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Benefits and Negative Aspects of Hunting With a Dog
Hunting together with a dog is a rather questionable sporting activity nowadays, and there are some canines better at it than others. Some dogs are better “at” a particular type of hunting than others, which is why hunting with a dog is a preferred sport among hunting enthusiasts. There aren’t any specific groups registered in the American Kennel Club (AKC) for hunting alone, apart from the canines that are recognized to have an ancestral background in their lineage in the hunting domain.
Benefits
- Enhanced Hunting Efficiency:
- These characteristics vary from canine to canine: some have a very developed scenting capability, while others have great stamina, and so forth. Some of the most famous hounds include the Beagle, Norwegian Elkhound, American Foxhound, Black and Tan Coonhound, and others.
- The well-known AKC Sporting Team is a rather large group of hunting dogs for those hunters who enjoy hunting alongside a canine in a woody or watery environment. Some of the dogs that belong to this group include the American Water Spaniel, Golden Retriever, English Cocker Spaniel, German Shorthaired Pointer, and others.
- Natural Hunting Behaviors:
- The fascinating aspect of the above-mentioned dogs (and the rest of them, of course) is that each breed has its natural behaviors. Hunting together with one of these dogs will surely improve your hunting performance, but choosing the most suitable type of dog is crucial, as some dogs excel at fox hunting, for example, while others are best suited for squirrel hunting.
- Terriers were originally developed for hunting small game and killing vermin. If you plan on hunting squirrels, for example, a working terrier is the best way to do it. Hunting dogs are most recommended for any type of hunting, as they will prove their efficiency if properly trained.
Negative Aspects
- Complex Training Process:
- The major disadvantage of hunting dogs is that the training process is rather complex and may not show the expected results when hunting for the first time with the pet.
- Regarding the aspect of training a hunting dog, it is also a matter of time, as training a pet properly for hunting purposes can take up to one year. In many cases, you will only have one chance to do it because some mistakes are permanent. An example of a permanent mistake would be the lack of early socialization.
Conclusion
We suggest that you do a bit of research before choosing your hunting dog (keeping in mind the type of game you intend to use the dog for), start the training from an early age, and things should go smoothly.
All things considered, hunting together with a pet dog has its advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of using a dog is that if the pet was properly trained from an early age, the chances of capturing more animals are higher, as these dogs will do some of the work for you. The main disadvantage is that the entire training process takes time, and every dog is different in its own way, so there is no such thing as a universal training process applicable to all breeds.
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