Hit a deer and lost the trail?
Buck is a leashed blood-tracking wirehaired dachshund in his first season, taking selected wounded-deer calls in southern New Hampshire and parts of Rhode Island. Every track is free this season. Flag your last blood, back out, and call. We’ll tell you whether to go now or wait.
The next hour decides the recovery.
- 1
Mark the spot you shot from and the spot the deer stood. A pin on your phone or a strip of tape both work.
- 2
Flag the last blood then stop. Walk beside the trail, never on it, and go no further than about 20 yards past it.
- 3
Back out quietly No grid search, no friends walking the woods. A deer that gets pushed goes farther and leaves less to follow.
- 4
Call or text while the details are fresh. Even when the right answer is to wait, we plan the timing together.
When to call a dog
A good double-lung hit with bright blood usually doesn’t need us. These do:
- Little or no blood, or it dried up
- Hit high, low, back, or in the gut or liver
- You jumped it out of its bed
- The trail runs past a few hundred yards
- It’s been hours, or overnight: a dog can still follow the scent
- Rain or snow is on the way, or it’s warm and the meat won’t keep
- It crossed onto a neighbor’s land: one dog on a lead is an easier ask than a search party
Send us the details
Skip anything you don’t know. If you have photos of the blood or hit site, add them before you send.
How a recovery works
We talk it through
Shot, reaction, blood, weather, time. Together we decide: go now, wait, or no dog needed.
We meet you at the hit site
Buck starts where the deer was standing, not at the last blood, and works it on a long lead.
You walk it with us
We track until we find the deer or the sign runs out, and we tell you straight which it was.
Every track, recorded on GPS
How each track gets logged, shown on example lines: the hit site, the blood, the wound bed and the find.
HS Hit site BL Blood WB Wound bed FD Found
A father, a son and Buck
We do this because we love it. Bringing a young dog along, laying blood lines all year and watching him work out a cold track in the woods is the best part of our fall. No two tracks are alike: the ground, the weather, the hours since the shot, and a dog reading a trail we can’t see. When it ends at your deer, it’s the best day we’ve had too.
It’s also the right thing to do. A hit deer deserves every effort to find it, and so does the hunter who took the shot. We’d rather spend the evening on your blood trail than know a deer was left in the woods.
Buck
The nose
Big personality, bigger drive. Buck is a Maine-bred wirehaired dachshund who treats every track like the prize is his. Nose down, tail up, leaning into the harness until he gets there.
He’s built for New England woods: low enough to work under blowdowns and through thick cover, with a wire coat that shrugs off briars and cold rain. His breed was developed in Germany for one job, finding wounded game on a long lead. He loves that job.
Jason & Jason Jr.
Father-and-son handlers
Members of United Blood Trackers
We’re outdoorsmen who love chasing upland game with our pointer, Hunter. Then Buck came along, we fell into tracking, and we got hooked. In training we lay out the puzzles for him; on the line he works them out while we read him and the ground. It’s real teamwork, and when it ends at the prize, it’s hard to say who’s prouder.
Jason and Jason Jr. split the work down the middle. Either of us will take your call, walk through the shot with you and handle Buck on the line.
On the track, one of us runs the dog while the other reads the ground and flags the sign, and there’s an extra pair of hands when it’s time to drag your deer out.
Where we track
Every New England state has its own rules for tracking dogs. Here’s where we can come this season, and where we’re still getting licensed.
New HampshireTracking now
Southern New Hampshire is home ground. Tracks are free under NH Fish and Game rules, and you walk them with us.
Rhode IslandTracking now
We cover parts of the state: tell us the town and we’ll say whether we can reach you. Within 72 hours of the shot, and you come along. No guns or bows on the track, the dog stays on a lead, and everyone wears orange.
MaineLicensing in progress
Maine requires a tracker’s permit and exam. We’re working toward it and can’t take Maine calls yet.
