Gun Dog Forum

Hi all,
To start, I have never hunted before but am excited to start this next season! My main interest is squirrel and rabbit.
I have a 3 year old mutt (border collie and German shepherd) who I'd like to take along. I realize she likely wouldn't make a good hunting dog but would love to be able to take her along for comanpy, is this feasible? She's well trained and I'm sure I can teach her to stalk with me quietly or lay still while I wait.

I suppose my concern is will having her around scare away all the critters? Or if we're both still against a tree will the squirrels come back out to play.
Thanks in advance!

My only suggestion would be to condition your dog to gun fire before you go afield.

If your dog can handle the gunshot then it can be a real asset in the timber with you while squirrel hunting. Let the dog raom near you and the squirrels will run op a tree and sit on a limb in plain sight barking at the dog, presenting you with a clear shot.

Ezzy

My golden/mutt doesn't hunt worth crap but I take him with me anyway for company. He will retrieve though. Just condition to gunfire and go have fun with your dog, keep expectations low. The mutts still need their excercise. And what ezzy said, squirrels love mocking them from the safety of a tree.

I took my Australian Sheppard with me squirrel hunting many times. It can be very effective as they will get just high enough to get away from the dog and sit there barking at the dog paying almost no attention to you. I only hunt squirrels with a .22 so never had problems with dog being gunshy one thing to consider though is if you dont make a clean kill that thing dropping out of the tree is a ball of teeth and your dog may get bitten. It is also a great way to spend time with your dog.

Most excellent, this is all good to hear.
I also plan on using a .22 and will condition her to gunfire beforehand so not too worried about that.
As far as her actually helping...I was under the impression that anything but a well trained hunting dog would be a detriment to the hunt. How specifically does what y'all are talking about work? Find a squirrel then just let her try and chase it up a tree? I guess that makes sense based on what I've read about squirrel hunting.
Any similar things for rabbits with an untrained dog?
She's quite fast and I'd heard that makes for a poor rabbit dog

It depends on what a detriment to the hunt to you is. Like I said, my golden does not hunt worth beans. It is rare that he even finds a grouse that I wouldn't have found first so basically hunting with him is just like taking him for a walk except I carry a gun and shoot the grouse I see. To me his presence adds to the hunt and I will gladly have him scare away the odd bird in exchange for his company. If I was hunting with somebody else they would have to be ok with that or I wouldn't hunt with them or I would leave the dog home. I don't know really anything about rabbits so I can't help you there.

The way it works for squirrels, or can anyways is you use their defense mechanism against them. If your dog is away from you, a squirrel will go to the opposite side of the tree to something it is worried about. So your dog can get the squirrel to your side of the tree. I have done this with two guys, you just spread out and walk slow until one of you spooks the squirrel to the other guys side of a tree.

Like everyone else said, just having the dog with you is worth it. You could also teach him to search for sheds, kill three birds with one stone. Get some sheds, hunt squirrels, and spend time with your dog in the woods, sounds like a heluva day.

I had an old hound mix when I was a kid that I hunted everything with. You dont need a well trained hunting dog to have fun. As far as squirrel and rabbit hunting with a dog, I have yet to meet a dog that wont chase either squirrels and rabbits. for squirrels every thing that has been said is basically true, I had a couple of mt curs that were squirrel champions and once they figure it out its alot of fun.

Rabits is a little different. a fast dog that will chase rabbits will make for a frustrating day if it wont also track, that old mix I had would basically just jump into the brush and giggle weeds and as long as she didnt see the bunnies they would just kinda mosey out and provide decent shots (i do the same thing with my lab now), but if you have a dog that just wants to chase rabits then youll just get to watch some good sight chases, and maybe a few catches.

Take your dog along and enjoy yourself. its not always about going home with a full game bag, sometimes its just about having a good time.

Jim

My Jack Russell comes with the two setters. He now goes on point when they do. Occasionally gets distracted by a muskrat though.