Advantages and disadvantages of hunting with a dog
Hunting together with a dog is quite a controversial sport these days and there are some dogs better than others, some dogs are better “at” a specific type of hunting than others, that is why hunting with a dog is a popular sport among hunting enthusiasts. There is no specific group registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) to hunt alone, other than dogs that are known to have ancestral antecedents in their lineage in the hunting domain.
These traits vary from dog to dog: some have a highly developed olfactory ability, while others have very good endurance, etc. Some of the most famous hounds would be: Beagle, Norwegian Elkhound, American Foxhound, Black And Tan Coonhound and others as well. The widely known AKC Sporting Group is a fairly large group of hunting dogs for those hunters who enjoy hunting together with a dog in a woody or aquatic environment. Some of the dogs that belong to this group would be: American Water Spaniel, Golden Retriever, English Cocker Spaniel, German Pointer and others as well.
Moving on to the interesting part, the exciting aspect of the aforementioned dogs (and the rest of them, of course) is that each breed has its own natural behavior. Hunting together with one of these dogs is sure to improve your hunting efficiency, but choosing the most appropriate type of dog is crucial, as some dogs excel at fox hunting, for example, while others are better at squirrel hunting. Terriers were originally developed to hunt small game and kill vermin and if you plan to hunt squirrels, for example, a working terrier is the best way to go. Hunting dogs are the most recommended for any type of hunting as they will demonstrate their effectiveness if they are properly trained.
The main disadvantage of hunting dogs is that the training procedure is quite complex and may not show the expected results when hunting for the first time with the dog. As for the aspect of training a hunting dog, it is also a matter of time because properly training a dog for hunting purposes can take up to a year and in some cases you will only have one chance to do it because some mistakes are irreversible. An example of an irreversible mistake would be a lack of early socialization. We recommend that you do a little research before choosing your hunting dog (taking into account the type of game in which you are going to use the dog), you start training from an early age and things should be fine.
After all, hunting together with a dog has its advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of using a dog is that if the dog was properly trained from an early age, the chances of catching more animals are higher, as these dogs will do some of the work for you. The main disadvantage would be that the entire training process takes some time and each dog is different in its own way, so there is no standard training procedure applicable to all breeds.
Razvan Marian Jr. is the owner of www.huntingdogsreviews.com, where you can find useful but also interesting facts about hunting dogs.