Thread: Deer dog training

I run a jack russell and we hunt for a living, so don’t discount the small dogs

I had a curly coat retriever bitch [easer to train than a CCR dog in my opinion ] and she was great on any game , but I would never use her on pigs .
I eventually crossed her with a wire hair pointer and kept a bitch pup that was outstanding on all game and very easy to train . I can remember
stalking up on a deer that my CCR HAD WINDED one day in open country with the kids along . As I was on my bely crawling along I started to here the kids
laughing in hushed tones , anyway got the deer and required an explanation from the kids as they where usually pretty good wee hunters . It turned out
that as I was crawling along good old Karly my CCR was mimicking my every move , if I went on my belly she would crawl on hers , if I went on hands and knees
she would as well , she was a dog that new my every move and I new hers . If we had been hunting for the day in thick bush all I had to say was , way home , and she would take me to the truck every time . A dearly loved dog that could never be replaced . But hours of training pays off both in the bush and in the local parks .

One reason the humble lab is so good as a duck dog for the common man is often not considered. It's eggzachary the same with deer dog. They go hunting X amount of days a year. If we really keen and have understanding partner/wife/kids/boss/ bank balance we MIGHT get out four days a month...which leaves 26ish days NOT hunting..labs happy to lay on the couch shedding hair and eyeing up food. A good mate around the home,who just happy to be around is gold. When they get to go hunting it's awesome for them and you but the other 26 plus days matter just as much. I don't have time to run pig dogs every week around other commitments,so don't have them. My two lounge lizards come after ducks or deer and do ok. I don't need a deer finding machine,I don't have time to create one and frankly would be wasted once freezer was full.

Alot of good feedback already posted But I'll echo @Tahr and @stagstalker Labs are an excellent dual purpose option if you do deer and waterfowl. I wouldn't rule them out as a sole deer dog either, they're very easy to train, eager to please and low maintenance. They can be noisy at times due their panting and sometimes being bulldozers through foliage.

If nothing else, a solid recall, sit/stay and heel will see you right, followed by getting range sorted and scent tracking following that. Blueprint well worth a look.

pretty hard to go past a lab, I have had four over my time hunting for deer and game birds, easy natured, great with kids and I took every pup to dog obedience and even ended up being an instuctor,
this is invaluable for a young dog because socialising is so important for a dogs confidence. then take them hunting, all my dogs could wind and track.
you will get used to the dogs body language when its winding,, they will let you know, one dog named boss would always bump my leg with his muzzle just to make sure I was watching. he was superb on deer, ducks and quail.
cheers everyone
Ray

Doing it again id pick a lighter breed, my gsp/lab cross is a big boy and is starting to suffer a bit at only 6 years old

Something with heading dog in it.

Seems like everything is right that's been commented.

Really the issue is trainablilty vs madness vs prey drive.

If you made the classic triangle system you generally see they are interlinked. More prey drive more crazy. Easier trainablity/calmness less drive.
My old man is a dog trialist. They cast off alot of eye dogs. The prey drive has to be top level. Unfortunately this means alot of dogs have some full on crazy brains. Find the ones that are calm and with drive and you train a champ.
Mixing an eye dog with a gsp then having the around home 26 days a month is not going to be easy unless you're a champ at training.
I've tried a gsp crossed with a calm as pig dog this time. He's pretty good and reasonably calm. Definately lost some of the point though. Basically I got myself a fit slow maturing lab.
I've never owned a lab but if you don't need a great point and want a calmer pet then that'd be my bet.

Either way. You do you then train the shit out of it. I used the deer dog BP to get started this time and I think it wa sworth it. My previous goats dogs were not as good even though they did it full time. Go figure.

An advantage of a smaller dog is less food to carry in on overnighter.

Originally Posted by Chur Bay

An advantage of a smaller dog is less food to carry in on overnighter.

Your not wrong. Same as a thicker coat dog is often happier when it's a bit nasty. I've seen a few thick coated eye dogs trialling that would be top notch deer dogs. Unfortunately they're worth 10grand or more.

This is my brothers Vizsla, trained with the Blueprint and a fantastic dog to have around , very quiet in the bush and finds lots of deer. I have watched my brother sneak in on a roaring stag to 10 mtrs and dog was rock solid sitting beside him. Probably helps being on a farm so he can spend lots of time with his dog and shes not tied up for long periods.

Here's Bella the Lab at 12 mnths indicating a deer about 100 yards below us. We moved to a better position to see and I shot it.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M0drX-BKJxA

She is a real hard case. Great you reading her so well.Tilly would approve.