3/24/2024 0 Comments Sure cuts a lot 2![]() ![]() “I try to set my pups up where they will always hit squirrel track and in smaller timber where they have a chance to see the squirrel,” says Franklin. It may sound simplistic, but for Franklin, that means starting out in small patches of forest where there are a lot of squirrels. When you decide it’s time to introduce your dog to wild squirrels, you’ll want to make things as easy as possible. Providing prospective squirrel dogs with access to bushytails is perhaps the most important part of training. Sometimes Franklin uses a live squirrel in a cage trap, and he always places these squirrels in trees so the dogs get accustomed to looking up. These first “treed” barks are rewarded, and this builds the foundation for more complex training. After tying the squirrel tail in a tree, Franklin asks the dog to speak. Unlike hounds and bird dogs, which operate almost entirely off scent, squirrel dogs need to master hunting with their nose and eyes. This teaches them to follow their prey instincts and helps them become familiar with the scent of squirrels, but it is also a visual training method. Besides the basic sit, stay, and come commands, Franklin wants his young dogs to lead and to speak (this will become important later), and he says they need to be comfortable being leashed.įranklin starts his young dogs with a squirrel tail tied to a pole. ![]() Primarily, this work serves to make your dog follow your commands in the woods, but training in the basic commands also teaches you and your dog to work together as a team, an often-overlooked benefit of basic yard work. Ideally, this occurs when your dog is young, he says, but even if your canine companion is up in years, this is the building block from which to start his hunting education. So give your four-legged companion a crash course to see if he has what it takes.įranklin notes that all training begins here. These won’t work with every pooch, but squirrel hunting over dogs is inexpensive and exciting, and it’s a great way to introduce kids to the sport. Many breeds of dog (and plenty of mongrels, for that matter) have the keen intelligence and prey drive required to make a master squirrel hunter.įranklin offered up some key training tips that have helped him achieve such success. Over the years, I’ve known hunters who pursued bushytails with all manner of canines, from border collies to bluetick coonhounds. But your dog doesn’t have to come from such a bloodline to make a crackerjack squirrel dog. His mountain curs have amassed an incredible 26 world championships in squirrel, coon, and bench show competitions, and the dogs he is hunting with now are the third and fourth generation born on his Ohio farm. It’s hard to argue with Allen Franklin’s résumé as a squirrel-dog trainer. A mountain cur barks "treed" on a frost-bitten Ohio field edge. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |