,559 Speaker 1: no denying it. While we don't know if deer can 160 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 1: reason things out, they must inherently know that canines can 161 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: follow their scent, just as they follow the scent of 162 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,040 Speaker 1: one another. They must also know that running a certain 163 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: way or swimming or whatever allows them the chance to 164 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 1: leave the dogs behind, and in my opinion, that's cool 165 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: as hell. Now, while it might be hard to understand 166 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: the use of dogs when deer hunting, you to a 167 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: lot of us, A good way to get there is 168 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: to read Robert Ruark's book, Old Man and the Boy. 169 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: In fact, if you like the outdoors at all and 170 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: you can read, you should put that book at the 171 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:08,559 Speaker 1: top of your list. Really, anything ruurk Road is there, 172 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: but if you want a gateway drug, that's the one. 173 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: In it, he describes the Southern hunting culture and how 174 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: he was introduced to deer hunting through that. It's a 175 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: reminder that we know what we know, and we accept 176 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 1: what we accept because we know it at a deeper level. 177 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: But deer and dogs aren't accepted at a deeper level 178 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: in many places. Although the tide is shifted somewhat in 179 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: that regard due to the undeniable fact that dogs are 180 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:49,160 Speaker 1: much better at finding mortally wounded deer than we are tracking. 181 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: Dogs are all the rage lately, and for good reason. 182 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 1: There is no point in history where canines haven't been 183 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 1: pretty interested in deer, and they have a good nose 184 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 1: for following the scent deer laid down. They have a 185 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 1: really good nose for following the scent of a stressed 186 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: out wounded deer, which, if you think about it, makes 187 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: a hell of a lot of sense. If you're a 188 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,960 Speaker 1: wild canine heading out to find a midnight snack and 189 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: you don't want to waste all of your hard earned 190 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:21,199 Speaker 1: energy chasing healthy deer that can easily outrun you, then 191 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,680 Speaker 1: the old factory signature of a wounded deer would get 192 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:28,320 Speaker 1: your attention. Now the calculus changes, and the effort is 193 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: worth it because the advantage is real. Dogs are masters 194 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: at finding wounded deer, and we've slowly realized that while 195 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 1: not everyone approves of chasing deer with dogs, most everyone 196 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,160 Speaker 1: with an ounce of common sense knows that using the 197 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: best tool available to recover mortally wounded deer is the 198 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 1: right thing to do. The cool thing about this is 199 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: that you can train your own dog to be a 200 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 1: tracking dog. Now, even if you have a bird dog 201 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: that is dedicated to feathers, you know ducks are upland 202 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: or both, you can train them to find orderly hit 203 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: deer and it won't take anything away from their bird skills. 204 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,360 Speaker 1: It's just an additive thing. It's a cool addition to 205 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 1: a bird dog's toolkit, and there are a few options 206 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: out there to help you train. Jeremy Moore, who's one 207 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:14,840 Speaker 1: hell of a dog trainer, has a line of dog 208 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: bone products out there, including a kit that is designed 209 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,840 Speaker 1: to help you jump start the training process for tracking dogs. 210 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: It's not any harder than training a dog to do 211 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 1: some other type of pursuit, but it does take the 212 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 1: right stuff. You know, the right setting, and some reps 213 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: on actual blood trails. And if you've never seen a 214 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: good dog work a blood trail, you're in for a treat. 215 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: My first real experience with this came from a fellow 216 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: in northern Wisconsin who owned some draft hors and graciously 217 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 1: volunteered to use his dogs to help find a dough 218 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: my daughter shot in the north Woods a few years ago. 219 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,680 Speaker 1: Those dogs did a great job, even though we didn't 220 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: get the deer. It wasn't their fault though. We just 221 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:57,080 Speaker 1: randomly had a monster bear come through shortly after she 222 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 1: shot that deer, and while I don't exactly know what happened, 223 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:03,680 Speaker 1: I do know that that bear took a ninety degree 224 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:06,920 Speaker 1: turn right down the blood trail. Twenty minutes after the shot, 225 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,439 Speaker 1: and the whole thing turned into a two day search 226 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 1: that left all involved wondering if Yogi just carried that 227 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: young dough off through the swamp to leave us scratching 228 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,600 Speaker 1: our heads. Now, don't let that discourage you from exploring 229 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: this route if you are a white tail hunter who 230 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 1: might want some help on your next tracking job, or 231 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: maybe if you want to add a few new keepsakes 232 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: to your trophy room in the form of shed antlers. 233 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,600 Speaker 1: This is a category that absolutely blew up about ten 234 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: years ago and is now kind of sort of leveled off. 235 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: I guess now, while not every dog is capable of 236 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,720 Speaker 1: being a shed antler finding machine, any dog with some 237 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:46,559 Speaker 1: level of retrieving desire it's definitely a possibility. Three dogs ago, 238 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,480 Speaker 1: I owned a Golden Retriever that wasn't what you would 239 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:53,040 Speaker 1: call a hunting machine. She hunted, and if the bird 240 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,199 Speaker 1: scent was fresh, she'd go from boot liquor to all 241 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,480 Speaker 1: about that flushing life. She was, by all accounts, a 242 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,560 Speaker 1: sweetheart who could not hold a candle to the lab 243 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:04,960 Speaker 1: that replaced her when she died at six years old. 244 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 1: But she did have one thing going for her that 245 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 1: really stood