Hunting.

[NcPrisonGuard]

I hate asking questions like these because I always feel like a jackass... So I enjoy hunting. I hunt deer mainly but the occasional turkey as well, I live in the country and there are plenty of areas to hunt. I have never hunted with dogs, but the idea of it I love and I like to try it. Problem is I don't know enough about I mean can any dog be taught to hunt..is it natural? ( I know my boy Boomer wigs out anytime he sees a deer or turkey or possum or squirrel and if let loose he'll run the hell out of himself. Which to me sounds like he'd be a decent hunting dog.. but again I don't know. I know people use APBTs to hunt hogs and bear.. can the be used to hunt anything else? My bother in law hunts coons and squirrel with his hounds, but he says its just in his dogs..he's never "taught" a dog to hunt. So any hunters out here know of a way to get started and can help a brother out?

[miakoda]

All good hunting dogs have an innate drive to do so. Yet at the same time, they must be trained. However, many things come into play in determining if your dog is a good hunter:

1) is he dog aggressive? I have some dogs I'd love to hog hunt with, but alas after having one of them go after & kill an excellent bay dog vs. focusing on the hog I'd have to say "no" to the idea. And overall, APBTs are still a very small minority of true catch dogs due to their innate dog aggression. AmBulls, Catahoulas, Black Mouth Curs, & Rocky Mountain Curs tend to lead the field in this sport.

2) how old is the dog now? Many dogs if not introduced to the animals & hunting at a young age will not take to the sport. Especially when guns are used as most will tend to be gunshy & that's a good way to lose a dog in the woods.

3) is he obedience trained? does he come when called? That's a HUGE command that the dog will have to understand or else he might just take off on an entirely different trail & well, bye bye doggie.

4) do you know someone who hunts with dogs that could work with you & your dog?

5) is there a place where you can train your dog? Never ever ever ever ever take an inexperienced dog hog hunting & just turn it lose or the score will be Hog 1 - Dog 0. Training is a must to let the dog become familiar with the type of animal your asking it to catch & to also let him practice getting holds. An ear/neck hold is ideal on hogs as dogs who go after the legs or body (& sometimes the face) end up being carried home with severe wounds.

As far as deer hunting with these dogs, we don't use them for that so I have no idea how that would go except that I wouldn't think of using an APBT as you need more of a tracking/scent dog...not a catch dog.

[Stillwater]

I hunt everything with my dogs.

I have even compitition coon hunted with one bitch I own. She won so much, that all the houndsmen got together and wouldn't allow anything other then a hound to compitition hunt.

Have another dog that is an excellent treeing squirrel dog, but I can't hunt him with anything else, cause if another dog trees with him he will kill it.

Check out 2005 spring or summer, addition of Scratch Back, there is a picture in there of my Toby dog with a big coon he caught.

[Stillwater]

One more thing I almost forgot.

As far as nose goes, I got bulldogs that will out hunt any hound, but I don't use them for strike or scent/trailing dogs, because they are too catchy.

In other words they will catch long before I get there, and thats not a good thing.
I perfer bay dogs for strike dogs and tracking/trailing.

[BoiBoi]

Im waiting until it cools down a bit so i can get my dog on a few of these wild sheep we got runnin around, should be plenty of fun and great workout for the dog

[TEXAS PIT DOGS]

Im waiting until it cools down a bit so i can get my dog on a few of these wild sheep we got runnin around, should be plenty of fun and great workout for the dogjust be carefull that the dog doesnt get butted by a ram because it will be hurt if it gets the full brunt of the headbutt.

[NcPrisonGuard]

1) is he dog aggressive? I have some dogs I'd love to hog hunt with, but alas after having one of them go after & kill an excellent bay dog vs. focusing on the hog I'd have to say "no" to the idea. And overall, APBTs are still a very small minority of true catch dogs due to their innate dog aggression. AmBulls, Catahoulas, Black Mouth Curs, & Rocky Mountain Curs tend to lead the field in this sport.
Boomer my male is dog aggressive, especially with other male dogs, female Cheyenne not very aggressive but she's young

2) how old is the dog now? Many dogs if not introduced to the animals & hunting at a young age will not take to the sport. Especially when guns are used as most will tend to be gunshy & that's a good way to lose a dog in the woods.
Boomer 9 months old Cheyenne about 5 months

3) is he obedience trained? does he come when called? That's a HUGE command that the dog will have to understand or else he might just take off on an entirely different trail & well, bye bye doggie.
He's scheduled for training at the end of the month.

