Thread: Non hunting breeds out there hunting

My young EP aged 6 months had his first run on pig on Saturday by himself. Came back when he realised he was hunting on a vertical slope.

A show bred pointer definitely comes under non-hunting breed ��

I use a Ridgeback on deer as a pointer - of sorts. They are a hunting breed but supposedly for Lions. He has done OK, I just say "where's the deer" and he scents and tracks. Main problem is he chases them sometimes if they run - not all the time however. His best day he led me into some thick bush and right into a mob of half a dozen red stags all sitting down. I didn't want to shoot any as they were velveties and I was after a spiker but we git within 10m of them before they spooked and all hell broke loose, dog was leashed to my belt and I nearly went for a skate.

Whippets are most certainly good rabbit killers. Fast as, natural born rabbit hunters. They dont all chase though, some choosing to sit out the side of a pack and overview the proceedings until a rabbit breaks out of the dog pack, or tries to sneak off, then the whippet will appear out of nowhere and clean it up.. fascinating to watch..

I would consider training one for other forms of hunting.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

I have a staffy also, its funny because a lot of people will tell you that staffys and other bull breeds are not good swimmers and wont like deep water as they have too much muscle and not enough fat and sink like stones, but mine loves the water, I wouldnt call him a strong swimmer but he enters the water himself and will swim quite happily.
As far as hunting goes hes not that good... took him out with a mates very good finder/bailers one weekend and all he managed to do was teach my mates dogs to bail possums up trees... mate wasnt happy at all haha.

I've had 3 staffs over years still got one . two of them sunk like stones (wanted to swim tried it multiple times)and the 3rd which we still have is a absolute fish she will be out in 4ft surf no worries out swimming in middle of the kaituna river where we live and she will do it with a 1.5m by 4inch think piece of drift wood in her mouth too no worries

My Gordon setter will indicate deer and best of all is very quiet when in hunting/stalking mode. Then when the gun come up he ducks in behind me. will also track wounded game and barks when he gets to them.
Down side is that if I let him out if sight in the bush as he hunts silently I would never find him unless I call him back. (yes I know, get a tracking collar.)

and after shooting 6 possums at home last winter(airgun) he has developed an interest in them so about on dusk he gets distracted.
Been working on that on bush walks reminding him to ignore them. Hehehe.
Also a bit hit and miss on fetching. gets bored with it after 3-4 repetitions.
Zane

South island mallards are too big for him. Attempt at quail possibly more realistic

I keep telling my Staffies they aren’t hunting dogs but fat lot of good that does me, they’ll have a go alright. Only problem is occasionally mamma or pappa pig pitches up then its a different bloody story, that tail gets tucked up where the sun doesn’t shine, then a hasty retreat is beaten all the way back to the bloke with the gun! Honestly wish I had a video of the times these muppets dogs of mine getting chased out of the bush by an angry pig, very funny.

best deer dog Ive ever had was a Rottweiler, Whippet x Weimaraner for my pig dogs

I wanted to find a photo before I posted about Rottweilers.

Back in the day before digital we didn’t take that many pictures eh, now we can’t find the celluloids if you do you’ve gotta scan them... anyway here’s my old boy Mission. He was the last Rottie we had after 23 years, two males and two females, numerous pups, over that time.



I’m pretty heartbroken about the latest news stories after the recent attack and bad photos in the news. Bloody Kate Hawkesby in on the act in the Herald today...

I adore Rottweilers, we kept them for guard dog duties in the US and later South Africa in Johannesburg in the 90s. They were of course exceptional in that role and me and the wife owe the breed a debt of gratitude for twice they responded to intruders on our side of out fence, and both times the intruders were chased out.

As house dogs, pets, companions they were fantastic, and bloody good hunters too! We stayed with two bloodlines that have been kept very true in the UK and the US by my family, and reliable, calm, staunch, fearless and very strong dogs have been guaranteed. We kept them with Staffordshire Bull Terriers and I will try and find some photos of the gang in action. We had to be careful with the bitches, the one Rottie bitch and Staffy bitch didn’t get on for a while, but there was not one single problem between the dogs, just great mates.

