I tend to agree with you. Nothing against guys who hunt with dogs.........heck, my dad did, and he loved his dogs and hunting with them. I do own a dog, but I don't hunt with her, she's a family dog and my time spent chasing grouse these days is limited, so I can't see training her to hunt grouse when she would not be able to go very much. It's interesting to see you say you have no problem shooting grouse and other game birds on the ground.........I don't either. I also hunt to eat, like you, and if I am quiet enough to sneak up on a grouse before it flushes, I will certainly take a shot (if I have a good shot). The bird dog guys are fine, they really get into their sport, as you say, and that's all good. It's just not for me. Most of my hunting time these days is spent archery hunting for whitetailed deer.......venison is my main wild game meat for the winter months, so I take my deer hunting very seriously!
I get it—Both the sense of adjacency and the need to explain it, especially when you’re an avid bird hunter.
I had two whippets back to back in 17 year runs, each as my only hawking dog for 13-14 years before their retirements. An uncommon breed in my sport but great in the field (where they found and flushed birds for my hawks, plus hunted solo for squirrel, rabbit and rats) and at home (where they were quiet, polite and mostly slept).
Both these dogs loved to hunt as much as I do. They understood it, knew everyone’s role; how, when and where to flush. They could read the bird, read the field, make good choices on their own.
My pleasure in hunting with them was not in being pack leader, because we had no leader. The three of us (hawk, dog and me) shared a mission. We all led from time to time while the others followed. Often the hawk and dog got the job done by themselves.
I’ve never felt in such good, copacetic company in the field as when I had these dogs, and that includes the company of my best, life-long friends.
As an unapologetic dog person, but also a person whose husband hunts without dogs and whose grandfather does, I found your article interesting and insightful. As much as I love dogs, I don't love all dog people, nor do I love all dogs. And while I can't intelligently comment on the amount of work that hunting dogs actually do, I will say I enjoy watching videos of hunting dogs doing their jobs, and listening to stories from friends who have them. I respect both sides.
I would identify as a “dog person” having had upward of ten dogs over the years and now again after a hiatus of quite a few years. I agree that if you stay disciplined you seldom need a dog to find game, at least in the circumstances in which I hunt. Even as a self confessed dog person I can also find the droning of other dog people about their dogs a tad too much although I’m likely the same 😊.
My experience is that you truly need a dog (again in my specific circumstances) maybe once or twice per season. In those situations though they can be a godsend.
I love my dog, am happy and proud when he does get to work (I didn’t make him good at what he does, good breeding did) but mostly he sits in the blind. In the few instances when I hunt over water I also need a dog because in those situations I’m very likely not wearing waders.
Here the law stipulates that a trained dog for the specific purpose has to be present when hunting and so in the years I’ve hunted without one I have hypothetically broken the law (hypothetically because irl interpretations have varied). If legislation didn’t force me I would consider not having one for similar reasons to yours with the exception that I’ve never had a truly hard mouthed dog.
In the end one of the things that hunting dog enthusiasts never talk about is how little their dogs actually work. 90% of the time any dog with few exceptions is a companion. I think one of the reasons that the hardcore hunting dog people are so taken up by it all is that something has to motivate and fill all that time the dog is not actually hunting or on the hunt. A well bred dog, unless you need it to perform very advanced work, seldom needs a lot of training and so that whole thing becomes about the owner rather than about the actual needs of the dog.
Thank you for this heart warming story! I had an incredible Golden Retriever for 18 golden years. My Golda helped me retrieve the dirty laundry in my kids bedrooms. It was hilarious to see her dragging jeans to the laundry room!
Great article Hank. I am on the dog owner side and really enjoy watching my lab Walter show off his hunting and retrieving skills to my dog adjacent hunting buddies. At the end of most hunting trips, it is Walter who gets all the thanks and praise and after some years of doing this I think my hunting buddies come out for the dog as much as anything else.
