Types of Hunting Dogs

Dogs have been involved in the hunt for hundreds of years now. Either for sport or for food, dogs have been used to bring out the wild animals from hiding, to track down animals, and to retrieve game that has been downed by their masters. With these goals in mind, one must then proceed in choosing a hunting dog for his own.

When looking for a good hunting dog, you must take into consideration the kind of needs that you also may have for a hunting dog. Questions such as, "what kind of things would you want it to do? How long will it take for him to learn? does it get easily startled by guns? and how good a tracker is he?," should also come into mind before buying a hunting dog.

There are different kinds of breeds that make good hunting dogs. Retrievers are good for retrieving games, Hounds, are good for tracking them. But generally, they are separated into four types of dogs: general hunting dogs, bird dogs, dogs for retrieving, and dogs who fit into two or more of those categories. Dogs have been used for this hunting for literally thousands of years by humans. The following discusses the types of these dogs further.

Retrievers

The Golden and Labrador Retrievers are the best in finding and getting fallen targets. They are useful, especially when you hunt for wild ducks, since they could effortlessly glide in the water due to their oil-coated furs and fetch the downed waterfowl.

Hounds and Trackers

Dogs who have a keener sense of smell are called trackers. They can track the path of animals that are used as games by hunters. Examples are deers, bears, and foxes. These dogs are quite exceptional in their jobs. It is amazing to many just how sensitve the noses of many canines are. They are able to pick up extremely small traces of skin and hair particles from humans or other animals. Many suggest that the sense of smell in dogs is a 1000 times more powerful than in humans.

Pointers and Setters

Some dogs are useful for pointing and setting hunted birds. They allow their owners to know when a prey is nearby, and freeze and point their bodies in the direction of the prey. These breeds of dogs are called pointers. Others can be trained to hunker down on the ground when they locate a prey. They are generally called setters. A spaniel is a good example of a setter.

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