Hunting with two dogs.

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
I know I post a lot. One thing I've been thinking of lately. The dogs I hunt with are goldens named Skye and Roxy. I don't really live in pheasant country so I'm always driving a bit to go hunting. I've got no gripe with that because I honestly just feel lucky to drive an hour and hunt marginal territory, or go two plus hours to get into really prime spots. I hunt MN mostly as that's home. Iowa I get to a bunch and am glad I do, it's a fun state to hunt. South Dakota I hunted three times in my life(4 if you count turkeys), what a great state. This year I saved all my vacation time to burn up on fall bird hunting, I plan on getting out more than I ever have🤞.

Without going behind the scenes of the dogs schedules, there's times when they both want to hunt, and others when only one can make it. They are sisters(albeit distant relations) but Skye is 8 and Roxy turns 3 around pheasant opener. As it goes with a new pup, Skye was the veteran who did all the work and Roxy just followed along figuring things out, just shy of a year old. Roxy learned the ropes, flushes and finds her share of birds, and is great to have along on a hunt. I love them both, but Skye is a bully once the bird is found. If Roxy sniffs a downed bird, Skye immediately comes over and steals it. I realize a good dog trainer wouldn't have this issue. I however am not that skilled. Any training I've done was just taking them out on public land during hunting season. I'm not looking for any solution, Skye will always assert her dominance, but Roxy is never one to be deterred, which I'm forever grateful for.

My plan this year, especially when hunting multiple days in a row, is to hunt one dog and then the other. As Skye gets older I think a rotation will help her. I don't have money spots like Remy where an easy limit is more likely than not. I'm not A5, back home smoking his pipe in front of the hearth with three wild roosters hanging in his garage before the golden hour even starts. I usually hoof it all day to get a chance at a limit. Maybe I'll take a weekend or two and just bring Roxy. Last year by Marshall my buddy downed a rooster in a cattail marsh, and two guys and 3 dogs looked for half an hour and gave up hope. Walking back to the truck we were whistling up the dogs and Roxy didn't show. You guessed it, she came back late, but had a rooster gently hanging in her chops. It's really tough trying to choose a dog to go hunting. Skye only has so much time in the hourglass, so I almost can't turn her down. Roxy is a trooper and has been a great hunter in her own right. I know the dogs would have been better off hunting with a guy with a better grasp on dog training. But maybe they're better off going with an average Joe like me than being couch potato dogs and never hunting at all. Either way, they mean the world to me. Good luck everyone in the upcoming season. I can't promise much other than truthful reporting on my success in the field, and the times when the roosters got the better of me. For I'm sure there'll be days when the wise old roosters flush out of range, my shooting eye is off, or I just plain fail to bag a bird. Either way, I plan on getting the dogs out in the field as much as life will allow. I've got my priorities straight.

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I like having 2 dogs on long trips. My Vizsla cut his paws up last year on snow and ice and I had to pull him. Wasn't anything major but I could tell it hurt, so I let him heal up. My GSP is half his size, older and tougher feet. She didn't have an issue with her feet, so I hunted with her every day and left him in the truck. If he was my only dog, I would have had to pack up and go home.
 
The way I have to get my days in at this point in life with work, wife, kid etc is blocks of days at a time. I can't imagine getting that done with one dog, we'll have 3 or 4 dogs wore slick after a 4 or 5 day trip even rotating them. We usually drop 2 and rest 2 each field to get through a long trip. I love hunting multiple dogs at a time but it's a lot to keep track of at times. I am a believer in hunting young dogs with seasoned ones but they all hunt different together so finding the right combo sometimes takes some miles.
 
Can understand the Dilemma well. Have a six year old springer and a 1 year old. My two girls work together fairly well but as you noted anytime the younger dog gets in a bird the older wants to retrieve. Still working the issue but for the most part glad to have two good noses in the field. Headed to NODak in about a month and the extra dog is a bonus so I put up with my poorly trained girls. At my age the hunt is as much about time in the field with friends and my furry partners.
 
One dog is stealth, two dogs are a competition. Once tried three as I was covering large track of CRP. Got my four Kansas roosters, but it took some CPR to recover from exhaustion. Dogs were happy and the young dogs received some experience. Don’t recommend.
 
I agree with the above post on the younger dog. Quite often they become distracted by other dogs. Mine did when she first went afield around 6 months of age. There were 2 other older dogs trying to hunt and she thought it was more of a game.

For the rest of that first season, I hunted her alone. She quickly realized why were out there without the other dogs present.
 
