Who's got dogs? Post your pup!

abby R.I.P. 2011-3/24/17

 

What breed and how old? What kind of dummies (fakes) are you training with?

 

8 year old American Pitbull Terrier. My best bud

 

I've posted pics of my dogs already, but here's some new ones of us just rolling in the Tundra.



My arms are hairier than one pup at least... this how I reclaim alpha dominance over them.

 

She's a 4 year old American Fox Hound - Actually got her from a hunter who couldn't train her. The way i've done it in the past is using dokken launchers and using blanks. But my old dog I started training at 3 months not years. So it was a little different. I noticed she's slightly gun shy too. She wont freak out or anything but she starts getting really close to me instead of bolting like she does when trained. Either way, it wasn't her primary purpose, she's a family dog first in foremost. Been looking into possibly buying a retriever for next duck season, we'll see.

Sidenote: I know she's not a retrieving breed. haha The guy I bought her from said she was being trained for Mountain Lion... Not birds. Apparently she was having a hard time staying on scent.

 

Your first and most difficult problem is the breed. Hounds have terrific noses, but likely not very much retrieving instinct.

Hounds are also typically very agressive chewers if they catch game. Pointers and retrievers are bred to have a "soft mouth" so they don't chew on birds.

Hounds are also bred to hunt independently from their handlers at great distances where bird dogs are bred to hunt cooperatively and closely with the hunter. This will cause you problems because so much of bird dog training is obedience which hounds usually don't excel at.

There's hours of stuff to talk about here so I'll cut it down to the two most important points:
1. You'll save time, frustration and money if you choose the right breed for the game you want to hunt and you get a pup from parents that both hunt well. Even most Labs aren't fit to hunt with because most breeders have no clue what they're doing. Buy a pup from proven hunting parents and training is infinitely easier.
2. Do your homework on training. You owe it to the dog and it makes no sense to "wing it" (especially when gun proofing) when you'll have to live with the results of your training for 10-12 years in some cases. A poorly trained dog is always a nuisance and sometimes dangerous to themselves and others in the field. Do a bad job and you'll suddenly find that your hunting budies aren't as available as they used to be.

I've got a hunting buddy that I stopped calling to schedule trips with because he didn't train his dog well enough. It's a wonderful pet, but nothing more than an unnecessary distraction in the field. Poorly trained dogs also tend to untrain the other dogs they hunt with so that's a double foul.

Teach the hound to play fetch for fun, but it's not fair to her to expect her to do something so contrary to her breeding. Get a bird dog or a gun dog if you want to hunt birds with a dog. You'll be glad that you did.

 

Good pointers. I'll keep it in mind for the upcoming season. To be honest, I didn't expect her to be fit for the task in any way. More so just trying her out to see if it was a possibility. She's still my camping buddy, and family pet and we didn't pick her up for the intention of anything else. I actually just started waterfowl hunting last year so in that alone I still have lots to learn. Thanks for the input regardless.

 

so sorry for your loss @trainracer . I had a GSD named Abby as well...lost her 2yrs ago. They are fantastic dogs, so protective and loving. I'm not sure if I'll ever get another. This is probably my favorite picture of my Abby w/ my daughter several years ago

 

Sorry for your loss, that's a tough thing to deal with. Time only heals

 

My American Lab. Jackson.

 

Basset Hound. Major

 

Uh oh! We gotta bad ass over here!

 

He likes to think he is

 

Using the truck and a tree to hang the enos, diesel needed to join

 

My GSD.

 

Best buddy - Milo and always want to go for a ride

 

Big D.

 

My little guy came home last week ...


It's been a month now and we still miss you

 

Dang man. I'm sorry for your loss. Losing pups is just as bad as losing a loved one.

 

So sorry for your lost!

 

Thanks Joe!

 

Some puppy love with my youngest

 

I dont have my tundra yet hopefully coming soon! Had to order the one I wanted =) but here's a few images of our little booger... His name is Brewster (cause I like beer and coffee) 1.5 years old roughly between 25ish to 30 lbs

 

Katie is getting so old and stiff she has a hard time with the ramp sometimes, still loves getting out for a walk in the woods!

 

Not sure ....we know there is border collie...no clue what else is in her....love her just the same

 

Cricket is her name-o!! It's hard to be tough with a poodle by your side but damn!!! She's cute

 

Quite the opposite...but she absolutely hated me that day when i put the boots on her. She was doing hand stands trying to kick the boots off