Knowing a person with a hunting dog is like knowing a person with a boat I'd imagine. You get all the benefits without the cost or maintenance! As the friend with the hunting dog, we recovered multiple roosters that would have NEVER been found on each of the last 3 pheasant hunts with dogless friends. That's punched our ticket back to phenomenal private land, a great symbiosis in my opinion!
I grew up around dogs, mostly rescue dogs but we had coon hounds when Dad was actively hunting raccoons at night and a beagle that was gifted to us by a friend. Well, it was a roundabout gifting but you get the idea. Tom was an active duck hunter and kept Frannie (Francis Anne Beagle was her real pedigreed name) for retrieving them for him. And for flushing out rabbits. Anyway, the Army Corps of Engineers moved him south to Pittsburgh and he couldn't take Frannie so he left her with his brother. 5 weeks later Tom's brother is in our front yard telling Dad that if he doesn't take Frannie off his hands, he'll have to shoot her. Dad says "Of course", then asks why he wants to get rid of her. The brother tells us, as he's dragging a snarling Frannie out of the back of his car, that she's too noisy and mean. And that is not the Frannie I played with between hunts at Tom's house. The Frannie I knew was a gentle dog unless ducks needed retrieved or rabbits were in the area. According to the brother Frannie wouldn't quit howling at night and supposedly attacked his wife, who wouldn't let a 'dirty dog' into the house. Well, that answered the question of why Frannie was howling all night; she had never lived outdoors and Tom had had a fenced in back yard. As for attacking the wife, we figured out later that she tried to shut Frannie up by beating her--and Frannie started going after her first every time she came with range. Meanwhile we had a dog we knew but didn't dare turn loose until she calmed down--only she wasn't going to calm down while she was on a chain. (This was one of the reasons Dad started building a dog pen--so he could take her off the chain.) She even attacked my Mother one morning when she called out "Hi Frannie!" on her way to work, tearing open her right hand. Dad demanded to know if Mom hit her, which she hadn't. Instead Mom scolded her and sent me out with Frannie's breakfast. Frannie did let me pet her after I set the food down that morning, which she hadn't been doing. That weekend, we grilled outside and Frannie started whimpering when she smelled the cooking meat. Dad sent my brother to get her and took Frannie onto his lap, feeding her a piece of meat. Frannie calmed down and he let her down to go sniffing all around--then she smelled a rabbit and took off after it. 15 minutes later she came back and flopped down at Dad's feet, dejected that she hadn't caught it. And we never had a problem with her after that. She broke a leg sliding in front of the mail truck when the roads were icy and 'exercised' all the local rabbits regularly when she wasn't barking at cars on the road but nothing that we couldn't live with. She disappeared one summer day, just didn't come home from chasing rabbits. A young hunter from the neighborhood brought us her collar late that fall; he'd found her in one of the fields back of our place and buried her where she laid. She had just turned 15. (Mom really missed her cuddle buddy until we got a tiny little 'minPin" (miniature Pincer) Dad called Killer.)
We don’t hunt but love hunting breeds, and have had some sort of Springer Spaniel in our home for over 15 years. Two of them had been born to be hunting companions but were gun shy, so they ended up in rescue and then in our home. I fostered one who flushed a bird out of a bush in the backyard, grabbed out of the air and brought it to me on the deck - that was a little much for me, but he was very proud!
Owning a dog, for hunting or for companionship, is ultimately being responsible for another living thing’s life and it’s 100% responsible to say, “Yeah, I don’t think it’s for me.” It’s a lot of work. The logistics when you travel, the cost, especially if you get a pure bred from a breeder. I’m on the Board of a dog rescue here in Atlanta and I’d rather hear stories like yours than from owners who put a dog in the shelter for not being a good hunter or whatever.
Hunting without a dog is like cooking without salt. It can be done, but the experience is just not as good.
Another advantage for you “dog adjacent” folks is missing out on a lifetime of vet bills similar to the national debt
I tend to agree with you. Nothing against guys who hunt with dogs.........heck, my dad did, and he loved his dogs and hunting with them. I do own a dog, but I don't hunt with her, she's a family dog and my time spent chasing grouse these days is limited, so I can't see training her to hunt grouse when she would not be able to go very much. It's interesting to see you say you have no problem shooting grouse and other game birds on the ground.........I don't either. I also hunt to eat, like you, and if I am quiet enough to sneak up on a grouse before it flushes, I will certainly take a shot (if I have a good shot). The bird dog guys are fine, they really get into their sport, as you say, and that's all good. It's just not for me. Most of my hunting time these days is spent archery hunting for whitetailed deer.......venison is my main wild game meat for the winter months, so I take my deer hunting very seriously!
I get it—Both the sense of adjacency and the need to explain it, especially when you’re an avid bird hunter.
I had two whippets back to back in 17 year runs, each as my only hawking dog for 13-14 years before their retirements. An uncommon breed in my sport but great in the field (where they found and flushed birds for my hawks, plus hunted solo for squirrel, rabbit and rats) and at home (where they were quiet, polite and mostly slept).
Both these dogs loved to hunt as much as I do. They understood it, knew everyone’s role; how, when and where to flush. They could read the bird, read the field, make good choices on their own.
My pleasure in hunting with them was not in being pack leader, because we had no leader. The three of us (hawk, dog and me) shared a mission. We all led from time to time while the others followed. Often the hawk and dog got the job done by themselves.
I’ve never felt in such good, copacetic company in the field as when I had these dogs, and that includes the company of my best, life-long friends.
As an unapologetic dog person, but also a person whose husband hunts without dogs and whose grandfather does, I found your article interesting and insightful. As much as I love dogs, I don't love all dog people, nor do I love all dogs. And while I can't intelligently comment on the amount of work that hunting dogs actually do, I will say I enjoy watching videos of hunting dogs doing their jobs, and listening to stories from friends who have them. I respect both sides.
I would identify as a “dog person” having had upward of ten dogs over the years and now again after a hiatus of quite a few years. I agree that if you stay disciplined you seldom need a dog to find game, at least in the circumstances in which I hunt. Even as a self confessed dog person I can also find the droning of other dog people about their dogs a tad too much although I’m likely the same 😊.
My experience is that you truly need a dog (again in my specific circumstances) maybe once or twice per season. In those situations though they can be a godsend.
I love my dog, am happy and proud when he does get to work (I didn’t make him good at what he does, good breeding did) but mostly he sits in the blind. In the few instances when I hunt over water I also need a dog because in those situations I’m very likely not wearing waders.
Here the law stipulates that a trained dog for the specific purpose has to be present when hunting and so in the years I’ve hunted without one I have hypothetically broken the law (hypothetically because irl interpretations have varied). If legislation didn’t force me I would consider not having one for similar reasons to yours with the exception that I’ve never had a truly hard mouthed dog.
In the end one of the things that hunting dog enthusiasts never talk about is how little their dogs actually work. 90% of the time any dog with few exceptions is a companion. I think one of the reasons that the hardcore hunting dog people are so taken up by it all is that something has to motivate and fill all that time the dog is not actually hunting or on the hunt. A well bred dog, unless you need it to perform very advanced work, seldom needs a lot of training and so that whole thing becomes about the owner rather than about the actual needs of the dog.
Thank you for this heart warming story! I had an incredible Golden Retriever for 18 golden years. My Golda helped me retrieve the dirty laundry in my kids bedrooms. It was hilarious to see her dragging jeans to the laundry room!
🤣🤣🤣
Great article Hank. I am on the dog owner side and really enjoy watching my lab Walter show off his hunting and retrieving skills to my dog adjacent hunting buddies. At the end of most hunting trips, it is Walter who gets all the thanks and praise and after some years of doing this I think my hunting buddies come out for the dog as much as anything else.
