My new future chicken guard dog

They are not naturally inclined to hold point. They have a slight tendency for it but a lot of training would be required to get dog into a pointing mode rather than tracking and baying on a trail.

centrarchid said:

They are not naturally inclined to hold point. They have a slight tendency for it but a lot of training would be required to get dog into a pointing mode rather than tracking and baying on a trail.

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Wonders too, don't most 'bird dogs' have a 'soft' mouth for retrieving?
Not sure that is necessary for pheasant hunting.

Soft mouth when properly broken in. Hard mouth can be promoted and helps when dealing with raccoons and other small mammals. Soft vs hard mouth does not seem important when fox or coyote is targeted.

My dogs during early stages of problem phase would employ soft mouth one day and hard mouth next on birds. As adults hard mouth employed even against songbirds. I got lucky with owl last year where soft mouth used there otherwise would have had a dead owl.

aart said:

Wonders too, don't most 'bird dogs' have a 'soft' mouth for retrieving?
Not sure that is necessary for pheasant hunting.

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It is. We don't want the dog chewing up the bird when (or if) he retrieves it. Much more appealing to eat a pheasant that hasn't been munched on by the dog first.

Centrarchid - thanks for your insight. I really hadn't had any reason to research this breed since we were looking for a bird dog. We trusted the shelter we got him from, but it's too late to do anything about it now. We're attached. Don't know how much pheasant hunting we'll be doing this year. A hard winter and a late, cold, wet spring resulting in a poor hatch have really brought the numbers down.

ETA - Ruger did well today. We were gone for about 6 1/2 hours, he was in his kennel when we left. Somehow, even with "The Cone of Shame" on his head (had a procedure done at the vet last week - needed it on to keep from licking his incision) he managed to push the bottom of the kennel door out far enough to get out. I don't know how long he was out, just that he was sitting in the garage looking quite pleased with himself when we got home. After last month's massacre, I was wondering what I'd find down by the chicken coops. I found no dead birds, no dying birds, no injured birds. Everything was just as it should be. This does not mean that I fully trust him yet, but I do feel it's a step in the right direction.

Good Man, Ruger!!

aart said:

LOL maybe the cone kept him from catching anything? Hmmm.... Chicken Cone??

Thinking more...I can't believe he squeezed out of there with a cone on, how the heck did he do that!

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Hey, there's a thought! Oh, the torture - I can just imagine him thinking, "But they're so close! Can't quite... reach!" (I find the whole idea rather amusing.) I wish I could have seen how he got himself out of that gap. Honestly, I don't think it's even a foot wide. I'm almost tempted to put him back and and watch, just to see how he did it.

I have a 9 month old Walker Coon Hound that I rescued about 2 months ago. I also have a black Pom that I have had for a couple years. There is a good sized area fenced for the dogs and outside this area is where I let my 21 week old hens free range. Sometimes the hens jump the fence and the Coon Hound will corner them and pin them to the ground with her mouth but not hurting them. The first time she did this it just looked like she was mouthing them but not biting. Don't really know much about hunting dogs but just glad she doesn't hurt them. Just kind of holds them there until I pick them up. The hens are scared to death of course but forget and fly into their area time and again. LOL