Thread: Norwegian elkhounds

Gidday,
Norwegian Elkhounds have been breed to hunt animals.
Anyone here had any experience using these.
I am looking for a companion for sniffing out Deer.
Cheers Jay

Hi jay , had a look on the net , nice dogs but did read prone to hip displacia (watch for that ) other thing they may or will over heat hunting in the summer . My advice stick with what most hunters use on deer !. Labs ,pointers etc.

They bark and are bred to do it.

Hi Munsey,
I also need a guard dog too as our house is by itself in the bush. Don't really come across a Lab or Pointer who is particularly ferocious.

I think he means trail bark

YEah Cheers Pointer and Wildman. I have read this too about Elkhounds......could be a very frustrating trait to have when stalking in the bush....barking that is.
so the hunt continues for a guard dog / deer sniffer...... or maybe 2 dogs are required.

The tried and true options are well documented, sure you could be different and give an elkhound a go, but there is a reason most deer stalkers use the labs or HPR breeds, and that is by picking the right strain of your chosen breed you are pretty much guaranteed a dog that will do the job.
As for guard dog, virtually all of the lab and HPR dogs I have either known were good guard dogs? Usually make plenty of noise to intruders

Spent a lot of time in Tokaanu myself

Yip My Labx lets us know if someone is at the door...most of the time. Heaven forbid they actualy enter past the gate at night, she wont bite them but a black dog with a mean bark sure puts the shits up them...oh and me when I walked around the back one night with the wind in my face...she didn't know who I was until I spoke...gave me a shit of a fright as being black I hadn't seen her and didn't know where she was until she barked

Ha ha yea have had the same with my blacklab/Great dane cross. makes ya jump!
On the very rare occasion we are walking down the drive after a night out he will often stand up against the gate( 6FT black dog! )and bail until we let him know its us.

We have a Elkhound cross. She is gunshy so doesn't hunt with us. She is highly intelligent, soft natured and easy to train. Hunts and kills rats, mice, birds and possums for herself. We always thought she would make a great deer dog but turns into a quivering mess at the very sight of a rifle. She's very vocal, speaks on command and a good guard dog. Good luck with whatever you get.