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Getting a Good Hunting Dog

Dog Training w/ Pheasant
hunting dog training
Image by Renee V
3/6/10 training with pheasant at Yankee Slough.

Pictured from left to right: Holly, Cayle, Bella (GWP), Roxie (Weim), Caesar (Brit), Steve, Yerba & me (Renee)
Missing from photo: Lindsay, Liz & Lyric (Weim)

Are you one of those guys who love to go out on a hunt in the wild but cannot do so because you don’t have the company of a good hunting dog? That doesn’t mean you should give up on your hunting activity. You can take some effort in choosing a good hunting dog. These dogs are normally chosen to locate prey or reclaim the prey after it has been shot down. They can also terrify other animals when they are used in a group, especially when they are used to hunt down foxes.

Choosing a the right dog requires a fine combination of patience and skills. First, you have to decide what type of hunting dog you are interested in. If you are interested in hunting birds, then choose a dog accordingly. You can get dogs or puppies with hardly any training; besides this you also have young hunting dogs with some amount of training. On the other hand, there are many types of dogs that have been given the complete training by their trainers.

If you want to save your valuable time and effort, look for highly trained dogs. For example, if you are interested in hunting for a particular type of bird, choose a hunting dog accordingly. You will definitely get a dog that has been trained to look for any type of bird you are interested in. If your dog is pure bred, you will notice it is a lot better. You will definitely note the difference when you buy such a hunting dog for your hunting activities.

You also have the option of buying a small puppy and training it yourself. This is only recommended if you love training dogs and have a flair for it. You would need to have all the qualities which are required by a hunting dog trainer. It’s not very difficult to train a hunting dog if you are very keen in training one.

Follow all the guidelines which every dog trainer does in training.

Look out for the following two things which should stand out in every hunting dog – a very good nose for sniffing out any kind of prey and the ability to not get disturbed or scared by the sound of the gun’s firing. Retrievers can be considered as very good bird-dogs. . Hounds and bloodhounds, such as Beagles, are very good when they are used for tracking the prey. They have a high sense of smell and don’t get confused even if they are given the task of tracking multiple preys. They do fabulously well when they are sent down to track other animals like foxes, deer and bears.

Labrador retrievers are loved for their ability to move across water and retrieve a duck when it has been shot. On the other hand Spaniels can be used as pointers. They are experts in directing you towards the place where birds are present. So now that you know all the tricks associated with picking a good dog, go get one for yourself.

Matthew Kepnes has owned many hunting dogs and finds them well trained, loving, and excellent dogs. He especially loves Beagles and find they make the best pets and hunting dogs. For more information about Beagles, visit Matt’s website on beagles and how to train beagles.