What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

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MITrackerman
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby MITrackerman » Sun Sep 25, 2022 12:10 am

Thanks for all the input folks. Like I said most of us do it as a hobby. We are just working our dogs and trying to save a few deer from going to waste. I'll probably go the donation route and hope people see the hard work and dedication we put in. If we don't get enough we will just not continue to go. It's a tough choice to make because it's not a business but we can't do it for free long because of fuel cost, vet bills, training time etc... Most hunters are great guys so i'll stick with letting them prove that out. Good luck this season guys. Shoot straight!!


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Boogieman1
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Sun Sep 25, 2022 2:43 pm

I’m glad the tracking dog option is available. I think they offer a great service and like I said in my first post shouldn’t be done for peanuts. But I’m also a realist and try not to talk a bunch of bs.

I think a dog owner with a good pooch in a well known big buck area could do way better than one in the same situation in a poor buck area. Fact is folks pay more when it’s related to inches. I have hunted whitetails my entire life and feel confident in this next statement. Set an outrageous price and without a doubt a lot of idiots will pay for it. Focus your tracking around these type individuals if u want some serious profit.

No I wouldn’t pay hundreds for a doe recovery and I don’t think anyone else would either. It’s just more convenient to shoot another one. Now I do my very best in recovery and don’t take it lightly. But if someone thinks I’m lying and a life is worth every penny of recovery. Who would spend $150 to recover a quail they clipped and dipped in thick cover? If it’s about a life I see no difference. Or are we just saying a whitetails life is more important than a bird or squirrel who dipped in a hole….
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PK_
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby PK_ » Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:12 am

Just do tracks close to home and work off donations. A good dog will earn good tips. If you have one of the top dogs in your county then everybody in your county will be calling and referring you.

Just my .02

Good luck with it man, watching a good dog/handler work is a thing of beauty.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby Country » Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:33 am

How many of you would pay $300 to have a tracking dog find a wounded doe? I feel like the cost has to be reasonable to find any deer. You can call me unethical if you like, but there's no way I'm spending $150-$300 for a dog to find a doe. It better be a darn nice buck or the coyotes can have it.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby KPillinois » Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:38 am

MITrackerman wrote:Thanks for all the input folks. Like I said most of us do it as a hobby. We are just working our dogs and trying to save a few deer from going to waste. I'll probably go the donation route and hope people see the hard work and dedication we put in. If we don't get enough we will just not continue to go. It's a tough choice to make because it's not a business but we can't do it for free long because of fuel cost, vet bills, training time etc... Most hunters are great guys so i'll stick with letting them prove that out. Good luck this season guys. Shoot straight!!



I'm unlikely to hire a dog to find my deer because antlers just aren't that big a deal for me. BUT if I were to hire one out I'd be willing to pay more for someone that advertises "We don't charge unless we recover your deer"...... that tells me you really know your stuff and are likely to find my deer anyway. And if you find yourself never finding deer, you'd probably be better off with a new hobby anyway. But taking that "no charge unless..." approach might prompt me to call you one night even though I'm not real concerned about the deer, just so I could do the right thing with no risk of costing money without a recovery. I'd probably throw you a tip for a good effort even if you were unsuccessful if I liked you and saw that you did your absolute best.
I've changed my ways, I'm now looking for big bucks on public land.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby Andr3wxmma » Mon Sep 26, 2022 6:57 am

100-200 maybe a little more depending on factors of how far they came and how long they had to track for.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby MITrackerman » Mon Sep 26, 2022 11:15 am

The ones that aren't recovered by a good dog aren't the dog's fault. It's usually the hunter taking a bad shot and not fatally wounding the deer, like a high shoulder, or brisket hit, etc... So when we track deer and you find a fresh bed with blood or jump the deer, you know it is going to live, that isn't on the tracker thats on the hunter.
I would think most guys would still pay you something for that. We get countless deer each year that are filmed by trail cams later in the year on the same piece of property, or they harvest it later. Most trackers on our lists are confident if the deer is fatally wounded we will find it; that's not the problem. The issue and reason the question was first asked is to get opinions on what a recovery is worth as a general consensus. I think we see it is all over the board.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby A5BLASTER » Tue Sep 27, 2022 2:05 am

