Vrijednost dobro obučenog psa krvosljednika očituje se u broju pronađene ranjene ili odstrijeljene divljači koja bez takvoga psa ne bi bila pronađena. Stoga je cilj istraživanja bio utvrditi koliko pojedini ekološki čimbenici (temperatura, vlaga i tlak zraka) utječu na rad pasa po krvnom tragu. Istraživanja su obavljana tijekom godine dana kroz četiri godišnja doba s dvije skupine pasa mužjaka (N=5) u deset odvojenih tretmana. Jedna skupina pasa bila je pasmine njemački lovni terijer, a druga alpski brak jazavčar. Za istraživanje krvnog traga korištena je nerazrijeđena jelenska krv, a kao sredstvo protiv zgrušavanja korištena je kuhinjska sol (50 g/l). Krvni trag je postavljan metodom kapanja krvi iz boce, a na 500 metara traga potrošeno je 3 dl krvi. Psi su ispitivani 12 odnosno 24 sata nakon postavljanja traga. Utvrđeno je da u ukupnom vremenu izrade traga i pronalaska divljači ne postoji signifikantna razlika između ispitivanih pasmina. Prilikom rada pri niskim temperaturama zraka i tla bolji rezultat potrage i ukupno kraće vrijeme izrade traga imali su brak jazavčari, a pri visokim temperaturama zraka bolje su rezultate imali lovni terijeri. Pri optimalnim temperaturama zraka i tla nije bilo statistički značajnih razlika u rezultatima potrage, pri čemu su lovni terijeri radili neznatno brže s većim brojem grešaka. Zapaženo je da je temperatura zraka jače utjecala na rezultate potrage od relativne vlage zraka i starosti traga. Prilikom rada po tragu s visokim tlakom zraka psi su radili "niskim" nosom, kod normalnog tlaka su radili srednje visoko nošene glave, a prilikom rada kod niskog tlaka zraka glava je nošena relativno visoko. Dobrim timskim radom vodiča i psa, te pravilnim odabirom vremena i trenutka početka potrage moguće je gotovo uvijek pronaći ranjenu divljač po krvnom tragu, a time se povećava financijska dobit lovoovlaštenika.The value of a well trained hound dog for blood trail is measured through number of found wounded or shot game which couldn\u27t be found without this kind of dog. The purpose of this research was to determine how certain ecological factors (temperatures, air pressure and wind speed) can influence work of blood hounds. Researches on the impact of ecological factors on blood trail work of hound dogs were conducted during one year period and throughout all seasons with two groups of male dogs (N=5) in ten separated treatments. One breed was the Deutsche bracke and the other the German hunt terrier. For research purposes undiluted deer blood was used from which fibrin filaments were removed and coagulation was prevented by adding kitchen salt (sodium chloride, NaCl). To one litre of blood 50 grams of NaCl was added. Blood trail was set up by dripping blood from a bottle, and for each 500 m of trail 3 dl of blood were used. Blood trails were used after 12 and 24 hours. It was determined that in total time of trail drafting and game tracking there was no significant difference between tested dogs breeds. Better search results and shorter time of trail drafting at low air and ground temperatures were achieved by Deutsche bracke. At higher air temperatures better results had German hunting terriers. When the air and ground temperatures were optimal and acceptable, there were no significant differences between search results, yet the hunting terriers were faster, but with more errors. During the trail drafting, air and ground temperature had more significant influence on search result than trail age. Air flow, with respect to different wind speed had the biggest impact on overall results of blood trail search. When the wind speed was higher, German hunting terriers made more mistakes (6) compared to Deutsche bracke (2). In blood trailing when the air pressure was high, all dogs had “low” noses. When the air pressure was normal they worked with the head medium high and when the air pressure was low the head was relatively high. With good team work of the handler and the dog, and by picking the right time for trailing, it is almost always possible to find wounded game following the blood trail, increasing the financial bonus of hunting managers