As for hunting, well the bitches were always more biddable than the males, being that much lighter they had great stamina but also that little bit less impact when it counted. We hunted a lot of warthog in the northern Transvaal with my cousins in the 90s and the Rotties were fully into that to the max, they worked well with the pitbulls and as with all well bred and well socialised dogs they got on just fine with a common purpose, kill the pig! Generally the females would find and bail, the males would amble up after the hard work was done and grab it. Some of our dogs came off second best a few times but nothing too serious luckily.

We haven’t had a Rottie for 15 years now but we often talk about it. One day...

Originally Posted by headcase

Whippets are most certainly good rabbit killers. Fast as, natural born rabbit hunters. They dont all chase though, some choosing to sit out the side of a pack and overview the proceedings until a rabbit breaks out of the dog pack, or tries to sneak off, then the whippet will appear out of nowhere and clean it up.. fascinating to watch..

I would consider training one for other forms of hunting.

Mate has had a couple of whippets. If the latest one manages to get out, it comes home with a chicken each time, happy as hell The last one (Biggles) had worked out all the banks and rises at the local park, and used them to do high speed turns on. I once watched it spook a cat, and as the cat ran off as fast as it could, the whippet was cantering alongside in mid gear, sniffing this cats arse as it sprinted. Funniest shit ever

Originally Posted by Tommy

Mate has had a couple of whippets. If the latest one manages to get out, it comes home with a chicken each time, happy as hell The last one (Biggles) had worked out all the banks and rises at the local park, and used them to do high speed turns on. I once watched it spook a cat, and as the cat ran off as fast as it could, the whippet was cantering alongside in mid gear, sniffing this cats arse as it sprinted. Funniest shit ever

Sounds like Biggles was a gent, not one single dog I’ve ever owned would ever contemplate not trying to eat the cat. Mind you, when Bollox The Stafford was alive he met his match every single time he ventured outside, as we had a shed dwelling tom cat that never came in the house but ruled the outbuildings as his personal fiefdom. Bollox attempted every strategy imaginable to get that cat, from stealth mode ambushes to full frontal kamikaze attack... but he lost, every time, and had the scars to prove it.

Originally Posted by Cordite

From wikipedia, a pic of a standard poodle at worK...

From Wikipedia article, a problem of the poodle is that it's difficult to train as it's too intelligent, second in intelligence only to the border collie.

I’ve known two standard poodles used as gun dogs, both in the UK in the same family, for retrieving ducks over water. Outstanding dogs, as you say hyper intelligent. Both were kept with medium length fur all over for buoyany rather than the poncy haircuts they are known for. If I were doing a lot of that kind of shooting I’d seriously consider a standard poodle, the ones I knew were a pleasure to be around and not as daft as young labs or spaniels.

I wouldn't exactly say non hunting breed however I recently stayed on a farm where the farmer did a lot of pig hunting and I do mean a lot, there where pig jaws everywhere we were literally tripping over them and his pack of pig dogs ?.........Dalmatians he had 6 Dalmatians and reckoned with good evidence they were the best pig dogs out.
his current pack were his 3rd generation of Dalmatians and he takes them out just about everyday to chase bacon.
it was kinda surreal as they seemed so chilled however he reckoned they were just worn out form chasing a big boar, he also said if he doesn't get in quick once they're on a pig his dogs would rip it to shreds.
One of his reasons for choosing the Dalmatian was that he reckoned they just about glow in the dark making really easy to identify pig form dog in the heat of the hunt.
He obviously really loved his dogs and took great care of them....even let them sleep in the house !!!! six Dalmatians and 2 cats all sleeping in front of the fire is a sight to behold.
I didn't get to see them in action this visit but hope to next time.....