Hunting Dogs

[Tommy Gunn]

What kind of dogs do you use? What kind of hunting do you use 'em for?

Would you post some photographs of your dogs? Do you have any hunting stories to share? Tell us about your hunting companions.

 

[dakotasin]

i run a pair of black labs, and use them for any wingshooting i might do. since i don't hunt a lot of waterfowl anymore (much to their chagrin), they are primarily pheasant getters. they used to be very good waterfowlers, though.

sorry, no pictures... don't know how to do it on here.

i used zeus (the older of the 2) to help train hera (pup at the time). after i had spent all summer keeping zeus sharp, and developing hera, i felt hera was ready for the pheasant fields. my uncle didn't think so. he kept berating me and my pup before we had ever sent foot in the field (he had a couple of spaniels - 1 was a brit, not sure of the other, and told me that not only would my dog not find anything, she'd ruin the hunt for his dogs, and everybody else). finally tiring of it, hera and i decided that we'd wait in the truck while they got ready for their first pass, then we'd come out and block...

well, after the group had just taken their first steps, i grabbed my shotgun, called hera over, and started walking out to block, taking the same route the other hunters and the spaniels had. i noticed hera being a little birdy, so i watched her a bit, and sure enough, there was a pheasant there... too bad it was a hen. a few steps later, and she flushed a rooster, which i duly shot. a few steps after that, she flushed 3 more roosters. i shot a pair, which limited me out, and let the last one go...

when the first pass was completed, my uncle asked me what i was shooting at - kept distracting his dogs. i pulled the 3 roosters out, dropped them on the gate of the truck. there was no explanation needed - he was a tad red-faced. that was the last time i ever heard a negative comment about my dogs from him. and, in fact, the last 3 pheasant openers he specifically asked me to hunt one of my dogs...

 

[ACP230]

I had a Springer for 12 or 13 years. I got him from the pound and he'd already been trained. All I had to do was get him to hunt closer. I did that by calling him back for praise and treats when he started getting out too far.

He was a good grouse dog and great on woodcock. He'd go in the thick alders and bounce the woodcock out. I'd stand in the little overgrown fields where I used to hunt and shoot at the birds. When I walked the old bush roads here for grouse, he'd jump them and I'd miss them when the crossed the roads doing 32.5 mph. I did make a few shots, including my best wing shot ever, over him.

I turned up allergic to dog hair after my first springer died. I had to give my second one, a real hardhead, away. No dogs since, and I miss having a Springer around.

 

[MP-44]

German Jagdterrier. Personality of an American Pitbull Terrier and the nose of a bloodhound. I am still trying to control him off a leash. They are used to hunt everything from mice to boar to the largest bears. Awesome dogs.

 

[Jaegermeister]

field bred English springer spaniel

Meet Lord Fletcher Birdflusher Bounty, a 4-year-old male field-bred English springer spaniel.

Field springers are different than the show springers in that they are more white, have shorter hair and have longer legs. They don't collect as many burrs and seeds because they don't have the fringes of the show dogs.

I have 11 pheasants already in Iowa and Nebraska. It is a good year. We will have snow this weekend, and that makes it a lot easier to track and scent pheasants.

Springers to not point. When on a bird, they become even more animated and will start to bounce around until they flush the pheasant. It is more exciting than walking up to a pointed bird, kicking it in the air and shooting it.

A well-trained field springer will find running roosters when pointing dogs will play point and run for hours. The electonic collar makes sure he stays within range.

Fletcher will actually look back and check in if he is on a runner and give me the look "get up here."

I'll answer any questions about hunting dogs if posted.

 

[Jaegermeister]

Here is a better one of the dog

This is the photo I wanted to post of Fletcher.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

Jaeger,

I had a field bred female that could have been a sister to your dog. Daisy Mae died a few years ago at age 17. Best instincts of any dog I've seen. She could teach ME how to hunt.

 

[Smoke]

ummm.....welll......I use.....uhhhh.....Australian Shepherds.

I raise a few cows and have the dogs mainly for that purpose, however, they have become useful for other things.

Pete, my oldest male makes a decent bird dog, I can take him out in the dove field and he'll retrieve birds. He won't eat any as long as I give him a wing now and then.

I often take Pete and my other, younger male, Hank when I'm after pigs. Pete will follow a trail fairly well and help me find a wounded animal, usually. Hank is coming along in that but mainly he will alert me to anything coming around I might miss.

On a recent outing I took both dogs. It was after dark and I was hanging around a baited spot for some hogs to show up. Hogs being unusually noisy, don't require you to pay a lot of attention but I noticed Hank's ears flare up nad his attention was on some brush off to our left. Then he growled ever so softly, I spoke to him and he just sat and watched. Sure enough a fairly good sized boar came out in a few minutes. He makes a decent watch dog too (he'll watch the burglars steal all my stuff but he'd pee on all their tires to teach 'em a lesson)

None of my dogs would beat the sorriest specialist type dog (pointers, retrievers, blood hounds, etc) but we work well together.

 

[Thumper]

Pardon the blood...

Here's my Rotty, Tank. He's 9 months old.