legal or not

B

bchunter

Member
Hello fellow hunters. I have a question that is confusing me. I have a 9 month old pup that i have been trying to get trained and ready for the upcoming season. I have been going out to my local lake letting my dog run in the public hunting fields. Trying to get her used to the hunting aspect and working distance and have had no issues with doing that even meeting the game warden and chatting with him. I carry no guns while i do it. Just wearing an orange vest and the receiver for my ecollar and obviously clothes for all the smart you know whats lol. The other day i was doing this and a county sheriff stopped me while i was loading the dog into my truck. He proceeded to tell me that what i was doing was illegal and that he could write me a ticket. I have respect for officers so i said i was sorry and did not know that and apolgized and then went on my way. Like i said i had a previous encounter with the game warden and he had no problem with it and was extremely nice and we chatted it up for a while. So am i wrong in my thinking that i thought it was legal to let my dog work on the public hunting ground as long as i was not taking game?

Chris
 
In Wisconsin you can't train dogs until late summer - because of the baby birds. This is typical and I would say you got off easy
 
BC, you're good. Problem comes if you're planting pen-reared birds or shooting gamebirds (again pen reared) out of season. Under the pets section of our public lands regs, which you should get a copy of, there are 5 situations where you can have a dog off leash on public lands. Dog training is one of them. It is illegal to "stock" gamebirds on public lands. It is also illegal to shoot gamebirds that we have a season on outside their normal season without a professional dog training license. I post my area "dog training with pigeons only". That is a reminder to folks that seem to fail to read the gamebird laws. If you have questions and want the confidence of backup with the sheriff, call the area manager and go over it with him.
 
BC, happy to help. Don't be afraid to PM or email me anytime. Glad you asked. If you get it in paper form, make sure to share it with the enforcement officer that talked to you. He'll be better off as will you.
 
Way to go posting signs Troy! I like that idea. There is a guy up here that releases chuckar and from time to time I'll see one that his dogs didn't find.
 
Duckn, don't know if you're talking on public, but if so, it is illegal. Might want to put a bug in someone's ear.

As Manager, I have some latitude to modify regulations by "Posted Notice". I don't like to use it much with my personal ideology, but as a region we often use it and to address local area problems it is sometimes useful. I do it with the dog training to reinforce the existing regulations that are often written with legal mumbo jumbo that some of our constituents have a hard time understanding. Often too we have regulations that appear to conflict. By having posted notice, all controversy is eliminated.
 
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