DALMATIAN FOR GUN DOG?

[walt35]

NEW here as you can see, first post, my question is ( just a heads up I know very little about hunting and nothing about using dogs for hunting ) will a dalmatian make a good hunting dog? Ive looked around online and found that they do have a history of beign hunting dogs, I love my boy and would really want to teach him and myself how to hunt. thanks in advance for your patience and advice.

[Sharon]

From what i have read, unfortunately the hunting genes for a Dalmation were eliminated long ago in favor of conformation for the show ring.
However, there's nothing to stop you from giving it a try. Are you going to have him point, flush or just retrieve?

Welcome to the forum.

[walt35]

Just retrieve, He is pretty good at hunting down birds, hes caught two in my backyard, all on his own. I know retreiving is another animal of its own. But thanks for the hope I will see how far we can both get. Any pointers as to what training books or videos you would recomend? or methods ive seen a few online dont know which is best for my geneless dog

[ezzy333]

From what i have read, unfortunately the hunting genes for a Dalmation were eliminated long ago in favor of conformation for the show ring.
However, there's nothing to stop you from giving it a try. Are you going to have him point, flush or just retrieve?

Welcome to the forum.

I don't believe the show ring had a thing to do with it. They were closely related to the pointer but were used primarily for a guard dog in the stables and companion to the horses when they were in the pasture. It probably is the case that a lot of the hunting has been neglected for many many years as they became a working dog instead of a sporting dog. But I do know of a couple that still have a desire to stop or point so I am sure some of it is still there but probably pretty weak at this point. Give it a try and see what happens. Will be good training for you as well as the dog and will help you if you decide to get another dog at some point.

Ezzy

[Steve007]

walt, you came to the right place. I've had Dalmatians for 30 years, bred multiple champions, judged, put 13 obedience titles on various dogs and now hunt, do hunt tests and FT (though not with Dalmatians). The answer is..it depends on the dog, his age, and on you.

First you need to determine if you want it to flush (like a spaniel) or point. Some Dals do have considerable pointing instincts,though not a high percentage. It's probably easier (and your odds are better) to just train him to flush and retrieve. Get spaniel training books (or upland non-pointing lab books). The important thing is to keep him in gun range and teach him to work a windshield wiper pattern.Some Dals are fine natural retrievers; others require a solid trained (force) retrieving course. An obedience course with daily work between classes will help you to establish control, though it won't directly translate to birdhunting.

If you have a mentally-stable well-socialized young Dalmatian, you can absolutely train him to be a very useful hunting dog. Start reading,studyng and working! Don't give up. Try to find a spaniel trainer to give you a few lessons. You "buy" a good dog,presuming he's sensible to start with, with the training time you invest in him.

[walt35]

Thanks for the input, well my Boy is two years old he is good at retrieving toys, the only issue that Im worried about is keeping him from running away. I currently cant walk him without a leash. As far as my self Im very patient with him so I am willing to invest my time and patience on my boy, what can I say I love my boy. I will defenetly keep researching and reading and will start training him at home. Tried to attach pic, if it comes out hes the bigger boy.

[birddogger]

If you are just wanting a dog to have fun with and will hunt and flush game for you, I believe most dogs will do that if given plenty of opportunity. Most dogs love to hunt. As a boy, we used whatever we had available to hunt with. The dogs quickly learned what was coming, when they saw the guns come out. I am not saying the dogs were real good, but we had decent success, and we and the dogs had a blast.

Ofcourse, there was plenty of game of all sorts back then. :roll:

Charlie

[Steve007]

the only issue that Im worried about is keeping him from running away. I currently cant walk him without a leash.

Walt, the people here who started birdhunting early won't understand, but I do. Every non-birdhunter who gets involved in the sport as an adult is terrified that his dog will run away. The answer for you with an adult high-energy inexperienced dog is to do a lot of checkcord work and obedience to establish a working relationship with him. A professional flushing dog/ spaniel trainer will have a fenced 10-acre field to start him off once you've done some training.Take some lessons.You'll also find that a beeper collar (this is not an e-collar) will reduce your concerns about losing him.

