Mandatory Dogs?

R

roy reali

New member
Well, I went out dove hunting this morning. I did fair. I did take my dog. I noticed that a few other hunters had their dogs too. But most of the dove hunter did not have a dog. I guess having or not having a dog doesn't really matter with dove shooting. That got me to thinking weather their is any type of hunting in which having a dog is almost mandatory for success.

I figured that waterfowl hunting has to be it. Getting birds out of water almost mandates a canine helper.

So, do you think there is any type of hunting where having a dog greatly helps the hunter? Is there any type of hunting that almost mandates having a dog?
 
I've hunted ducks in swamps and open water without a dog. It really wasn't much of an issue since we always had a way to retrieve birds ourselves. Quail hunting without a dog isn't much fun. You have a hard time finding and flushing birds, they come up without warning and finding when they are down is next to impossible.
 
Here in NC it's come to the point where rabbit hunting pretty much requires dogs.

When I was a kid we would rabbit hunt in Tennessee by just walking across a field and jumpshooting them.
 
Back when the wife and I got married, some 31 years ago, I had a pair of beagles. They were a Rabbits worst nightmare. I would go evey week end during season, and we always had a freezer full of rabbits.

One day I was hunting next to a county road, and I heard a car coming down the road on the other side of a large thicket I was hunting. I heard a door close and the car drive off, and I never saw the beagles again.

Thats the last hunting dogs I ever owned. I have spent 31 years trying to understand why anyone would steal a dog. Here in Oklahoma, most beagle owners will give you a dog, just to get rid of them, and even if you had to buy one, you can pick them up for $50.00 almost anywhere.

On subject though, If you hunt Rabbits, Waterfowl, or cats or hogs, you will be a lot more succesful if you own a good dog or two.
 
This is probably a stupid question but did they have collars and tags on? If not someone might have thought they were a couple of strays or drop-offs.
 
I lost a few dove yesterday to 10 foot high brush and weeds. Normally it's not an issue, but we have had much more rain than normal this year.

Quail hunting without a dog is an exercise in futility for me. By the time the buttstock hits my shoulder the quail are in a different county.
 
I gather for pheasant they're very highly favored as well. One thing I have absolutely zero tolerance for is people using them to steal deer. If I see a dog on my land during deer season it will not breathe another breath. Period.
 
We have dogs stolen while afield here in Nc also; occasionally the guy is so dumb he just throws the working radio collar in his trash.
 
I don't know if they're "mandatory for success" on quail, if success means one or more birds. I've walked fencerows and gotten 1 or 2 quail without dogs, but it ain't easy....usually they just stay in the cover and go to the other side of the cover strip. You can then walk back down the other side and spook with up again with the same results - they stay in cover, so you don't get a shot - at least not a good shot. Usually they won't even flush. Certainly preferred to have dogs, and mandatory if success means getting your limit. On ducks, if you shoot them after they've flown away from water and are over land, you don't need a dog. OR, you can swim in the water and retrieve yourself. You can likely retrieve one or two before hypothermia sets in. :)
 
This is an "I've heard that...":

Dove feathers come off the bird very readily. Dogs get to where they don't like to retrieve doves because they wind up with a bunch of feathers in their mouths. Supposedly, it messes up a retriever's training, his attitude about other birds. Me, I dunno...

Since most dove hunting is done over fairly open fields or pastures, they're generally easier to find than birds shot in brushy or timbered places...

Art
 
I hunt quail and chukar without dogs. Once you find 'em, you have to break up the covey quickly or they will escape. If you can break up the covey, the birds will hold and call to each other. You can walk back and forth through the area, picking off singles and doubles as they flush.
 
Fat/White,

Do you locate them by ear? We always use dogs, but I usually go on a mid day walk about. It's not unusual to inadvertently walk up a covey. By the time my heart comes out of my throat they are long gone. I'm wondering if I am walking too fast and missing the "bobwhite" call.
 
Dog's Role

I once heard someone say that dogs are a conservation tool. They do help locate downed birds that would be nearly impossible for us humans to do. We do owe the game we hunt that much. Loosing a dead bird is a waste.
 
Microchip and / or Tattoo your dogs, makes it real hard on the dog thief when you find them.

Also provide the PD with a realistic acessment of what a dog trained as yours is, would sell for (referances to magazine ads for trained dogs is a great start), that will usually get the SOB over the barrel for grand theft.
 
fisherman66, there's a good bit of skill in walking properly when hunting. Too many people might as well be marching in military fashion, or walking along a sidewalk. Or walking along staring at their feet.

I've found it effective to glance briefly out in front, a distance of the next three or four steps. Then, I go back to looking out around me, ignoring the ground for those steps. I've already figured out possible obstacles such as cowpies, sticks, cactus, etc. After three or so steps, repeat the glance-down, look-around and walk.

Wild critters don't march, particularly when feeding. Nor are they all that silent, really. So, whatever sounds you make shouldn't have a regular pattern. Pause, halfway regularly, breaking the pattern of any "marching" sound.

If you're halfway sure there are quail in the area, stop every few-step advance or two and just stand quietly. Look around a bit more intensely, maybe, and really listen. If quail are feeding you'll hear the soft "Prrt, prrt" chirp sounds they make.

If the quail are just laying up in mid-day, they'll typically be in some sort of clump of brush, not out in an open area. So, prepare your brain for their explosive departure as you approach some clump. Have your shotgun ready, and remember to pick out just one bird, not shooting at the middle of the brown blurs. :D

Art
 
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