4) do you know someone who hunts with dogs that could work with you & your dog?.
Well.. maybe my brother in law but I dunno.. he's not big on APBTs he's a houndman

5) is there a place where you can train your dog? I dunno to be honest..I haven't checked into it yet.

[semo]

i could rationalize hog hunting and such, but for things such as deer i wouldnt do it.

In the state of missouri it is illegal to have dogs running deer. + a lot of hunters will shoot dogs that are running deer. If you manage to kill a deer that has been ran by dogs recently, it taints the meat somehow and really ruins the flavor as i have been told through the years.


But again if there were more feral pigs and I wasn't stuck on taking care of my future pet so well, I would probably hunt a lot of things if it allowed it...

But as far as i understand if you want to hunt you are probably better off getting a real hunting dog.

There are always exceptions.

Example,

What would typically have the better potential for making a good race car, A corvette or a ford escort....

It would most likely be easier to start with a vette, but that doesnt mean you cannot do a whole bunch of extra work and make the escort a good racer,,,, but would you really want to ?

[Attila]

Baby will tree anything that can climb one. She is also trained to catch my sheep so I can give them shots and worm them. Not really a hunting skill but could be used as one in the wild. She doesn't hurt the sheep but any other animal is fair game for her.

Gretchen will tree animals also. And chase the sheep but won't catch or mess with things. She will eat a chicken though so I have to watch that. She will kill rats and bury them. Even a dog wont eat them nasty things I reckon.

Nightshade will catch and kill any thing that has fur.

Count. Well count has not turned onto anything yet. He is young still. He is very much a goofy dog. He barks good.

Sunshine. She barks. will tree things but would rather run around me and play that do anything else.

They rest are 2 month old puppies so the future will show later.

I have two Shar-pei also. Like night and day to each other Pudgy is lazy and I have to drag him to do anything. Bue Bue she is hyper as hell and bounces off the walls. She likes to chase the chickens and Guineas and play with Baby and Gretchen. Some times Sunshine but not always. those three Pit bulls are not agressive with the dogs of the pack. Nightshade has to have controlled and limited contact with the other dogs. Or any other thing with fur.

But yes I hunt with my dogs. But I do like hounds. Plott hounds are great. In Arkansas we can run deer with dogs. I don't but others do. I hunt usually with a bow so if the deer is being run by dogs I just let it go any way. I don't like to wound an animal and not kill it.

[BoiBoi]

hell yea bow season is around the corner in PA, i've already got the fever and have been out shootin the bow for a few days now, good hunting everyone

[purplepig]

In the state of missouri it is illegal to have dogs running deer. + a lot of hunters will shoot dogs that are running deer. If you manage to kill a deer that has been ran by dogs recently, it taints the meat somehow and really ruins the flavor as i have been told through the years.




The deer get adrenaline pumping through the blood and the meat's flavor changes. That's why when I shoot a deer, I go for a head shot. Either I miss, or it drops right there, no adrenal, no tracking. I am kinda lazy that way. I used to shoot them in the neck, but unless it is a big trophy buck, the head's coming down, I lose no meat(I dont eat the brains).

I see no problem with training the dog to squirel. shoot one and give it to the dog and tell it 'squirel'. set a live trap and catch one and let it be beside the dog.
Eventually the desire to get the squirel will get into the dog so much that he will begin to look for them. Take him out and if you see a squirel in the trees, point at it and say,"get the squirel". With work, he'll catch on. If he's real slow to putting together the squirel in the tree thing, get his attention focussed on the squirel you caught, then have a friend let the squirel go as you let your dog go from about 10 ft away, and unless you have a world champ sprinter, he'll chase the squirel up the tree, constantly "get the squirel", "where's the squirel" and when the dog's treed the squirel, praise him for the terriffic job he did. That is the key to these dogs. They want to please you so much that once they see you'll praise them for it, they'll show you every squirel in the woods.

