# HOUND DOG FOR BIRDS



## CHEESE (Jan 29, 2009)

We have a 4 mouth black and tan blue tick mix i would like to teach her to be a bird dog. i know thats not the common breed for birds. i have her retriving a dog dummy with pheasant feathers tied to it. she is doing great. what else should i be doing? and has eny one used a hound for birds? thanks for the help.


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## Ryfly (Sep 13, 2007)

I would throw out a clipped wing pigeon and see how they like it. That will tell you if they have some interest at least.

I don't think you can "teach" a dog to like birds.


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## WHutchings (Jan 6, 2009)

Good luck on that one, hounds are hounds bird dogs are bird dogs.


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## Greenhead 2 (Sep 13, 2007)

I think your chances are better with a bird dog than a hound, but I wouldn't make a blanket statement like that. I know a guy who has a heeler he uses on waterfowl and my wifes uncle had a german Shepard that found flushed and retrieved pheasents for him.


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## WHutchings (Jan 6, 2009)

A heeler and a sheperd dog are different thana well trained hound, heelers don't tree lions and bears.


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## cklspencer (Jun 25, 2009)

I saw a guy hunting birds with poodle once. I don't see why a hound wouldn't do it. Maybe you could start a new breed. A hointer or something like that.


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## WHutchings (Jan 6, 2009)

That would be kinda funny lookn.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Some of the houndsmen here might know Jason Adamson from Lehi. He was telling me one time about how he couldn't get his hounds to hunt a cougar one day because there were so many chukars in the area and that's all the dogs wanted to pay attention to. I wouldn't personally try to hunt birds with a hound, but who knows? It might pay off. :?


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## Ryfly (Sep 13, 2007)

cklspencer said:


> I saw a guy hunting birds with poodle once. I don't see why a hound wouldn't do it. Maybe you could start a new breed. A hointer or something like that.


Actually Poodles were hunting dogs before they got ruined by dog shows. There are a few that still breed Standard Poodles as retrievers.

I've heard of Beagles being used as bird dogs.


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## cornerfinder (Dec 4, 2008)

You can do what ever you want with a dog, its all about communication, that dog wants to please you. If he doesn’t understand what you want try a different method. I think its more about the handler not the dog. I trained a border-collie to climb trees. A blue healer to hunt upland, and a schnauzer to hunt rats, cats and pheasants. Just remember if they don’t understand its not there’re fault it yours, they understand you most of the time but I doubt you understand them,, much. I think you can do it. Just don’t get frustrated and don’t give up.


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## blownsmok97 (Nov 8, 2009)

I've heard of it done, but never seen it. If the dog likes it, go with it. I once ran into a guy on Utah lake that had a rottweiler with a camo vest he was using as his duck dog, and the dog did very well too.


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## USMARINEhuntinfool (Sep 15, 2007)

I've got a Rottweiler that will point Pheasants. He's to fat and lazy to do anything else but he'll point 'em out in our pasture. It was interesting watching this happen the first time.


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## Artoxx (Nov 12, 2008)

Best hunting dog I ever saw(waterfowl, AND upland) bar none, was an Australian Shepherd, and I met a guy once with a German Shepherd that would retrieve ducks. That being said, I would doubt that a hound will make a very good bird dog.

That is not to say that I am RIGHT, and I don't discourage you from trying. The worst that can happen is that he doesn't have any interest in birds. But if you think about it, the same places you are looking for birds are FULL of foxes, racoons, and other varmint types, so you might just have a plenitude of targets anyway. :mrgreen:


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## coolgunnings (Sep 8, 2007)

I have a buddy that I took upland game hunt for his first time about 4 years ago. The guy loves to hike, and then figured out that he really likes to hunt upland birds. He has a beagle, he and his wife do not want another dog. His beagle is about the same age as my lab. And they started hunting birds together as puppies(about 6 months old). Now granted the beagle does not cover the same amount of ground as a lab or a pointer, nor does it put up as many birds. But the beagle puts up birds every year. What is classic about the beagle, is when he puts birds up he bays at them when they flush. :lol:


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## flint (Sep 13, 2007)

I had a beagle that was a great pheasant dog. After opening day the birds would hole up in nasty, thorny briar patches and the beagle was small enough to go in after them. He was also great at trailing wounded birds or birds that wanted to run rather than to fly. The hardest part was getting him to release the birds once he had them in his mouth.


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