Choosing a Hunting Dog

As we all know, dog breeds have particular purposes, and aspiring dog owners need to know this to assist them decide what kind of dog they will bring home. People living in the countryside or those who are enamored of hunting would prefer hunting dogs. Nonetheless, hunting dogs are still classified into four groups, depending on their own precise skill. Ergo, the hunter would choose their dog breed based on their particular kind of hunting needs. Before choosing a hunting dog, ascertain first what you want your dog to do. This way, having the dog of your choice will not defeat the purpose.

Major Denomination of Hunting Dogs

Hounds: Hounds are classified into three groups such as sight hounds, scent hounds and lurchers. Sight hounds have very keen eyesight and are exceedingly fast runners. They have the ability to see their prey from a great distance. They follow the prey, chase it and eventually kill it. Scent hounds, as the name signifies, use their sense of smell in chasing their prey. They can go a long expanse to chase the prey before finding it. The last of this kind are the lurchers. They are sight hounds bred with working dogs.

Gun Dogs: Retrievers have very astute memory. They are capable of remembering the precise area where the prey fell. These dogs’ craft is mainly to retrieve birds or other prey and return them to the hunter without any harm. Retrieving game without damage is primarily due to their “soft mouth.” The most liked dog breeds for this purpose are the Labrador retriever and the Golden retriever, and the retriever’s greatest distinction is pleasing his owner.

Pointers and Setters: This kind of dogs is an expert in pointing where the prey is found. They are very handy in bird hunts. As the word implies, the pointer uses his body to point to the direction of the prey and settle down to the ground once they have located it allowing the hunter to easily find where the game is.

Terriers: The Terrier’s expertise is to hunt mammals. They are usually used to find where the target animal lives and capture or kill the animal using its force.

Curs: Curs are used in hunting larger animals.

Benefits of a Good Hunting Dog

With the assorted kinds of hunting dogs, it’s up to you what you choose. However, these dogs still need to be trained tocomplement their innate capability to hunt. With the appropriate training and nurturing of the dog’s skill, you will be amazed how this dog will make a good helper in hunting. They are not just fun to work with, but they also make a very good companion. Remember, how you treat your dog is the best reinforcement for them to do their part in hunting. It’s not only what you feed your dog but above all how you care for them. They are not only there to aid you in hunting, but it must be a give-and-take relationship. This way, your hunting experience will not only be for fun but a chance to build a good relationship with each other.

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Hunting With Your Four-legged Friend

While there are many ways for a hunter  to find a hunting dog, the best way is to go through a competent breeder. This way the hunter will know what he’s getting, and if getting an adult dog, it will often already be educated for bird hunting. If this isn’t the case though, the hunter still has some choices for getting his bird dog disciplined and ready to hunt.

Finding a quality bird dog can be a complex thing. When answering an advertisement that has bird dogs for sale, a hunter just doesn’t know what he’s getting. Regardless of the way he gets the dog though, an imperative factor when selecting is getting a look at the dog in action, or seeing it’s parents hunt.

Because training a bird dog can be a challenging task, many hunters choose to hire a professional. While this may be a more lavish option, the hunter can trust the sort of training the dog will receive. There are two types of training a hunter can choose from. The more costly route is to have the professional train the dog in hunting skill. While it’s more expensive, it will also allow the hunter to get right into the field with the dog. The other option is to have the professional simply train the dog on obedience; having a dog that listens while hunting is the number one requirement in the field. Having a dog trained for obedience is also a less expensive option.

For the hunter on a budget, the last choice is for him to train the dog himself. This will take a lot of time and a lot of forbearance, but it certainly can be done. There is one solid benefit to this method too; the dog will listen to your bidding. Sometimes dogs will only respond to their trainer, so if their trainer isn’t the hunter, it can be a dilemma. There are also many videos available that guide the hunter in training his bird dog. The internet and books can also be a great resource when training.

Whichever fashion the hunter chooses to train his dog, there is sure to be one that is right for him. Be sure if hiring a trainer to do your fact-finding and check their references. With a little time the hunter will have a great time in the field with his new four-legged hunting partner.

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Many duck hunters consider their bird dog a fundamental part of their hunt. Because of their loyalty and devotion for the hunt, these dogs jump into cold water, or fetch over rough terrain to get the bird their master has killed. A good bird dog is positively worth his weight in gold to the serious bird hunter. If not for the dog, hunters would lose many a downed bird. A well-trained bird dog adds an altogether new dimension to the hunt.

There are three genres of bird dog, all with a slightly different angle for hunting; the pointing breeds, the flushing breeds, and the retrievers. Pointers are very disciplined and able to locate and freeze when they find prey. They stand motionless, allowing the hunter to get into position and then they flush the bird. English pointers, German shorthair pointers and German wirehaired pointers are all examples within this class.

Flushing dogs consist mainly of the spaniel breeds; the English springer spaniel is the best known in this department. These dogs have been used for hundreds of years and have been developed to stay close to the hunter, within 30-40 yards. The English springer makes a great housedog; he’s clever, loyal, compassionate, with natural hunting abilities.

There are various different types of retrievers, the Labrador retriever being the most widely known. They outshine at retrieving game because of their soft mouths. They’ve also become one of the most crowd-pleasing family pets because of their sweet temperament, trainability, and their eagerness to please. The retriever also stands out because of it’s capacity to learn hand signals; a hunter motions for the dog to look up, and the dog is able to follow the bird’s fall and know where to go to retrieve it. They are also extremely good at “retrieving to hand”, meaning they put the bird straight into the hunter’s hands upon retrieval.

When choosing a bird dog, a hunters choice will lean heavily upon his own preference. While a dog should be eager to please and have a love for the hunt, the most crucial thing a hunter must have with the dog is an affinity. Oftentimes a hunter is simply just drawn to a certain dog, and as long as the dog displays all of the other basic traits, that’s the right dog for him.

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