During this time, you must gun break the dog. The earlier this is done the better. Put the dog in a dog box, got to the woods and sight in your rifle, target practice what ever. Do this regular. Once the dog quites tripping(will probably take several trips), take a 6' lead or so and tie him there to where you are about 10 ft in front of him and do that for a while. Eventually he'll see that the noise is not gona hurt him and it will become natural for him to not even flintch. If the dog will not get gun broke, I would not take him hunting, unless it was hog hunting and I was gonna either use a knife, or tie the hog and live catch it.

Just my .02
J

[Mtn Cur]

I hunt with my Mountain Cur, who's a tracking, treeing, coursing dog, and catch dog on all kinds of game ranging from hog to coon to bear to lion. I'm putting together a website on training the hunting dog: http://groaners.atspace.com/hunting.html Right now, though, it's MAJORLY under construction, but it's got some good stuff on it so far. Hope it helps some, check back in a couple weeks or so it should be done. ;)

[misterdogman]

I hunt everything with my dogs.

I have even compitition coon hunted with one bitch I own. She won so much, that all the houndsmen got together and wouldn't allow anything other then a hound to compitition hunt.

Have another dog that is an excellent treeing squirrel dog, but I can't hunt him with anything else, cause if another dog trees with him he will kill it.

Check out 2005 spring or summer, addition of Scratch Back, there is a picture in there of my Toby dog with a big coon he caught.I have actually heard of APBTs being used in coon hunts all over the USA and even though their nose aint as sensitive as a hounds the drive makes up the difference and the athletics of a APBT allows them to run more and faster and harder looking for the scent at a faster pace....I actually heard some well trained coon pits can out do hounds 2 to 1 on treeing coons and I believe it....thats just tag for a pit to fight a coon up a tree...but a coon can kill a unwary hound...I think its funny how a dog never used for that reason runs circles around some real good well bred coonhounds....lmao

[Mtn Cur]

I don't think a coon can kill a Hound. Maybe a Beagle, but not a good Coonhound. Though I love the Hounds especially the Plotts, which I think deserve to be in their own category, LOL, here's an interesting tidbit: many owners of champion Coonhounds use Mountain Curs to help school the dogs that become champions, where they learn more effecient and fast ways of tracking the coons. A Cur, a Terrier, and a Pit hunt to catch, while a Hound hunts to run the trail. but that's not saying a Hound is a useless kill dog, for them that's just not the main point of the hunt.

[Attila]

I don't think a coon can kill a Hound. Maybe a Beagle, but not a good Coonhound. Though I love the Hounds especially the Plotts, which I think deserve to be in their own category, LOL, here's an interesting tidbit: many owners of champion Coonhounds use Mountain Curs to help school the dogs that become champions, where they learn more effecient and fast ways of tracking the coons. A Cur, a Terrier, and a Pit hunt to catch, while a Hound hunts to run the trail. but that's not saying a Hound is a useless kill dog, for them that's just not the main point of the hunt.
Oh they can kill a hound. It usuall happens in the water as the coon goes for the head and often drowns the dog. A big coon will fight for its life.

I love plott hounds too. They are awsome dogs.

[Mtn Cur]

I know how much a coon can fight. And I've heard of the drowning, but I've seen thousands of coon hunts and know that a good Hound is more than a match for a coon. Inexperienced Hounds can lose their life, but that is natural culling. My Cur dog has been in fights with mean coons, but she's always held her own easily and known when to kill the coon right there after the fight.

[misterdogman]

I know how much a coon can fight. And I've heard of the drowning, but I've seen thousands of coon hunts and know that a good Hound is more than a match for a coon. Inexperienced Hounds can lose their life, but that is natural culling. My Cur dog has been in fights with mean coons, but she's always held her own easily and known when to kill the coon right there after the fight.Yes a full grown 30lb coon can kill a hound...I have seen it..and it wasnt in the water. I wasnt assuming a coon could kill one I was stating it could...I aint dumb man I seen something in my time...

