Squirrel Dogs

[Sniper66]

Does anyone out there hunt squirrels with a dog? If so, what do you recommend? Any particular breed? I had 2 dogs a few years ago and they picked up squirrel hunting rather easily. Once they figured out what I was after they trotted ahead of me and would chase squirrels up a tree and circle it while they waited for me. The squirrel would focus on them and ignore me. Once I worked my way around to a good shooting spot. I would drop the squirrel. Both dogs would nose it and smell it but not pick it up. The trick is to avoid barking dogs, which is a nuisance for me since I am looking for a quiet walk in the woods. My dogs were a German Shepherd and a setter/retriever mix. They are both gone now and I have been thinking about getting another dog. Any suggestions?? TOM

 

[303tom]

I use my little Hounds..............

 

[LNK]

I have a dog that hunts them by himself. Picked him up as a stray in Butler TN while on vacation. Don't even need a gun. He just catches them and squeezes until dead. Now there are no squirrels around my house....

LNK

 

[Certaindeaf]

Sorry about your dog gone. What I'd do is get four disparate dogs and watch and see that each and eve.. about 3/4.. just get a terrier of some sort. They come in all sizes.

 

[cottswald]

Any variety of Feist or Cur.

 

[tarosean]

Terrier or Sight Hound IMO... truth be told thou any dog that has a high prey drive will work.

I used to have a Great Dane that would tree them then proceed to eat the tree, I guess he thought he could chop the tree down to acquire them. It was quite funny.

 

[allaroundhunter]

My German Shorthaired Pointer does a great job of treeing squirrels, but we paid for much more than a squirrel dog when we got her so it was a bonus that she excels in it as well.

She is a very quiet dog while hunting, I actually don't think I have ever heard her bark while in the woods or field.

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[jrdolall]

I have killed many squirrels with the help of, don't laugh, my French Bulldog. She will tree but she barks the entire time so it gets annoying. Stamina is not a strong point for her either so one or two engagements is about all i can get out of her on any given hunt.

 

[One_Jackal]

It depends on what you want in a dog. If you want a dog that gives a lot of mouth you are stuck with a hound. If you can stay close to the dog a fiest is the best squirrel dog. They hunt by sight and scent. The give mouth when they tree a squirrel. They are smart enough to circle back when they tree a squirrel and you can't get there to make the kill...

 

[AABEN]

Most Shepard are a still mouth dogs on track and little bark on tree.

 

[a-sheepdog]

I have hunted with a guy who used beagles. They seemed to work just fine as we shot more than enough to make us happy.

 

[25cschaefer]

I've hunted behind Feists and they were great, just quiet, they need a bell.

 

[Viper225]

Every really Great Squirrel dog I have had over the years was a MUTT.

Infact my best Squirrel Dog ever was the one I had when I was in High School, and his name was Mutt. Back then we hit the woods every day after school. That is the secret to a Great Dog work with him all the time.

 

[Sniper66]

I really like the responses I have received in this thread. I had a mutt when I was a kid; his name was Junior. He was not a good squirrel dog. Oh he figured out very quickly what I was hunting, but when the squirrel hit the ground he would grab it and tear the hell out of it before I could get it away from him. He had a bit of a problem with agression. Much later, my squirrel dog was a pound adoption with some setter blood. He was great as long as I didn't use a shotgun. The .22 didn't bother him, but a shotgun would make him hide behind me a shake for 30 minutes. Must have had PTSD. I'm thinking about a Lab. Had one for 14 years..great pet, but not a great hunter. He mostly liked walking along with me and watched with curiosity, but never had much interest in hunting, which is rare for a Lab. Maybe, I'll go visit the local Animal Shelter and see what adopts me.

 

[Mr. Doughnut]

If you can deal with their high energy and need be an integral part of the family unit, a Vizsla is a superb squirrel hunter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizsla