Only problem I've ever had with larger dogs (mainly hounds) for blood trailing is how hard they pull ,especially going thru ty dye or other bad stuff. Beagles make good trail dogs and are easy to handle. I guess any breed could be taught to track wounded game but I've always had good luck with hound breeds. Another problem is if your shot critter is not dead, then it gets real fun. I have found several deer and hogs thru the years with dogs. Bottom line make a good blood trail and you don't need a dog.
have run across times in georgia when guys in camp muffed a shot, couldn't find their deer. blood trail ended. the guys in georgia are charging $150.00 and up just to put their dog on the ground. Have had clients on my hog hunts make bad shots also. a good dog would make it alittle easier finding them. started thinking about it the other day when i had to track a sow about 3/4 mile because of a bad bow shot. In the evening , come back in the morning finally found her.
One time about 20 years ago my buddy shot a doe in the ass at about 75 yards with a bow. We used to take an ol' beagle- walker with us for tracking and we put her to it after not finding any blood sign. She got right on it and we trailed her about a 1/2 mile thru a swamp,crossed a road back into the woods about another300 yards straight to her. Just about dead when we found her. Only found spots of blood the entire time.They are definitly helpful,but she was a veteran trail dog.
One thing i do is keep my lab near when cleaning a deer. She loves the raw meat. I always cut off pieces and feed it to her. She has no problem trailing because she knows what is on the other end.
