That Dog Will Hunt (No, Really!)
It’s easy to forget in this era of purse pups, but…
The story of the relationship between Man and Dog is a tale that predates agriculture. Nobody knows exactly when it happened, because it happened before written language, but at some point Homo sapiens sapiens made common cause with the precursors to today’s modern dog breeds…and that common cause was hunting. In the 21st century, the majority of American dog owners keep their dogs as family pets, and many don’t understand how their dog’s history as a hunter affects their behavior even today. So here are three dogs that will hunt—yes, really.
Standard Poodle
You hear the word “poodle,” and the mental image that arises is probably a pampered, overgroomed little fluffball. But the standard poodle—as opposed to the smaller miniature and toy poodles—is actually a fairly large dog that weighs in at around 50 pounds, often more. They were originally bred as retrievers assisting with both waterfowl and upland bird hunting. They’re highly intelligent dogs, and over the centuries have been trained to perform other hunting tasks, like driving deer. So many modern owners don’t realize that this breed requires a lot of exercise and stimulation to keep it from growing bored and anxious.
Dachshund
Have you ever noticed that, for such an adorable breed, dachshunds can be remarkably aggressive? They may not have much height, but they will bite the everloving Hell out of a ankle. And that’s not a bug—it’s a feature. Dachshunds were originally bred to hunt badgers, which, like all mustelids, are basically about 50 pounds of attitude shoved in a 10-pound bag. The dachshund’s job was to crawl right into the badger’s den (hence the little wiener shape to their bodies), grab hold with their jaws, and then drag the struggling badger back out again. So, many modern owners don’t understand why their doxie can be so aggressive with other animals…even much larger ones.
Beagle
Although you’d think that the existence of a certain Disney movie would help modern dog owners understand that beagles are hunting dogs, but it seems that if that information has sunk in, it hasn’t translated to what that means. And what it means is that many folks who own one and rent an apartment have neighbors praying for the day their lease ends. Beagles are smaller dogs, so people tend to think they’ll do well in small spaces—but nothing could be further from the truth. They were originally bred to chase game for miles and miles with hunters on horseback, so they’ve got tremendous amounts of energy packed into their little bodies. They require frequent, vigorous exercise to keep them from becoming anxious…and when a beagle gets anxious, all your neighbors are going to get anxious, too. That loud, ululating, persistent baying is quite useful to a hunter keeping up with a chase through a forest. Not so much for maintaining friendly neighborhood relationships.
None of the above means that these dogs can’t make terrific pets, of course. It’s just by way of saying that some overlooked hunting breeds need extra care and attention from their owners if they won’t be joining you in the field. But if they are, then congratulations on accepting the true beauty of man’s ancient partnership with our oldest (and still best) friend.
early on the Poodle was bred in Germany for hunting, they were prized as retrievers, but owners disliked the way there coats carried everything back to the blind with them . So they started clipping there coats short, this left them highly susceptible to pneumonia. so the German breeders sold the rights to the French who found if you left the chest and rump long, clipped the rest short that they would be fine. Therefore creating one of the greatest retrievers of the time.
back in the early 1980’s i lived so far back in the sticks you needed a flashlight at noon, no it was actually 10 miles back on a forest service road where my nearest neighbor was 5 miles away. this was off hwy 7 in ouichata mountains of arkansas.
my neighbor had a dash hound that would run deer along with the redbone hound and rodesian ridgeback. of course the dash hound was behind the other dogs, you could always hear his barks and bays as he was on the deers trail!
in brushy mountain woods you need to run the deer out to a trail or clearing or you almost never see them.
almost any dog can be trained to hunt.
my first pheasant i ever ate was caught as it flew up as my 1970 bronco drove through a field, my artic wolf / german shepard cross hybrid dog caught the pheasant in its mouth by jumping, and gave it to me with no effort on my part. this was in minnesota in late 1980’s i lived near Gabe Davidson of Davidsons Fur Farm who raised some Artic Wolves to bread with other canines!!
You forgot to mention Dachshunds were also used to hunt foxes and wild boars..
Our family poodle was the smartest, most easily trained dog I ever knew, and I’ve known many. We never took him hunting, dreading the thought of picking burrs out of the fine thick coat, but he pointed robins and song birds in the backyard, the most beautiful bird dog point you’ve ever seen.
First – our author needs to read up on badgers. A badger can and often does exceed 50 pounds in weight. “50 pounds of attitude in a 10 pound body” is a description of a short-haired mini-dachshund.
Second – I’ve fostered and adopted over 30 of those little warriors across the last 18 years. They are full of affection for their human family, but they can be a fierce little opponent. They are champions at heart. The long-hair do Xmas es tend to be as sweet as retrievers. But be warned: they are all like potato chips- you can’t have just one!
That was supposed to read “the long-hair doxxies tend….” Sorry. iPhone autocorrect.
One of our Doxies is an amazing hunter with 4 birds (3 sparrows & 1 pigeon) and a field mouse to her credit. She will sit in the back yard on watch scanning for targets. When a bird lands, she will sit perfectly still then will start quivering. More like a cat than a dog she will ever so slowly start inching to the bird. Then BAM she pounces. Also at night before bed, she will “patrol the fence” making several laps around the yard in search of lizards. Doxies are fantastic family dogs. Strangers and other animals beware.
I had Dachshunds growing up. When I started rabbit hunting with my single shot 22 my dog came with me. She was definitely a hunter, would get on a scent and follow up till she flushed something. Great dogs. My current breed is Scottish Terriers and they share the same traits. Also bred to go underground after badger and they will also track and flush rabbits and birds.
My first dog was a Beagle, named Lucky. Although he was small, maybe 10″ at the shoulder, he ruled the neighborhood where we lived. And, this dog was smart. He watched me climb up a plank privacy fence, by shinnying up the planks of wood, and after that, there was no keeping him in the yard, even though the fence was 6′ tall. Man, I loved that dog, and it broke my heart when my dad got rid of him. Seems Lucky got to the General’s prize winning poodle, when we lived on base, and, well, I bet those were some good pups, too…
I don’t know where they rank now, but back in the mid 1980s’ Dachshunds rank as the #1 reason for hospital visits due to dog bites in the U.S. Happy, confident dogs don’t bite people. Get your dogs outside, exercise them until they are tired (a tired dog is a happy dog) and socialize them. The dog will be happy, you will be happy, EVERYBODY will be happy..
I found that the Grey Wolf is an excellent hunting canine although fighting him for the game I shoot has proved somewhat difficult!
Just kidding?
Doxies prove Eisenhower’s axiom: “Its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
I have a beagle and someone else that definitely should be on the list the regal Bassett hound! The beagle is a great listener and probably one of the most loving dogs I’ve ever had. The Bassett is more of the” I’ll do it my way” fellow. Takes his time when called and the harder you try the slower he gets. Some owners would despise this but when he comes up to give me a slobbery face bath I know he really loves me and HE has decided to do it and no one had told him to. I definitely would not be as happy with life without them!