Dog Hunting Tips
Many hunters entertain the idea that their prized hunting dog will never be a good hunting dog if he is allowed to step foot in the house. This notion is absurd. Modern hunters of today often miss out on the true companionship that their hunting dog can give to them in the other areas of their life and perhaps in the end, they suffer as much as the dog does from the lack of socialization with their hunting dog who can also be their companion and friend.
It took thousands of years for mankind and canines to develop a partnership. That partnership included the mutual ability to give each other aid and affection. It also built upon the canine’s natural watchdog and guarding capabilities and afforded both the human and the dog a sense of companionship and mutual trust. That togetherness also allowed for the dog to learn more and for the human to train the dog more.
Certainly in the early days of the settling of America the settlers who were lucky enough to have a dog did not dream of sticking him into a pen and leaving him there…the dog was a valuable part of their survival because it could do a great deal to protect the homestead besides being a warm body next to the fireside and helping the hunter to bring home the next meal.
Perhaps the basis of keeping the dog penned except during the hunt came from the traditions established by the nobility of Europe and England when large kennels were the norm for the landowner. Of course it was unfeasible to keep hundreds of dogs in the house. But there was never a time when the Lord of the Manor did not keep his favored hounds in his home with him. The large kennels did a great deal to establish good hunting lines and different breeds, for selective breeding could be more easily accomplished when there were large numbers to choose from for the matings. But the average hunter is not selectively breeding. He has no need at all to keep the dog penned up except during the hunting season.
Apparently there are hunters who believe that allowing a hunting dog to have the run of the house will ruin his nose, deflate his natural hunting instincts, make him fat and lazy and make him become somehow badly mannered and disobedient. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Firstly, the power of the dog’s nose to scent comes with it when it is born. The idea that letting him be in the house will help to destroy his scenting ability is ridiculous. Actually the ability to scent well and to discriminate scents is an inborn ability and increases exponentially as the dog learns to distinguish more and more scents, often many of them having nothing at all to do with hunting. It would seem that the more exposure the dog has to a myriad of scents of all kinds would be better than less exposure. Surely when indoor living is also combined with outdoor living there would be more scents involved!