This is a valid point but I would also make an argument from my point of view as a handler of 2 black mouth cur recovery dogs (one is still in training). I'm apart of Nose to the ground in Virginia where we track for free. I walk through a set of questions with every hunter. This list is not in order, but goes like this. Tree or blind, if it's a tree how many feet up and how far was the deer? That's for an idea of the shot angle. I ask the orientation of the deer when the shot occurred, where the hunter thinks they hit, and how the deer responded when it left the hit sight. Lastly I asked how much have they tracked and for a picture of the blood trail if they have it, and what the blood trail was like. If it looks like a decent blood trail and everything is consistent with a solid vital shot I encourage the hunter to push farther to see if they'll pick up on blood again. Where I disagree with this is if the hunter puts forth 1000% before I arrive but it was an iffy shot, they've made my dogs job much harder. Now my dogs have to determine if the blood or scent from the interdigital gland on the ground is from the hunter tracking it through the woods on their feet or if it was the deer. My dog always has to determine if the hunter just did a figure 8 or if the deer did. In my opinion if you think you need a dog, especially with nose to the ground, reach out. The worst answer you can get from me is no, I'm not available. By the way,
@Red Beard invited me to this forum a few weeks ago because I want to get into saddle hunting myself and I enjoy it!! Thank yall!!