MITrackerman wrote:Looking for opinions on the fees to charge for tracking deer with proven tracking dogs. I run two wire haired dachshunds in the thumb area of Michigan, proven trackers with over a hundred recoveries now. We are part of a tracking network and get a bunch of calls each season and we go on as many as time permits. My question is what would you be willing to pay (or what do you think is a fair price) for tracking deer for people. Every tracker sets their own price and it is all over the board. I've had people think$100 is too much, other trackers with dogs that have similar success rates are $250 to show up and often another charge for successful recovery. We generally give them two to three hours of time if needed, we stop at property where there is no permission, or jump a deer that is still alive. Obviously we up charge if there is excess drive time, we try to take calls less than forty minute drive. With the cost of everything going up I'm just trying to cover costs and make some extra money to pay for hunting expenses throughout the year for youth we introduce into hunting (that's another story). Everybody that knows us and how hard we work and how good my dogs are say at least $200 what do you all think is fair. They say you pay a mechanic or a plumber etc... similar money and they don't put in as much effort into what they do. We do train and practice track all season long which is hard work but rewarding and we like doing it. It seems like in our area people often have the mentality that they don't want to pay too much, they will just go shoot another one. Feedback is valued. thanks in advance.


0 dollars is what I'm willing to pay someone to have their dog track my deer/hog.

Now I do offer to cover gas. But then again we have our own tracking network down here and those guys/girls do amazing work and only do it too get their dogs experience. Totally free. But if and when I have to call one of them in, i cover their gas money.

But too pay someone. Like it's their job. Not going to happen.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby Yoder » Fri Sep 30, 2022 10:19 am

It depends. If it's a doe $0. If it's a buck of a lifetime probably a couple hundred. If it's not a business I don't think $100-$200 is too much to ask. Especially with gas prices.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby MITrackerman » Fri Sep 30, 2022 1:10 pm

I don't think any trackers consider it a business, it is merely a hobby. We like helping people find deer, we like working the dogs. I don't think the average person understands the amount of time, energy, and money that we put into our dogs and equipment. If it was a big money maker you would see a lot more guys doing it. Many people start off trying to train a tracking dog and then don't finish because it is a ton of work and time and persistence, and not every dog ends up having what it takes. I was just seeing what people thought was fair. As I said before, I'll probably go with donations if the guy sounds cheap I'll stay home and watch football. lol
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby magicman54494 » Fri Sep 30, 2022 5:48 pm

I like having set prices whatever way you want to do it. it takes out the guess work or the uncomfortable situation when it comes time to pay. If it were my dog I'd ask for a minimum based on the time i leave home. so distance would be factored in due to time. Then it should be $/hr after lets say 3 hours. i called in a dog 2 years ago and I paid $150. I really didn't know how much to pay so it was kinda uncomfortable for me.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby bowtarist » Sat Oct 01, 2022 1:43 am

I ran a dog for 3 seasons in Alabama. I worked for tips as I didn't want someone to not call me if they didn't have the money. I got everything from laughed at to 300 dollars. I finally got fed up with giving up my season to track deer and sold the dog.

The average tip was $100 and seems to be the going rate down here. 100 to come out plus a tip if the deer is found.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby MITrackerman » Sat Oct 01, 2022 4:52 am

That's funny. I'm not getting rid of my dog. I'll see how it goes this year but I'm with ya, if it takes too much time again and costs me money they will have to find someone else. I'll prolly just stay on list and do it for donation and tip. Might give a suggested donation amount. Our dogs are our pets so getting rid of them isn't an option. It really is a catch 22, we love running dogs, but the time, energy, and expense has to be equaled out in some way. But then it stinks when no tracker will go out and the deer goes to waste. But not too many people will run a loss for too long for other people. Good hunting to everyone. It's going to be crazy busy starting tomorrow.
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby Swamp Stache » Sat Oct 01, 2022 9:08 pm

Kinda surprised how many responses are its only worth it if it's a big buck otherwise I'll find another. I agree might hurt a little more to lose a nice buck but id spend as much time,energy, resources looking for a doe I shoot as a buck
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Re: What would you be willing to pay a tracking dog?

Unread postby szwampdonkey » Sun Oct 02, 2022 12:33 am

Swamp Stache wrote:Kinda surprised how many responses are its only worth it if it's a big buck otherwise I'll find another. I agree might hurt a little more to lose a nice buck but id spend as much time,energy, resources looking for a doe I shoot as a buck


Agreed! I track all my deer just as hard be it doe or mature buck. Ive looked for does that got a little far from me for entire days until i found them on hard to follow blood trails. Ive never got a tracking dog and never would to be honest as i absolutely love the art of tracking down wounded deer but id think if you were so inclined to do so instead of tracking yourself you would also treat a doe just the same as a buck.


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