How to train a squirrel dog

[Wes Ramsey]

I've got a super-smart yellow lab that I'd like to teach to squirrel hunt. I don't even know if labs are good for treeing, but I know she'd be good for bird - I just don't bird hunt :smack: How do you go about training a yard dog to be a squirrel dog? I'd be willing to pay someone to help me train, but I don't want to throw a LOT of money into this. Any suggestions?

http://www.hunt101.com/img/135305.JPG

[turkeyhunter]

Buy you a cur dog. :thumb: You will be wasting you time. You might get it to tree but that will not be a labs love. That dog is for the water.

[Arkansas Don]

I agree with TurkeyHunter, labs love is the water, my squirrel dog is a feists, otherwise know as "Rat Terrier", Jake my dog is a natural with little training in- volved. My buddy from Ashflat and I worked with Jake. You might want to look into Feists (rat terrier).
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/DonM1/th_100_0104.jpg (http://photobucket.com/albums/y19/DonM1/?current=100_0104.jpg&action=view)

[Ty-Bo67]

Give her a squirrel. Get her mad at it and wanna tear it apart. Drag one across the yard with her chasin it as someone holds her back to slow her down. Tie it in a tree and get her to tree.

[7magman]

Thats how Ty was taught to find the dinner table :thumb:

[Ty-Bo67]

I came by it naturally. :cool:

[Remington]

while i believe that labs probably wont make a die hard tree dog.....I believe it can be done.........Get her interested in the squirrels.......tease her with some squirrels....get around squirrels....play with her.......Be good if ya could go with some real tree dogs and let run with them.......She will be more difficult to learn to tree but it can be done....Anyone wanna guess what dog has the most developed characteristics of a tree dog at birth???? you would be suprised.......I have pen full of squirrel dogs here at the house.....Two Rat Terriers, Three Mountain Feists they all come by treeing naturally and are easier to train but any dog that likes to hunt will tree............By the way Don, Rat Terriers are not Feists, They are Terriers......Feists totally different breed all together

[oneshot]

Around here Rabbit and Squirrel Seasons run together.My Dogs love to run both.Got a Bird Feeder by the back yard,Squirrels were getting in it,thats what got them started,it would run they would watch it go through the trees.If my Jack Russell hears a Squirrel barking he will go find it.They use sight and smell.

Dang good Snake Dogs too,kill a Rattler in a heart beat :thumb:

oneshot