out she would bring me anything. Lux was 246 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: a pleaser, as goldens off and are, and she figured 247 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: out if she brought me something I wanted, she would 248 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: get some love and attention, which is the fuel that 249 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,760 Speaker 1: keeps Golden's going. If I knocked down a rooster, or 250 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: a grouse, or a woodcock, or some ducks, or eventually 251 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 1: a cotton tail or a snowshoe hair a squirrel, she'd 252 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: bring it to me with her big golden butt swinging 253 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,920 Speaker 1: just as wildly as her tail. She was a retriever 254 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: through and through, so I trained her to find shed antlers, 255 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,160 Speaker 1: which honestly is kind of an awesome off season task. 256 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,439 Speaker 1: I think sheds are easier to train for than a 257 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: lot of pursuits, but it's a matter of working their 258 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: eyesight as well as their noses, which is where some 259 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,720 Speaker 1: folks get hung up. Now, Lux was good enough to 260 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: find some antlers where very few antlers existed, and the 261 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,200 Speaker 1: crowning moment was when she found a giant shed on 262 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: some public land near my house in the Twin Cities. 263 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 1: That antler is one of my biggest ever, and I 264 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,360 Speaker 1: have shed hunted a lot. It also led me down 265 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:11,679 Speaker 1: the path of looking for that deer because you don't 266 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:13,800 Speaker 1: get the chance to hunt a legitimate boone and crocket 267 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 1: buck on public land very often, let alone when you 268 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 1: have about four million people living within fifty miles of you. 269 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: I didn't kill that deer, but I did find him 270 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: and a couple of his buddies, and I did arrow 271 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: one of his buddies, and it was pretty awesome. It 272 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: was also, without a doubt, something that happened because months 273 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: before I took a walk with a somewhat well trained 274 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 1: dog and it found what it was supposed to find. 275 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: I'll probably do a deep dive episode on tracking dogs 276 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: and shed antler dogs at some point, maybe this coming winter, 277 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: But for now, the point that matters is that there 278 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: are different ways to mix dogs in with the deer 279 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: hunting life that so many of us live now. While 280 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,080 Speaker 1: we might not use them the way Scottish nobility did 281 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:57,880 Speaker 1: five hundred years ago, or how some good old boys 282 00:14:57,880 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 1: with deep roots in the southern swamps use them to 283 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: the this day. In the few states that still allow it, 284 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:06,480 Speaker 1: we can still incorporate our modern dogs into deer hunting somehow, 285 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: and honestly, you don't even have to hunt deer to 286 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: do this. There's nothing that says you can't train a 287 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: tracking dog to use on other people's deer, although you're 288 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: going to need access to some hide, some blood, and 289 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: several fresh blood trails with actual dead deer at the 290 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: end of them. Eventually you know which is easier to 291 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: come by. If you're plugged into the world of deer hunting, 292 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: you can be a step or three removed from that 293 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,000 Speaker 1: and still train a dog to find shed antlers, which 294 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:34,320 Speaker 1: is the kind of hunt that anyone can come by 295 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,680 Speaker 1: pretty much anywhere they live. Although it pays to keep 296 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:41,960 Speaker 1: your expectations reasonable and to understand that the training part 297 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,480 Speaker 1: is the fun part mostly well, I mean that's not 298 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: exactly true. The training is super fun, especially because you 299 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: get to watch your dog learn how to solve a 300 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: new problem and get very excited over it. But it 301 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: is also pretty sweet when they actually find an antler. 302 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: This is also something that can happen in the months 303 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: of you know, Anyuary through April, when life has a 304 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,760 Speaker 1: tendency to slow to a boring crawl. For a lot 305 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,200 Speaker 1: of us who not only love the outdoors but love 306 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: spending time in the outdoors with their four legged besties, 307 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: there's a lot to be said, and to learn about 308 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: how dogs have shaped us as deer hunters and how 309 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: their roles in that realm have changed over time. To 310 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: meet us where we are. It's pretty cool and I'll 311 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,400 Speaker 1: bet that relationship isn't in any danger of dying off completely, 312 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: although it will undoubtedly keep morphing into something new. It's 313 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: fun to think about if nothing else. So do that 314 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: come back in two weeks because I'm going to talk 315 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:38,000 Speaker 1: about something that is an unfortunate reality and working dogs, 316 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: especially hunting dogs as we settle into the heart of 317 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: hunting season, injuries in the field. That's it for this week. 318 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: I'm Tony Peterson. This has been The Houndation's podcast as always. 319 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: I just want to thank you so much for listening 320 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 1: and for all your support everybody here at Mediatter We 321 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 1: truly appreciate it. We have nothing without you. Find men 322 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 1: and women out there listening to our podcast us or 323 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 1: watching our videos, reading the articles, doing whatever, So thank 324 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: you for that. If you want some more hunting information, 325 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:09,720 Speaker 1: you want a recipe, maybe you want to read an 326 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,600 Speaker 1: article on dog training, You want to maybe listen to 327 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:16,240 Speaker 1: Wanna Clay's Bear Grease podcasts or several of them, because 328 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: you have a long drive out to your bird hunting spot. 329 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: Whatever the mediator dot com has you covered, so much 330 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: good content there, go check it out again. Thank you 331 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:25,919 Speaker 1: so much for your support.