Blood Trail Training
Click to see videos of our past and present Blood Trail Dogs in training!
Pre-requisite: Initially, our blood-trail training program is started using your dog’s drive to locate a tennis ball. In order to complete the program, your dog must possess some sort of desire to retrieve a tennis ball. We can then build on this drive, and push your dog through to completion.
Step 1: We build HUNT DRIVE, which is defined as how long/with how much desire will your dog hunt for a ball in tall grass before quitting. If he/she is going to be expected to follow an odor for hundreds of yards through the woods to find the ball, he/she has to be confident in using his/her nose.
Step 2: Introduction of blood/odor to marry odor with ball drive.
Step 3: Start trailing training. We dilute the blood by using very small amounts of blood with lots of water so we can make it harder for the dog to follow the trail. Most dogs are trailing 125-150 yard trails that are made using 10-15% blood eagerly and confidentally upon program completion.
Dogs who do not like tennis balls can be trained using a hot dog or deer meat as a reward. This is trickier and harder to do than using a ball. Upon completion we recommend during hunting season the dog only receive food in the evening, after hunts are complete, and there are no deer to track.
We train using a long lead (10-15 feet long) and harness for this course. This system is used to slow down young dogs, and keep them on track/focused instead of allowing them to run around crazily. The harness and lead system is also used for your dog’s safety. Some clients take their dog off lead/harness after the dog’s first season. This is your choice, but keep in mind there are risks when this is done.
Our weekly training rate is $200. A $200 training deposit and training deposit contract is to be paid/required to reserve a training spot during our busy months (normally February-November). $600 is due upon drop-off, which covers the first 4 weeks of the dogs time in training (200$ deposit, plus 600$ = 800$ for 4 weeks). If we have immediate spot availability, $800 is required upon drop-off, which covers the first 4 weeks of training.
THIS COURSE USUALLY TAKES 12-14 WEEKS DEPENDING UPON THE LEVEL OF RETRIEVE DESIRE YOUR DOG POSSESSES UPON ARRIVAL.
A shot record must be provided.
Most clients choose to provide their dog’s food. Our containers hold 70-80 pounds. If you choose not to provide food, we will provide food for your dog (Native brand).
We provide heart-worm prevention and flea and tick prevention for all dogs unless the client brings their dog’s specific meds. You must provide any special required medication!
Each dog coming into our program will have a blog created on our website. We have a new 4 part custom designed system which allows us to assign training tasks to your dog when they are checked in. These TASKS dictate a scheduled set of training points and reminders, telling our staff when to upload video progressions of your dog for your viewing. Once a video is uploaded, our system will automatically email you the link to watch your dog’s video or see their pictures. These videos will usually include your dog working, and our staff explaining what is happening. Our staff will also lay out what the next training steps/goals will be. Each year we see dogs that come in with tons of drive and desire, who we think will do great and they hit a hang up here or there. We also see what we would consider mediocre dogs come in that turn into nice well rounded dogs with loads of potential to fulfill their owners needs. We take pride in keeping owners up to date with our new blog system, and keeping them in sync with what is going on with their dog. Most dogs will have a beginning video done when they come into our facility, then another video done roughly a week later after a solid evaluation period. This is used to provide a baseline and plan of action for progressing your dog. Each client will be given the email address of their dog’s handler to stay in direct contact with them. Of course you can also contact Ace at any time at acesretrievers@gmail.com.