I was told, squirell pelts work, but we dont go hunting till the first week of october, and i want her to come with us and find us some squirell. So, can i train her with food, or a treat or somthin i can get from walmart, or tractor supply or somthin?
2007-09-15 08:23:18 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Outdoor Recreation ➔ Hunting
Westie breeds have been trained for years to hunt according to history. I'm sure you could train yours to sniff out squirrels. The only problem I see with it is what happens after your pet trees the squirrel. The Squirrel isn't going to just stand there while the dog approaches...And the Squirrel will avoid making himself visible by staying on the opposite sides of tree so you won't see him. Hunting Rabbits would be a different story since they can't climb trees, but Squirrels are hardly the wild game you would use a dog to catch.Of course, It's up to you if you want to try.
2007-09-15 08:40:19 · answer #1 · answered by JD 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The whole idea is for the dog to tree the squirrel, and then circle the tree raising cain which will make the squirrel come around on the side facing the hunter.
Hunting squirrel with a well trained dog is so easy it is almost unsporting. The main sporting part is the effort it takes to make a head shot to prevent ruining meat and pelt.
Pirate Girl,
Since Westie's were bred to hunt, I don't think you will have much trouble training the little guy to hunt squirrels,
I'd say try to find a friend who has a squirrel tail or two to use for training. Next suggestion is to find a good book on training gun dogs and get their ideas.
Good luck.
Doc
2007-09-15 09:05:33 · answer #2 · answered by Doc Hudson 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The issue is that dogs are poor generalizers - it's not that the dog is "sneaky, greedy" etc, but that they have no intrinsic sense of morality or "rightness" and so only think something is "bad" if it has bad consequences. If it has never had bad consequences except with a human in the room, then how on earth are they to know that the rules still apply with the human out of the room? You need to train in such a way that corrections and rewards occur when the dog does not think you are present - i.e. hiding around the corner. Read here https://tr.im/nuwH0
I personally owned a Labrador Retriever (read: chow hound) that could be left 6" from a hot dog in a sit-stay for half an hour and not touch it - the word was "mine" and it meant that you don't touch that, even if I am not in the room, even if whatever, you DO NOT touch that. You could leave a plate of food on the floor for hours and not only would she not touch it, she would also keep the other animals (dogs and cats) from touching it.
In all probability, these dogs studied were just not properly trained/proofed before the experiment. With "proofing" to set them up and catch them in the act to give
2016-07-18 13:23:19 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi again, sure hope to get a best answer. You can use a stuffed animal or anything from a rolled up newspaper to a dish towell. A hide would be best. Or something with fur. It sounds like you have access to a feed and farm supplie store go there and look at the dog training supplies. They should have lures or urine for training purposes. Use the sent to do simulated hunts as I said last question. The main thing is you want her to be excited about hunting. Look online for sents. They seem expensive at around 10 bucks for a cup but it will go a long way and it is my expierence that it is far easyer to buy than collect yourself. Check your local game laws but nothing would work better than a live squirrel in a cage to tease your pup. You can trap them in live traps or possibly even buy one. I hope I have helped I love to see people excited about their dogs and hunting
2007-09-15 09:12:29 · answer #4 · answered by subgenius 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure what a westie is but my old dog (mutt) would would find as many squirrels by smell as I could by sight. I found I was walking past squirrels in trees I had not seen! I think I was pretty lucky but my dog was hooked on squirrel hunting after I took him out with me and let him gnaw on a squirrel I had shot. After that he was an expert at finding fresh squirrel scent.
This website has some interesting squirrel dog info on it:
http://www.sqdog.com/
Good Luck!
2007-09-16 06:05:30 · answer #5 · answered by No C 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you have 3 options # a million A 22 single shot Rifle>> #2 A 20 Gauge Shotgun>> #3 A over & under 22 LR & 20 Gauge mixture.* i might decide on single shot on the two the Rifle or Shotgun.* No pumps or semi's
2016-12-26 12:01:18 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yess
2007-09-17 13:42:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