Thanks for this beautiful piece.
Knowing a person with a hunting dog is like knowing a person with a boat I'd imagine. You get all the benefits without the cost or maintenance! As the friend with the hunting dog, we recovered multiple roosters that would have NEVER been found on each of the last 3 pheasant hunts with dogless friends. That's punched our ticket back to phenomenal private land, a great symbiosis in my opinion!
I grew up around dogs, mostly rescue dogs but we had coon hounds when Dad was actively hunting raccoons at night and a beagle that was gifted to us by a friend. Well, it was a roundabout gifting but you get the idea. Tom was an active duck hunter and kept Frannie (Francis Anne Beagle was her real pedigreed name) for retrieving them for him. And for flushing out rabbits. Anyway, the Army Corps of Engineers moved him south to Pittsburgh and he couldn't take Frannie so he left her with his brother. 5 weeks later Tom's brother is in our front yard telling Dad that if he doesn't take Frannie off his hands, he'll have to shoot her. Dad says "Of course", then asks why he wants to get rid of her. The brother tells us, as he's dragging a snarling Frannie out of the back of his car, that she's too noisy and mean. And that is not the Frannie I played with between hunts at Tom's house. The Frannie I knew was a gentle dog unless ducks needed retrieved or rabbits were in the area. According to the brother Frannie wouldn't quit howling at night and supposedly attacked his wife, who wouldn't let a 'dirty dog' into the house. Well, that answered the question of why Frannie was howling all night; she had never lived outdoors and Tom had had a fenced in back yard. As for attacking the wife, we figured out later that she tried to shut Frannie up by beating her--and Frannie started going after her first every time she came with range. Meanwhile we had a dog we knew but didn't dare turn loose until she calmed down--only she wasn't going to calm down while she was on a chain. (This was one of the reasons Dad started building a dog pen--so he could take her off the chain.) She even attacked my Mother one morning when she called out "Hi Frannie!" on her way to work, tearing open her right hand. Dad demanded to know if Mom hit her, which she hadn't. Instead Mom scolded her and sent me out with Frannie's breakfast. Frannie did let me pet her after I set the food down that morning, which she hadn't been doing. That weekend, we grilled outside and Frannie started whimpering when she smelled the cooking meat. Dad sent my brother to get her and took Frannie onto his lap, feeding her a piece of meat. Frannie calmed down and he let her down to go sniffing all around--then she smelled a rabbit and took off after it. 15 minutes later she came back and flopped down at Dad's feet, dejected that she hadn't caught it. And we never had a problem with her after that. She broke a leg sliding in front of the mail truck when the roads were icy and 'exercised' all the local rabbits regularly when she wasn't barking at cars on the road but nothing that we couldn't live with. She disappeared one summer day, just didn't come home from chasing rabbits. A young hunter from the neighborhood brought us her collar late that fall; he'd found her in one of the fields back of our place and buried her where she laid. She had just turned 15. (Mom really missed her cuddle buddy until we got a tiny little 'minPin" (miniature Pincer) Dad called Killer.)
We don’t hunt but love hunting breeds, and have had some sort of Springer Spaniel in our home for over 15 years. Two of them had been born to be hunting companions but were gun shy, so they ended up in rescue and then in our home. I fostered one who flushed a bird out of a bush in the backyard, grabbed out of the air and brought it to me on the deck - that was a little much for me, but he was very proud!
Owning a dog, for hunting or for companionship, is ultimately being responsible for another living thing’s life and it’s 100% responsible to say, “Yeah, I don’t think it’s for me.” It’s a lot of work. The logistics when you travel, the cost, especially if you get a pure bred from a breeder. I’m on the Board of a dog rescue here in Atlanta and I’d rather hear stories like yours than from owners who put a dog in the shelter for not being a good hunter or whatever.