VermontLicensing in progress
Vermont requires a certificate and exam. We’re working toward it and can’t take Vermont calls yet.
Massachusetts and Connecticut: tracking dogs aren’t currently allowed for deer recovery. Call anyway and we’ll point you to what you can do.
Questions hunters ask
Is Buck experienced?
Not yet, and we’ll say so on the call. Buck is a young dog in his first season, trained on blood tracks in the woods, and we take the calls that suit him: a known hit site, a trail nobody has walked over, time to work it right. If yours needs a seasoned dog, we’ll help you find one.
What does it cost?
Buck Recovery is currently offering complimentary wounded deer recovery services during our inaugural 2026 season. This introductory period allows us to gain real-world field experience, build relationships with local hunters, and continue developing Buck’s tracking abilities. Our long-term goal is to establish a sustainable recovery service while operating in accordance with applicable state regulations.
When can I reach you?
Evenings from about 4 to 9 and mornings from about 6 to 10, weekends most of all. That’s when most calls come: after the evening sit, and first thing the next morning for a deer hit the night before. Text any time and we’ll answer as soon as we can.
Who are you with?
We’re members of United Blood Trackers, the national organization for leashed tracking dogs and the ethical recovery of wounded big game.
How long should I wait before calling?
Don’t wait to call. Waiting to track is a separate question: gut and liver hits usually need hours before anyone follows them, and a clean double-lung with a good blood trail rarely needs a dog. We make that call with you.
It rained. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. A trained dog follows the deer’s scent, not only the blood you can see. Tell us how much rain and how long ago you shot.
Do you track at night?
When the law and the situation allow, by headlamp. We’ll tell you on the call whether it’s a go tonight or first light.
Do I come along?
Yes. You know the hit site and how the deer reacted, and we want you there when we find it. In Rhode Island and New Hampshire it’s required.
What if it crossed onto a neighbor’s land?
We only track where you have the landowner’s permission, and getting it is up to you. One leashed dog on a single line is usually an easier yes for a landowner than a group searching the woods.
What if the deer is still alive?
We go over your state’s rules before the track starts and follow them. In Rhode Island everyone backs away and the dog comes out.
How far will you drive?
Anywhere in southern New Hampshire and parts of Rhode Island (and Maine and Vermont once we’re licensed there). Tell us the town and we’ll give you an honest time.
Training log
How Buck is being brought along: notes from our most recent training sessions.
Halloween track
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It’s Halloween today, and I took Buck into the woods for a quick 100-yard track. There were lots of leaves on the ground and not too much wind.
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I think the leaves made it a bit difficult for Buck, but it didn’t stop him today. When he was off the scent, he checked himself, looked around, regained where he got lost, and continued. At the end he found his prize. I used beef liver today, and he enjoyed it.
Thorny track
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I took advantage of some good weather with Buck today for tracking, scent work, confidence building, and conditioning over mixed terrain. We worked for 90 minutes, and he was confident and improved.
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Buck has been doing very well, and it almost seems like I cannot outclass him when it comes to laying a line for him. I changed the scenery and set something that felt a bit impossible, laying a track with five checks. The last check was at a wall of thorns and brush that was nearly impossible for me to push through on my own to set it. To my amazement, Buck figured it out and pushed through the thorns on his own.
Baker’s Meadow
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I took Buck to Baker’s Meadow and laid a track across the field with two checks. The meadow had recently been cut, and the grass and sticks were very pokey. Buck is very low to the ground, so the terrain was very difficult and could have been painful if he got poked.
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He ran the track like a champ, with his eye on nothing but the prize at the end that he knew was there if he found it. He had some difficulty with the drag across this terrain. The sent trail can skip, so there could be areas where he was not picking up scent and had to guess and smell around to pick it up again. Very impressive.
Lost your deer? Call now.
Evenings from about 4 to 9 and mornings from about 6 to 10, weekends most of all. Free this season. If we can’t come, we’ll help you find a team that can.
Members of United Blood Trackers