Rabbit/squirrel dog

GA DAWG

Senior Member
Sq. hunting is actually kinda tough. There's a lot of little pieces to the puzzle. If the dog doesn't do one, it isn't going to make a sq. dog. As this will be a pet you're not going to be able to cull, consider pet quality. We have a pet here that would be a jam up sq. feist, but it won't bark treed after you kill a couple sq. Once it figures out the sq. are going in the bag, it refuses to share the tree.

It'd be a good idea to attend some comp. hunts (check UKC, NKC web sites) or hunt with folks who have different types before you settle on one.

Here's the brief version of training a sq. dog:

Be careful with loud noises up to about nine months. They go through stages where they are more impressionable about being made to fear things. Introduce gun fire slowly. A gun shy dog is an automatic cull.

After six to nine months of age, take to sq. woods where there are not deer hunters nearby at least three times per week. Keep sessions short, half an hour is good.

Heel the dog in to the hunt area. Cast it.

Don't shoot anything out unless the pup barks up. On the first few, even a squeak counts. As it makes more trees, require more barking. Once I start hunting a pup, it gets no attention in the woods unless it does what I want. Then I love up on it big time.

After a successful tree or three, start tying the dog at or right by the tree to teach it to stick to the tree to get the sq. out.

After the sq. is out and you loved up on it to beat the bad, heel the dog at least fifty yards away and cast it again. This teaches it to no go back to the old tree.

Some of these dogs get attached and will only hunt for their master. This is probably going to be 'your' dog, not hers. Good luck! It is a lot of work, but it is very entertaining.

And there's nothing wrong with saving time and money by buying a finished dog. Just make sure you hunt with it and see it will do what you want before buying.
This a male or female you have? I need a female.
 

delacroix

BANNED
Sorry, but I culled the pup making parts when it didn't turn out. I keep it around to make sure the delivery truck drivers are on their toes.
 

AVS23

Member
I’ll look up swamp creek.
I took some advice from dbender.
I went the other day and looked at some 4mtnh old pups but they were skittish. Couldn’t get a hold of one kept running around hiding. Showed no interests in Me and really didn’t like my daughter. Needles to say they didn’t seem like a good dog so i passed on them.
For a lack of a better word the pups didn’t seem intelligent. If that makes any sense.
 
This year my oldest daughter has turned six and has become a pretty good shot with her 22 rascal. I took her bow hunting two weekends ago and while she enjoyed it, she enjoyed squirrel hunting a lot more.
It was a bit frustrating with leaves on the trees, but she enjoyed the walking, looking, and getting to hear the barks and sounds. So fast forward a little and she has discovered that dogs can be trained to trees squirrel so she has put in a request for a squirrel dog and a rabbit dog (she proclaims she will be a vet when she grows up), only problem is I don’t know anyone who has either and everyone I have asked doesn’t know either. Can anyone point me in the direction of a good breeder/trainer where I can purchase either or both? I’m in the habersham county area of northeast Georgia.

I appreciate it, thanks.
 
give me a call i might have something you might be interested in i live over in chatsworth georgia my cell is 706-264-1257...GOD BLESS... later bob
 

fastball_24

Member
I have a friend that raised Feist for Squirrel hunting he has both the mail and female on site and will definitely show you what the dog is capable of doing. I know he has had several litter of puppies he has sold and some he started training and then sold. We are located in SE GA so if you have trouble finding anything in your area let me know. I don't think he has any puppies right now on the ground. I have to say for the young girl squirrel hunting is the way to go. A lot of fun watching dog work and getting to shoot some squirrels.
 

rwh

Senior Member
a good squirrel dog doesn't need to be trained to tree, it will do it on it's own with enough time in the woods. there are plenty of people in georgia with good feist and curs. if you're looking for a good dog for a kid you don't need to worry about getting a "powerhouse". it's like any other sport there are competitions. if you can find a riverun feist you should get a dog that's smart and will tree squirrel before it's a year old without all the caged game, hang up, drags and squirrel tubes that people use. there's always a chance of a dud with any line or breed but i've had better luck buying pups. if anybody is going to mess up my dog it's going to be me. good luck
 

rwh

Senior Member
there are plenty of good pups available through Facebook or squirrel dog central. there will be plenty of junk too but 90 percent isn't fair at all. this guy isn't looking for cool whip, he just needs a meat dog his daughter can shoot some squirrel out to. i'm not a breeder but i do make a cross now and then. i've got a male pup right now that i think is going to make a much better than average squirrel dog that i'm giving to a man in south alabama. it's not all about the money for some people.
 

cornboy

Senior Member
I would probably go with a fiest or mountain cur pup . Those are two breeds that have a good success rate at making nice squirrel dogs . Personally i would get a small pup between now and april , she can play with the pup all summer and by next season it will be ready to start hunting
 
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