If you live in the city or suburbs, you should not walk him off-lead no matter how well-trained you think he is.

Fine-looking Dal, by the way. Don't give up on hunting him. Good things take time.

[walt35]

Thanks steve, I have started training him and are doing basic commands for know and unfortunetly I do live in the suburbs and will keep him on the leash. I purchased a book just to get me started and see how far I can get with him but I am not in a hurry so I have time to work on my boy. I will do some check cord training and I looked around for some local areas that provide some training but its way out of my budget and where I live at no one owns anything over an acre so I will have to rely on the check cord and some open fields or the dried up santa ana river. Thanks for all the input from all, I will keep you guys updated on how well my boy is doing.

[jjoel]

interesting thread.

my great uncle had a dalmation back in the day. he decided to take it out hunting since his last dog recently died. a few quail flushed out of the field and the dalmation actually pointed! i guess he ended up using that dog to hunt for the next several years and ended up being a pretty good "pointer". pretty strange eh?

[walt35]

Very intresting, well my wife just told me (I was telling her of the different duties real hunting dogs are capable of doing) that she has seen the little one (the smaller dal) pointing when their is birds down eating their food and of course the bigger boy then would charge at the birds. I wonder if he would be a better candidate for the job?

[Steve007]

It Is easier and takes much less space (land) to train a flushing dog than a pointing dog. They also work at much closer range, which you will find emotionally easier to deal with. Pick a dog, buy a book (try Ken Roebuck's on Amazon), a check cord, a retrieving dummy, enroll in an obedience class and train every day, short sessions. Maybe twice a day, short sessions.

Don't get discouraged if things go slower than you would like; you can do this.

[Reech]

We believe she has some Dalmation, EP and Lab.
The first time she ever seen a bird flush and heard a blank pistol fire she ran back the the car.
20 weeks later she was retrieving birds shot with a 20 gauge.

Anything is possible if you are consistant, persistant and patient.

[walt35]

First week and defenetly showing alot of progress by consistency. I am still waiting on my training supplies to arrive but I have been doing basic training 15 minutes twice a day. I will be bugging you folks as I run into problems, first problem I have been playing fetch with him but he won't let go of his toy when he brings it back. How do I get him to drop it, I know its my fault because I used to play tug a war with him.

[Steve007]

Try a sequence of hand on his collar so he can't back up, "drop it!"(command), blowing a short fast strong exhalation of air directly at his nose, and then "good boy!" and physical praise when he drops it in shock (or take it when he loosens his hold). Easy to do and works well with many (not all) dogs that won't release. You might also switch him to a small canvas dummy instead of his regular toy for serious work. He will learn the difference,and a canvas dummy is more useful. Don't leave it out for him; use it for work and then put it away.

Remember not to overdo on fetch. Always leave him wanting more.

[walt35]

Thanks steve, it only took a few times untill he got the hang of it. And I will get a canvas dummy.

[dmadis8]

If you gently lift the skin between the back leg and the flank the dog will drop whatever is in its mouth for you. This way you can give your drop it command followed by a quick correction without having to put your face to close to a dogs face.

[puppydude30]

Dalmatians are not really good for hunting. They are breeds that are friendly and soft. I think you might try to have a terrier.

[ezzy333]

Dalmatians are not really good for hunting. They are a breed that is a friendly and soft. I think you might try to have a terrier.

Welcome aboard! You may not have noticedbut this thread is about a year old and they were working this dog last summer and fall. Don't think we have ever heard yet just how the training is going but it sounded promising at the time. Several people have or were hunting Dalmations but I agree that if you really want a hunting dog you should have a sporting dog if you can afford it. I'm not impressed with a terrier either onless you are hunting vermin.

Ezzy