Sasha's Whitetail Deer Recovery

05/28/2026

SASHA - IN THE BATTERS BOX TODAY!
725 YARDS - 16 HOURS OVERNIGHT
HOOVES ONLY - NO BLOOD

After focusing much of my attention on Brogan over the past several months. I felt I needed to run my Sasha girl on a quality line. There’s not a whole lot to add to the video I posted. Sasha simply did what she always does, which is bring her A-game to the table. Her non-stop work ethic is always fun to watch!

05/25/2026

05/24/2026

BROGAN #34 - CONFIDENCE BUILDER
300 YARDS / 14 HOURS OVERNIGHT
HOOVES ONLY - NO BLOOD

This track was a confidence boost, for both myself and Brogan. I went to the city park, and laid a 300 yard, hoof only straight line, right through the center of the soccer field.
This one was pretty to watch. From the hit site, to the target, he never took his nose off the line. There was also a robin bird on the line that didn’t want to leave. I just knew it was gonna be a deal breaker for sure. Nope, he couldn’t even be distracted by a Tweetie bird teasing him on the line.
What I saw today was a Getty up in his step, and the level of confidence he had was obvious.
He was Literally, step for step for step! Repetitive training lines are paying off. We still have a long way to go, which will include a lot more work.
STAY TUNED - WE WILL BE BACK!!!

05/18/2026

BROGAN #32 - UBT1 - PRACTICE TRACK
HE ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED THIS TRACK
540 YARDS / 15 HOURS OVERNIGHT
HOOVES / WITH 3 OUNCES BLOOD

Brogan was exceptional this morning, running this line in 16 minutes, despite the 2-3 minute distraction he encountered with a bunny rabbit on the line. He’s so powerful, it was a challenge to restrain him from chasing this critter. Just like a champ though, he was able to shake it off, re-focus, and get back to the job we were there for. I commended him for his prey drive, and told him that we’ll have to chase that rabbit another day. I even welcomed the rabbit distraction, as it is a big part of real world encounters.
Brogan has a UBT1 test scheduled at the end of this month, at the Illinois Deer Trackers Haven event. As part of the parameters of a UBT1, included is 3 ounces of blood, distributed over 400-500 yards, along with wound beds, etc. So, that explains the insanely amount of blood on his practice track this morning. He and I will try to run 2-3 more of these practice tracks before the end of the month.

05/11/2026

SASHA GIRL - 40 HOUR ROUTINE TRACK!

This was the same line I ran Brogan on the day before. Brogan ran this track at 16 hours.
I didn’t see the point letting it go to waste. Sasha needs the work too.
It was obvious while Sasha was running the line, that she was tracking Brogan, because she got off the line exactly every place that he did.
It was also just as obvious, that she was tracking the hoof & blood scent, because she stayed with the line, in several places where he didn’t. So, having Brogan on the line first, simply added another scent profile as part of the whole package. It was interesting to watch her decipher the whole thing. My Sasha girl did a very nice job as usual.
SASHA SAY’S WE HAD A PRETTY GOOD DAY!

05/11/2026

BROGAN #31 - STILL GRINDING
650 YARDS - 16 HRS. OVERNIGHT
HOOVES / 2 OUNCES BLOOD

In my opinion, 2 ounces of blood on this line was quite a bit. Not as much as a UBT1 test line, but still a significant amount.
Brogan didn’t knock this one out of the park, but he did pretty well. He missed a few of his turns, which I left him be to think it out, and he did eventually reacquire on his own. He also over shot the last turn on the track, and found a fresher scent he liked better. He was excitingly trying to sort this other smell/track out! It was more than likely a very fresh deer track, or for sure, another critter. After several minutes, it became clear he wasn’t going to abandon his new found scent profile. So, I reluctantly called him back to where he missed the turn, and we did a re-start.
I assured Brogan, do not get use to this type of help. It won’t happen very often. With a nose wind on this final leg, he wind scented the target from a fair distance. It was a thing of beauty watching him with his nose straight up in the air, guiding him to the target. After owning him for only a very short time, I haven’t at all come close to learning all his reads. But the two that I do clearly recognize, is when he is absolutely tracking, and his impressive proximity alert, when he’s winding the target. When Brogan first arrived here 5 months ago, I told him that after we get about 100 of these training lines under our belt, he’ll more than likely become a pretty good tracking dog. We have a lot more work to do!
STAY TUNED - WE’LL BE BACK!

05/08/2026

PRE-GAME HYPE, TO FIRE MY GIRL UP BEFORE THE TRACK!

05/07/2026

BROGAN - #30 / 100% NO BLOOD - 352 YARDS
HOOVES - 16 HOURS OVERNIGHT
NOT A SINGLE DROP OF BLOOD

Dare I say flawless? If not, it was pretty damn close to perfect. Brogan and I have catapulted to another level as a tracking team. As usual, I sprinkled a small amount of hide hair in the hit site. After putting his nose on that spot, there was no hesitation. I liked what I saw this morning, and we will continue to build off of this performance.
No video on this line. My GoPro camera is on the Fritz. I suspect the battery is shot.
To add: the red line is me, and the blue is Brogan. The red line is me. At the end of the line, there is a continued loop I made, back to where the target was found. This was me trying to extend the line laying it, and realizing I had no clean exit. So, I made a loop back to where I had been, and placed the target there. Brogan didn’t replicate this loop, mainly because he winded the target where it was, and placed his nose on it! Good boy Brogan!
STAY TUNED, WE WILL BE BACK!