Other Hunting > Bird Dogs
pet or friend?
benbo30:
--- Quote from: bow4elk on January 31, 2009, 09:06:08 AM ---I don't agree with the "dogs is a tool" mentality. Not saying it doesn't work, but I believe it makes no difference in hunting performance whether you dog is "part of the family", in fact, dogs are pack animals. Once you establish your dogs place in the pack, he/she will behave accordingly. And dogs like having a job (especially retrievers) to do. Hunting is a treat for many dogs and they thrive on doing "good" for the alpha (you). Besides you want a dog that is socialized and not going to growl at people or other dogs. That is very important.
Follow your gut and do what works for you and your family.
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+3
Bigshooter:
--- Quote from: benbo30 on February 01, 2009, 10:40:09 PM ---
--- Quote from: bow4elk on January 31, 2009, 09:06:08 AM ---I don't agree with the "dogs is a tool" mentality. Not saying it doesn't work, but I believe it makes no difference in hunting performance whether you dog is "part of the family", in fact, dogs are pack animals. Once you establish your dogs place in the pack, he/she will behave accordingly. And dogs like having a job (especially retrievers) to do. Hunting is a treat for many dogs and they thrive on doing "good" for the alpha (you). Besides you want a dog that is socialized and not going to growl at people or other dogs. That is very important.
Follow your gut and do what works for you and your family.
+4
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Birdguy:
I too agree with bow4elk. I tend to look at our dogs as pets 300 days a year and hunting partners for the short season. That being said, a dog can be a trained hunting partner that is worked year round on hunting but still needs a bunch of time to just be a dog/pet. The OWNER must remember that you will only get out what you put into any relationship. If you pull your pet out opening weekend and expect it to perform like the dogs on "bird dog challenge" I would expect you will be disappointed. However if you start working it in the evenings a month or so before the opener you and the dog will enjoy it a lot more :twocents:.
AngelFace:
I will always treat a dog as part of the family. Dogs are the type of animal that if you treat them good they will return the favor. A dog can be trained to be both a wonderful family companion and a hunting buddy. It just all depends on how you train them. It is all up to you.
One of my most favorite quotes:
"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbols means nothing to her. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give her your heart and she will give you hers. It is really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not."
Intruder:
I don't think I've seen anything in the posts above that I disagree with. A person is really missing out on the joys of having a dog if they are keeping them just as a tool. Some of the the best advice I've ever heard echos Birdguy's post about it being a pet 300 days a year.
"Pick your hunting dog fully expecting him/her to be a pet and family member 95% of the time and a hunting dog 5%".
Think about someone who really hunts a ton... they're probably only using their dog 20 or 30 days a year.
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