Best to hunt young dogs by themselves most of the time. Then the young dog builds confidence and doesn't have his/her birds stolen, either on flush or retrieve. Pheasant hunting gets a bit hectic at times and a young dog can too easily submit to the older dog's drive. Once the young dog is confident you can hunt them together, though still, it is good to separate them periodically.
 
I tried to hunt two dogs together once.....only once. I had an older, experienced Lab and a young Griffon and by the end of the day, I was broken. Speaking for me there was just to much to keep track of. One would point and the other would be out in front or vice versa. I just couldn't focus on both dogs at the same time. My shooting went to shit and I almost started smoking to alleviate the stress that it caused. I know that some folks can do it effectively, but they are better than me!!
 
First, I haven't smoked in years. 🤣

I'm (un)fortunate in that I've only had 1 season to hunt with 2 dogs, & that was 12 seasons & 2 dogs ago. Man, it was really fun, but sometimes as Drew mentioned, stressful as heck. Head on a swivel, trying to do the impossible & pay 100% attention to each dog. Frequently, they'd be hot simultaneously. But as each one would take a different path toward figuring a rooster out, things got pretty hectic.

And then...(some of you have heard this before)...I accidentally taught the puppy to not retrieve. Long story short, don't allow the big dog to make all the retrieves (even if the little dog finds the bird first) & then praise them both when they come to you. It's fixable, but just don't do it. Eventually, you'll be left with only the little dog, & you'll be happier without that problem.

In theory, I'm about 3 years from having 2 dogs again. That's soon enough, although my family would rather it happened sooner. No. That's one they're not going to win, because it would significantly tilt my preferred one guy, one dog balance.
 
Drew said:
I tried to hunt two dogs together once.....only once. I had an older, experienced Lab and a young Griffon and by the end of the day, I was broken. Speaking for me there was just to much to keep track of. One would point and the other would be out in front or vice versa. I just couldn't focus on both dogs at the same time. My shooting went to shit and I almost started smoking to alleviate the stress that it caused. I know that some folks can do it effectively, but they are better than me!!
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I learned the hard way, running a flusher and pointer together. I had a chessie and setter. The chessie would watch for the setter to go on pointer and she would bolt in for the flush, it's hard to get a shot off when they are 50 yards out. Then the setter would being looking over his shoulder to see if the chessie was coming and jump his point to keep another dog from stealing his bird. Never lost bird with the duel, frustrating knowing that could've killed more birds running one dog at time.
 
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Head on a swivel for sure and I have had times it stresses me out but when it goes right it's something to watch. I've got a couple litter mate pointers in my pack now that seem to have a bond and just work extremely well together and watching them work together and get something locked down, well it doesn't get any better for me.
 
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I am of no help here, I can't imagine trying to hunt with myself and 2 dogs. I am just envisioning them hunting on either side of me and birds flushing where I am not looking, both birdy at the same time with different birds. It would make me feeling like those fellas that just don't pay attention to their dog. I need to have my eyes on the dog and be ready. Reading the dog, when paying attention, you are always ready and you pretty much know when to expect a flush....with 2 dogs....I just couldn't do that. Maybe in areas where the population is lower, the second dog is helpful finding more birds.
 
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remy3424 said:
Maybe in areas where the population is lower, the second dog is helpful finding more birds.
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As I got older and hunted solo a lot more I decided to widen my swath and get a second dog, which then led to a 3rd lol, just to cover more ground when the cover allows it and the field's are bigger. I don't have the best spots any more in KS but I couldn't tell you the last time I had the fortune of having two dogs on point in different directions while by myself. Hopefully I will have that problem this year.
 
I have 3 dogs. A GSP who is 12 and still hunting. A 5 year old Britt and a 3 year old GSP. If I am hunting Grouse or Huns, I frequently hunt them all together. They work well and back each other. If I am hunting Pheasants, I hunt one at a time. The others are in Crates in the truck. I simply can't imagine not taking them all on a trip with me. It sure works for me. I was in Canada last week and they sure did well!
 
I have 3 dogs. A GSP who is 12 and still hunting. A 5 year old Britt and a 3 year old GSP. If I am hunting Grouse or Huns, I frequently hunt them all together. They work well and back each other. If I am hunting Pheasants, I hunt one at a time. The others are in Crates in the truck. I simply can't imagine not taking them all on a trip with me. It sure works for me. I was in Canada last week and they sure did well! YMMV, because I have pointing dogs. And yes, it is a race to a downed bird. My youngest dog is the fastest, but my oldest thinks all down birds are his. If the pup gets the bird, it is like watching OJ Simpson dodging down the field with the ball…….
 

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