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Questions and Answers about deer dogs
What dog should I use to stalk sambar deer?
In this video I will explain why knowing how you want your dog to work before you pick the breed will save a huge amount of difficult training due to you fighting the dogs instincts. My pointers will demonstrate the results of my DeerPoint training program in this video as they point a sambar for 40 minutes. I want to help you avoid a hell of a lot of work trying to fight against a dogs genetics by making the right choice of breed for your style of deerdog use.
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Why do good pups go bad?
I have never met a hunter that didn't think their pup was showing all the signs of being a champion. But then at about 9 months of age the dog hits independence and gets out of control, stops listening and begins chasing deer.
If we wait until a dog hits maturity (about 9 months) to start properly undertaking socialisation and exposure training then we will have a much harder job ahead of us to undo negative behaviours. It will also make it much harder to help the dog steady and point deer.
What do you need to teach a deer dog?
If you want your dog to find deer, lots of deer, and deer that you could never find yourself, you must allow the dog to develop its nose and air scenting skills through appropriate exposure conditioning training. The dog will not learn how to find deer through obedience training or the use of deer skins alone, it learns by exposure to manufactured hunting scenarios (even if you are not hunting, the dog still is).
A few basic obedience commands must be trained, but its nose will never fully develop if you continually stop the dog from exploring when it is young. Over-train a dog to stay too close to you and there is a good chance you will limit its nose to just smelling deer instead of smelling and then finding deer.
Does every dog need its own training plan?
YES, because all dogs and owners are different. For any training to work it needs to consider the individual dog and owner. The biggest mistake regarding this point is when training programs are very time consuming or difficult and people just cant stick to them because they are too busy or not skilled enough.
I recently finished a DeerPoint deer dog training program with 5 great hunters and their dogs. Every dog was different and needed a different approach to develop hunting teamwork and pointing steadiness on deer. This course also demonstrated that just hunting with your dog is not a recipe for success and that everyone thinks their pup is a star until it becomes a teenager and the trouble starts
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Can you train a deer dog if you do not know how to hunt?
No, because we as the hunter are responsible for most of the work to get the dog into a position where it can smell a deer.
If you are training a dog but you do not know how to hunt deer you are just training a dog to be well behaved. My DeerPoint training program is designed to train you how to hunt as well as how to train the dog.
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What dogs can I legally use to hunt sambar deer?
Bracco Italiano, Brittany Spaniel (Epagneul Breton), Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Clumber Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, Cocker Spaniel, (American) Curly Coated Retriever, English Setter English, Springer Spaniel, Field Spaniel, Flat Coated Retriever, German Shorthaired Pointer German, Wirehaired Pointer (Deutsch Drahthaar), Golden Retriever, Gordon Setter, Hungarian Vizsla, Hungarian Wirehair Vizsla, Irish Red and White Setter, Irish Setter, Irish Water Spaniel, Italian Spinone, Labrador Retriever, Lagotto Romagnolo, Large Munsterlander, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Pointer Sussex Spaniel, Weimaraner, Weimaraner (longhair), Welsh Springer Spaniel, Border Terrier, Dachshund, Finnish Spitz, Fox Terrier (smooth), Fox Terrier (wire), German Hunting Terrier (Jagd Terrier), Jack Russell Terrier, Norwegian Elkhound
What age should I start training a deer dog?
From 10 weeks, or as soon as possible if you already have the dog. A dog will never be more capable of learning and in fact learns how to learn what you want in its first year. Mistakes and successes made in the first year will largely determine the overall success of any deer dog.
If you have a young dog or are about to get one, contact me as early as you can so that you make the training process as effective and easy as possible by utilising the learning 'prime time' of a dogs life.
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What age is too late to start training a deer dog?
Unless a dog is unable to hunt anymore there is never a too late to work on your dogs performance. Plus any work you do on an older dog will be invaluable practice for your next dog.
The upside of working with an older dog is that a lot of its endurance is gone, so as long as its behavioural issues are not un-workable, all dog can be improved.
