My dog is a born hunter. Need suggestions for games? or exercises to try

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Wildcat10

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I'm not sure if this is in the right spot or not. I have a 14 month old Shepherd/Lab/Huskie mix female. She is one of the smartest dogs I have ever met. And she is a hunter. Always trying to catch the birds, squirrels etc. She even found and alerted us to a mouse that was hiding under our stove. Thankfully we were able to catch it before her because she would not have given up. She would have tracked it all through the house until she caught it. So she has this amazing hunting instinct and she is go go go all the time. She is not food motivated at all. She wants to work and is motivated by a job well done.

Now, I'm not a hunter. Not because I am against it, but because I am still a bit of a newb and can not afford to take the hunting course right now.

Are there any exercises that I can run through with her that would help satisfy that instinct in her without hunting, but that could also prepare her for that should it be in our future. She is very good at toss and retrieve. Fetches the ball and brings it back and drops it at my feet. I didn't teach her this, she just figured it out. She is super smart.

Anyways, if anyone could suggest any games, toys etc that would help I would really appreciate it.
Thanks.

Oh and because she is just as cute as she is smart, here is her photo. :)

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Nice looking pooch you have there. We have a Shep/Husky/X and he has got to be one of the most entertaining and smartest dogs I've had. Sorry, I don't have any good games but it is cute when they know which toy you want them to grab.
 
You can get her hunting around the house, if you hide treats in difficult spots....she will search with their nose.

Get her onto rabbits/squirrels etc (small game), walk her in parks towards dark, whisper to her when you see a rabbit, get her pumped and let her sight chase. When you get to the spot where the rabbit was sitting, repeatedly point to the ground to try to get her on the scent and get her using her nose.
 
If you have a friend who hunts, let him/her take your dog along. All dogs are predators by instinct and most dogs can become hunting dogs. Here's a 14 pound pheasant dog that was a surprise to anyone who saw us in the field. She could do it all but retrieve.
Cheers,
Jack
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Mount Sweetness said:
You can get her hunting around the house, if you hide treats in difficult spots....she will search with their nose.

Get her onto rabbits/squirrels etc (small game), walk her in parks towards dark, whisper to her when you see a rabbit, get her pumped and let her sight chase. When you get to the spot where the rabbit was sitting, repeatedly point to the ground to try to get her on the scent and get her using her nose.
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I don't think I'd let her off leash in a park. You'd be better off on some crown land. Make sure you can call her off and get her to return on comand.
 
Work on tracking with her. Tracking is one of the top requirements for a hunting dog regardless of the job you ask them to do. Traking is used in the recovery of both big and small game, upland birds and waterfowl. It is also used in finding game in the first place. There are quite a few resources online to help you learn how to do this, and once your dog learns to use her nose purposefully, the skill is interchangeable to whatever tracking task you have for her with a little work.
 
I'll definatly look into the tracking training online. I would love to have a friend take her hunting, but she isn't quite there yet. She still needs some training, although I have no doubt she would take to it like a duck to water.

Unfortunately I'm not sure there is any crown land around here that I have access to. To be honest I don't know a lot about crown land. I'm looking to work with her in an area in or around town that has the elements but not all the city distractions. ie dogs, lots of people etc etc.

Turkeyslayer- she spotted a piegon today long before I did. It took me longer to figure out what she was stalking. But catching them, using them as bait... I like that idea but I'd have to figure out where I could do it. I live in a pretty uptight city. She could knock out a dozen squirrels daily and even though they are a complete nuisance someone would take issue with it.

Jcronk- that is amazing! Never judge a book by it's cover!

Saskgunowner101- She is the most entertaining dog I have ever met. Between the chewbacca like chatter and the run to lick your face anytime someone sneezes or coughs, she is a riot. It must be the husky in her. I've never met a shepherd like her. Quirky I say, so quirky. She fits right in.

Thanks for all the great tips! I can't wait to get started.
 
Beautiful dog, just make sure to keep it fun for her, I would probably work on getting her to drop and be gentle with whatever she is retreiving, if she wouldnt give the mouse back if she caught it like you said.
 
Before she gets out to hunt,her obediance training MUST be excellent.You can't have a dog that won't recall or one that flushes before you are in range.Not to mention one that might get in the way of your rifle/shotgun.My two labs get refresher obediance training pretty much every time we are out.You need to be consistant with that and make you dog realize what YOUR standards are.I will never train another hunting dog without an E-collar.It not only accelerates the training but it allows the dogs to know that you are still to be paid attention to no matter how far away from you they are.

You need to figure out what kind of hunting you want her to do.Flushing,retrieving, scent tracking?All take different styles of training.And you have to decide if this is an important thing or just fun.If its just for fun you might not want to put her through what may be needed to get her to do everything you think she should.
Look online.Lost of good resources there.If you decide retrieving is the game let me know.I can point you to the best videos and material!
Otherwise just have fun with your pup!
 
If you're interested in upland game birds a friend of mine kept a bunch of grouse feathers and tied them around a durable chew toy. He can throw/hide it and the dog goes after the scent on the feathers. It seems to work great.

If you know anybody that hunts you might want to consider asking them to keep some bird feathers for you this fall.
 
Don't let her play with dead pigeon carcasses. They are full of very nasty bacteria and carry parasites. They truly are flying rats.

Obedience training is a must. If you take you dog in the woods and it starts running game, especially out of season, most provinces have regs on the books that it is legal for conservation officers to destroy the offending dog.

Her mixed heritage really doesn't lend her to excelling as a true hunting dog. Probably the best thing you could do is contact an agility dog club or "superdog" club in your area and get her into that. Will give her exercise and help her burn off excess energy.

Putting an untrained dog in the woods during hunting season and unused to gun shots is a recipe for a lost or ruined dog.
 
X-man said:
Don't let her play with dead pigeon carcasses. They are full of very nasty bacteria and carry parasites. They truly are flying rats.

Obedience training is a must. If you take you dog in the woods and it starts running game, especially out of season, most provinces have regs on the books that it is legal for conservation officers to destroy the offending dog.

Her mixed heritage really doesn't lend her to excelling as a true hunting dog. Probably the best thing you could do is contact an agility dog club or "superdog" club in your area and get her into that. Will give her exercise and help her burn off excess energy.

Putting an untrained dog in the woods during hunting season and unused to gun shots is a recipe for a lost or ruined dog.
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I'm not looking to take her hunting or even allow anyone to take her with them yet. She would absolutely be a liability. She is very young and does need master re call, retrieve, etc etc. I'm just looking for tips or games that stimulate this very basic instinct in her.

I have to disagree with the comment about her mixed breeding hindering her abilities. She is a rescue from a reserve where these dogs have to learn how to hunt for their own food most of the time, to survive. She is a good size, super fast and so so smart. Picks things up very quickly. You just never know. I have seen potential in her since day one. On the other hand I also have a yellow lab, your fairly common hunting dog and she could never do it. Does not have any interest or skills. The mouse is a good example. We get one or two every year, and she never even noticed.

You just never know. :)
 
Its fun to play... but when hunting I will only choose a purebred from a good history of hunting stock.
I've tried to make a silk purse out of a sows ear a couple times and it simply does not work.:yingyang:
 
Chasing rabits for dinner and actually hunting for her owner are two completely different things.I have to agree with X-Man.
You still need to figure out what kind of hunting you may want to do with her.We can give you some exercises but if you want a tracker there is no point in giving you exercises for a retriever.
 
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