Dogs for many people aren’t just about cuddly bundles of fur that try to steal your food. Many families own dogs that are strictly raised to help with hunting, and here are some Great Hunting Dog Training Tips. Not only can these dogs become man’s best friend, they can help you track in the woods, on lakes or swamps when you are hunting everything from ducks to deer. There are some dogs that are better hunters than others, but most dogs are easy to train.
GREAT HUNTING DOG TRAINING TIPS
Know Your Breed: Not just any breed of dog will work when it comes to hunting. Retrievers and Shepard’s are known to be the best dogs for hunting water fowl. Their natural inclination to chase and find things, as well as their great sense of smell will keep them going when you need them to track what you shoot. If you are looking for dogs that are good for deer or squirrel hunting – hounds, beagles and retrievers are excellent choices.
Start With A Puppy: Training a dog to hunt is tough to do unless you start them young. You really should begin with a puppy to get the best results. Training them early and young will stick with them and be much more manageable than trying to start training an adult dog with already existing habits and characteristics.
Crate Train: Hunting dogs are almost always crated to and from their hunting destination. While this may seem minor, it is very important to crate train your puppy so that when you do crate them for travel to your hunting destination you are not causing them to be upset, worried or uncomfortable. You want them to arrive excited and ready to work for you, not fearful of what is happening.
Command Train (Sit, Obey, Fetch): Simple command training is very important as well. Not only will they need to understand your simple commands while hunting, these are basics that will help them with behavior in general. A good training system will include teaching them to sit, stand, fetch and obey on command.
Expose Them To Scents: Before you take them out into the hunting field, you need to expose them to the scent and sight of what you will be hunting for. Teach them to use their nose and eyes in combination to track down what you need them to hunt for you.
Practice In Non Hunting Situations With Decoys: Before you go out hunting for real, use some decoys to help get practice in. Do this with your dog in large fields, areas that they can run and search for you easily. Practice with your gun as well so they get use to the sound and aren’t startled when you use it. Check out our article on five hidden dangers during hunting dog training for more safety tips.
Training your puppy to be a great hunting dog is not difficult. It takes time and practice to put these hunting dog training tips into place. Accept the fact that you will be working with them daily to establish a good connection and training them to do their hunting job well. This is definitely something that requires dedication, but the rewards are worth it.
Do you have any great hunting dog training tips? Share them in the comments!
