I have recently taken up pheasant hunting. I have a 3 year old lab mixed with an Miniature Australian Shepherd. Is it possible to train her to do a little pheasant hunting. I don't expect her to be really good at it just help me get some birds up in some small pieces of CRP. What tips do you have for training her? She is a very energetic dog and a great retriever.
Training a non-traditional hunting dog
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FCSpringer
Moderator
Take the dog to a training club and find out. See if she or he likes birds, pigeons etc. Then go from there. How does it retrieve, is it willing to learn and so on. Most likely you should be able to get them to do something. Maybe not. Ya just don't know till ya try.
A&J's Crew
New member
When I was a kid we had an Australian Shepard that would bust the birds, but wouldn't retrieve anything. I think any dog would help as long as it listens to basic commands.
I have a Border Collie that flushes chakar and retrieves them, If she gets out to the bird pin i have a hellof a time getting her away from there,
Its all what you make Number one in there brain....
My firist dog was a lab shepard mix, stubborn dog but loved waterfowl hunting,,,,And loved upland hunting,
Think about it,,,, If you are a Pro athlete you train hard every day at what you do,,, If the dog trains hard almost every day at what you want him to become, He will get there,
Its all what you make Number one in there brain....
My firist dog was a lab shepard mix, stubborn dog but loved waterfowl hunting,,,,And loved upland hunting,
Think about it,,,, If you are a Pro athlete you train hard every day at what you do,,, If the dog trains hard almost every day at what you want him to become, He will get there,
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Toad
Active member
X2
I think your expectations are pretty reasonable. As long as the dog isn't gunshy, I can't imagine why it wouldn't be able to do what you are asking it to do.
I used to let my wife's mini aussie tag along with me when I went bird hunting with my golden. She always stayed pretty close to me, but she did search around out front and to the sides. She wouldn't retrieve anything, but if a bird hit the ground running, she would try to herd it back to me. Pretty funny really... It was fun to take her, and she enjoyed it.
I never took her out by herself, but I can think of a few hunting spots where she would have been adequate dog power going solo. Narrow waterways, and small patches of cover, etc,.Good luck, and please post some pictures if you have success with your non-traditional dog.:thumbsup:
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stesch_s10
New member
German Shepherd, need I say more? You can do anything.