[Mtn Cur]

Yes a full grown 30lb coon can kill a hound...I have seen it..and it wasnt in the water. I wasnt assuming a coon could kill one I was stating it could...I aint dumb man I seen something in my time...

I'm not saying I didn't believe you, if you seen it with your own eyes it's true and I've heard more stories like that. I just never seen one in all the hunts I been too, and have a hard time imagining a coon to kill a good Hound. Granted, most of the Hounds I've known well were also experienced big game dogs--Plotts, mostly like I mentioned, and I know these dogs are a whole lot tougher than a lot of competition coonhounds. All the coons that died in the jaws of my Cur, other Curs and Plotts I seen, no matter their size and fight they died easy.

[misterdogman]

I'm not saying I didn't believe you, if you seen it with your own eyes it's true and I've heard more stories like that. I just never seen one in all the hunts I been too, and have a hard time imagining a coon to kill a good Hound. Granted, most of the Hounds I've known well were also experienced big game dogs--Plotts, mostly like I mentioned, and I know these dogs are a whole lot tougher than a lot of competition coonhounds. All the coons that died in the jaws of my Cur, other Curs and Plotts I seen, no matter their size and fight they died easy.yeah I have seen a lot of coons die real easy..like they did it themselves to say "face" to the dog....but I agree about a lot of hounds today...some bred for comp just dont have the balls they use too...and can you please quit using the word Cur I have a phobia of that word...thanks. And where in the world do you hunt Bears and Lions with your dog....?

[Mtn Cur]

yeah I have seen a lot of coons die real easy..like they did it themselves to say "face" to the dog....but I agree about a lot of hounds today...some bred for comp just dont have the balls they use too...and can you please quit using the word Cur I have a phobia of that word...thanks. And where in the world do you hunt Bears and Lions with your dog....?

Why quit using Cur? Cur is a TYPE of dog. There are Terriers, Hounds, Bulldogs, Feists, Curs. It's got nothing to do with mutt, or worthlessness, or quitter. It's a true type of dog. Mountain Cur is a breed. Black Mouth Cur is a breed. Catahoula Cur is a breed. Cur dogs have been around since the 1500's, and the modern breeds since the 1700's.
Bears live all over in the San Bernardino Mountains. Lots of people hunt bears with their dogs, and Mountain Lions live spread out over the state of Cali......

[NcPrisonGuard]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try the squirrel thing.. shoot one give it to boomer and see how he does.. then trap one. I could do the same almost with a coon.. my brother in law has a few coons caged at his house which he uses with the pups he has I guess to get them used to it. I'll see if he'll let me get one and see how Boomer responds. One thing.. afer I shoot the squirrel and give it to the dog.. is there anything I need to watch for , can he eat it.. or should I not allow that?

[Mtn Cur]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try the squirrel thing.. shoot one give it to boomer and see how he does.. then trap one. I could do the same almost with a coon.. my brother in law has a few coons caged at his house which he uses with the pups he has I guess to get them used to it. I'll see if he'll let me get one and see how Boomer responds. One thing.. afer I shoot the squirrel and give it to the dog.. is there anything I need to watch for , can he eat it.. or should I not allow that?

It's fine if he eats it, my dog will eat a couple rats and stuff if she's hungry, but usually its the fight that's the most fun, once its dead it isn't of any interest to her. With big game, she has to be pried off, but anything smaller than a coon is just left dead. If your dog decides to play with it, let him, no harm in that. The only thing that could cause a problem is if it were poisoned, but it most likely wouldn't have made it to the tree. Poisoned animals are real easy to tell, most of the time. :rolleyes:

[misterdogman]

Why quit using Cur? Cur is a TYPE of dog. There are Terriers, Hounds, Bulldogs, Feists, Curs. It's got nothing to do with mutt, or worthlessness, or quitter. It's a true type of dog. Mountain Cur is a breed. Black Mouth Cur is a breed. Catahoula Cur is a breed. Cur dogs have been around since the 1500's, and the modern breeds since the 1700's.
Bears live all over in the San Bernardino Mountains. Lots of people hunt bears with their dogs, and Mountain Lions live spread out over the state of Cali......Dude I know I was just making a pun about my definition of "Cur" and others...I understand its use in breeds names though.... but thanks for the history lesson...dont take me serious unless im cussing..lol.. I tend to act serious when im playing...lol you took me serious...hahaha

