More about scent control...

[Deleted]

Watching some hunting shows this morning and see that they've finally started mentioning about skin cells. Guess the have it all covered now. Lol

[GlennD]

Which reminds me of a tv show I saw once talking about a dog’s ability to scent trail. It was all about skin cells. Long story short, a Bloodhound was brought in to help locate a missing child. The Bloodhound tracked the child out of the parking lot, down the street, on to the Freeway where they put the dog in the car and let him out at each off ramp to find the right one, and tracked the scent into the hills somewhere in California. From there a search party was brought in and found the child.

The show described how the dog could track the child even in a moving car in the trunk. We all shed skin cells constantly. Those tiny skin cells escape through any small opening and lay down a scent trail the dog can pick up many hours later. As I recall, in this case the dog was brought in the next day.

This show reminded me once again how foolish it is to think we can trick the nose of an animal.

[ridgecommander]

I have said it for a long time. Whoever comes up with the first breathable camo hunter condom that is put over top of all of your hunting clothes will be a millionaire.

[GlennD]

I talked about this somewhere recently, maybe even this forum. But, I have owned several Labrador dogs over the years and their ability to smell stuff always amazed me..

One day several years back, I decided to do a little experiment with my old male Lab Dozer (short for Bulldozer Dew-Right, named by my Grandson). Anyhow, I did the scent control bath, spray, full sprayed down suit including hat and gloves.

I live in a large house with both front and back porches. Dozer was sleeping on the back porch. I snuck out the front door as quietly as possible and waited to see if Dozer came around. It did not take 30 seconds and that dog was around to the front porch.. you could see him sniffing the air as he came around the house and lit up when he saw me. That dog picked up my scent within seconds. Obviously my scent was drifting around the house.

Scent control? Might be able to control a little but forget about trying to be scent free and undetectable from these critters.


On the dog story I could tell you many, but here is one more example of great noses. A farm I used to hunt was hone to a large black male Lab named Satan. Satan used to love to retrieve anything thrown. You could not ignore this dog, he would sit behind you and bark. If you ignored the bark he would bite you on the arse.

After the corn was cut, his favorite retrieve toy was corn cobs. One day I tried to trick Satan. I would distract him and hide a corn cob on the flat bed of a big farm truck. The bed was about chest high on me. I sent Satan out in the field figuring he would be a while, so I turned to a couple guys with me and we started talking ignoring the dog. Not 2 minutes went by and Satan was sitting behind me barking. He had a corn cob and I looked over at the flat bed and the cob was gone..

Next, I took a handful of cobs and threw them out in the field in a spraying motion.. He went out and brought back all the cobs at one time. Those cobs that I had in my hand, left enough scent on them he knew which ones they were and did not come back without all of them.. I did it several more times that fall and he would always bring back all of the cobs in one trip.

Final story of Satan.. he used to follow us back in the woods while working on tree stands etc.. one day trying to get rid of him I picked up about an 8 foot fallen branch. I threw it in a honeysuckle bush figuring it would take him a while to get it out. Not long later here he comes with the branch in three pieces, each a couple feet long. He had broken the branch up getting it out of the bush, but brought the entire branch back..

Amazing..

[timberdoodle]

I mislaid my Buck Muskrat pocket knife while gutting a turkey during the spring, looked all over for it to no avail. Skip to a hot day in summer and my two dogs a black lab and springer were just doing what they could to devil me, barking and carrying on and I was in no mood for it. "Why don't you two go find my knife" I said then went into the house not thinking any more about it…

Later that afternoon I stepped out on to the front porch and there on the welcome mat lay my knife still open and weathered from being out for at least a couple of months.

I don't know which one found it and never can explain it...both are long gone but the memory lives on. Blue was the lab and Honor was the Springer. I have a fondness for beagles but the knife would still be out there rusting away if I told a beagle that.

[Deleted]

I tried hiding on my beagle one time. Hid in the bush we were fishing, and she wasnt around. My brother brought her and I could hear her so I hid in the bushes she came right to me. I didnt stand a chance with her nose. She was out on the deck one time looking down at the bush. Every now and then she would put her nose up and sniff the air. I went out, and said theres nothing there. Went back in and came out a minute later. She was down where she was looking, and I could tell she was looking for something. Next thing out runs a rabbit. She smelled that rabbit from 60yds. No way she saw it because she didnt have the will power to not chase one. I was able to call her off of them as long as she was within 50yds of me. I always called it the point of no return. I think the loudness of my voice is what would keep her and at a certain distance I wasnt loud enough to make her stop.

[Muab Dib]

I've shot more than one deer with a Pall Mall in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other and a few times on the walki-talki with the previous mentioned... It's the wind.. Blow'n towards 'ya your good... Against 'ya... 'aint no amount of "sent-a-way" gonna help you. JMHO.

Muab

[davet]

The nose......Knows!

[bushmaster]

I smoke cigars on stand. It's a great cover scent, and deer love them.

[Deleted]

Sept 3, 2018 17:34:55 GMT -5 bushmaster said:

I smoke cigars on stand. It's a great cover scent, and deer love them.

My grandfather told me once when we weren't seeing anything in flintlock one year that when he smokes his pipe that he normally sees deer. 10 minutes later here came two walking right towards us.

[davet]

Way back in the day, my wife's uncle would build a fire when he got cold. The guy killed a deer every year. Said the fire never bothered any deer that came by.

[turkeykiller]

My Father-in-law did the same thing. In his younger days the first thing he did on opennin day was build a fire. He claimed the deer were courious and would come to investigate.