[Mtn Cur]

Dude I know I was just making a pun about my definition of "Cur" and others...I understand its use in breeds names though.... but thanks for the history lesson...dont take me serious unless im cussing..lol.. I tend to act serious when im playing...lol you took me serious...hahaha

Man you call THAT a history lesson... I could write about the Cur dawgs history for hours, haha. I always say a Cur is not a cur {mutt} or a cur {quitter} it's a Cur! make sense yo! :p

[misterdogman]

Man you call THAT a history lesson... I could write about the Cur dawgs history for hours, haha. I always say a Cur is not a cur {mutt} or a cur {quitter} it's a Cur! make sense yo! :pyeah I could also sit her and explain for like half a novel why the word cur is used in two definitions... but I wouldnt bore you like that... but any way its kinda funny..

[Attila]

Oh no a cur debate. Not the cur debate. Let me take a nap now before it starts so I don't give my self a cracked skull when I fall out of my chair when I doze off.

[purplepig]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try the squirrel thing.. shoot one give it to boomer and see how he does.. then trap one. I could do the same almost with a coon.. my brother in law has a few coons caged at his house which he uses with the pups he has I guess to get them used to it. I'll see if he'll let me get one and see how Boomer responds. One thing.. afer I shoot the squirrel and give it to the dog.. is there anything I need to watch for , can he eat it.. or should I not allow that?
The main reason for letting the dog play with the squirel is to get a great working "knowing" of the scent. And the more of his system that has appropriated the squirel the better;sight,smell,taste,etc. When you give it to him keep saying"squirel".

About the coon thing, I would not introduce two different animals at once. I would get the dog either squirel or coon trained first. You may want to do the coon thing first as it may be more fun for you. Just remember that once you get the dog started on coons, especially being a bulldog, you will be mistreating the dog if you do not take it out regularly, and this means night hunting. The dog will love it as most people will shoot the coon in the but w/ a .22 to knock it out of the tree and let the dogs have some fun. Either way, one animal at a time.

Now, after the dog gets good at hunting one of the animals, it wouldnt be very hard to get him on the other one, if he's pretty smart. You want him to be able to know the difference between the two, and be will to hunt what you want him to, not what he wants to. You dont want to go squirel hunting and have him looking for some sleeping coons!!LOL

Good luck, and let us know how it goes for you.

J

[Mouser]

I hunt everything with my dogs.

I have even compitition coon hunted with one bitch I own. She won so much, that all the houndsmen got together and wouldn't allow anything other then a hound to compitition hunt.

Have another dog that is an excellent treeing squirrel dog, but I can't hunt him with anything else, cause if another dog trees with him he will kill it.

Check out 2005 spring or summer, addition of Scratch Back, there is a picture in there of my Toby dog with a big coon he caught. Stillwater, what organization did you hunt in with hounds??? I know in my area they don't even want cur dogs to hunt with their hounds let alone a pitbull. I have know several pitbulls that hunted well, but not on par with a good hound. I have even heard of houndsmen that added bull blood to their hounds every once in a while to keep them gritty. Actually, I think that is what a cur was made of a cross of hound, bulldog, and greyhound. I have an old Full Cry magazine that had an article about some old trapper/hunter named Mordica (sp?) that used just such a mix to hunt bear, deer, and elk.

[Stillwater]

Stillwater, what organization did you hunt in with hounds??? I know in my area they don't even want cur dogs to hunt with their hounds let alone a pitbull. I have know several pitbulls that hunted well, but not on par with a good hound. I have even heard of houndsmen that added bull blood to their hounds every once in a while to keep them gritty. Actually, I think that is what a cur was made of a cross of hound, bulldog, and greyhound. I have an old Full Cry magazine that had an article about some old trapper/hunter named Mordica (sp?) that used just such a mix to hunt bear, deer, and elk.
PKC, Money Hunts