[danalama20]

I have been walking my dog through the woods,and I will stop for a minute and then get going alittle farther,but when I stop, she stops.She is 8-9months old.I am trying to just keep her in the woods as much as possible to learn how to squirrel hunt.My question is right now should I just be going on a leisure walk,should I be slippin through the woods,or walk a little while and stop and sit down stay a little while and then get up and go again?I appreciate any input you squirrel dog trainers can give!

 

[Mt Curr]

I have been walking my dog through the woods,and I will stop for a minute and then get going alittle farther,but when I stop, she stops.She is 8-9months old.I am trying to just keep her in the woods as much as possible to learn how to squirrel hunt.My question is right now should I just be going on a leisure walk,should I be slippin through the woods,or walk a little while and stop and sit down stay a little while and then get up and go again?I appreciate any input you squirrel dog trainers can give!

Take the pup as much as you can to the woods. One of the most important things I found out about Squirrel dogs is it won't happen over night. She will learn in time some take longer than others. If you can catch a squirrel in a trap this will help her to know what she is out there for.

 

[danalama20]

i have no problem with taking her to the woods,i just want to know if im doing it right.should i stay moving,or should i slip through the woods,or sit down every so often?i guess there may not be a set way of doing this ,or is there in these early stages?:smack:

 

[wildgameassassin]

Either way it don't matter as long as your dog is in the woods, one of the main things to remember is don't shoot a squirrel unless your dog barks, you got to get your mind right when hunting pups, do you want to train your dog or kill squirrels cause you can't do both. Check out these 2 websites these guys know a whole lot more about dogs than me.

Kemmerhaters.net and Squirrelshaters.net

 

[danalama20]

thanks wildgameassassin,i will definitely check those sights out.i am just real stupid about this dog training stuff and can use all the help i can get and this site has helped out a bunch.

 

[ramill]

It's not going to matter which way you move through the woods right now because your pup is not really intent on finding game yet. More than anything else she is learning the woods and how to navigate them. She is learning what all the sights, smells and sounds are and how to tell what each one is and means. The important thing is to keep her in the woods where she can start to sort all these things out for herself. Once that switch clicks on in her head the squirrels will begin to draw her attention and you will see her change. Once she starts really hunting and working tracks then you will want to spend more time actually hunting. With a pup yours' age I normally will take just slow walks through the woods keeping quiet (not talking or cracking sticks) and let the dog enjoy herself. He stoping when you stop is completely normal, it is just a sign of immaturity and she will stop doing that once she starts hunting out and treeing. I myeself will tend to stop a while and let the dog mill around my feet. Once it starts to move off I'll go ahead and move out. I don't like a dog that will run back to me every time I stop or whine at me wanting me to move out instead of the dog doing the hunting. Making the pup move out when young will help with that. If the pup never sees you stop in the woods then she WILL tend to come back to you when you do stop. If she is use to you stopping every little bit (if only for a minute or so - I like to keep them brief) then she will eventually begin to ignore it. The most important thing is to keep her in the woods and let her learn. Once she starts treeing I don't think you will have a problem with her coming back and staring at you when you stop!:up:
Remember that you are out there to have fun so try and keep that in mind and don't get too stressed when she isn't doing what every one elses dogs are doing (or what people say they are doing). Let your dog be herself and let her impress you and not every one else. That was a VERY hard lesson for me to learn and after 5 years of trying to please every one else I have found out that I have more fun since deciding my dogs only have to please me and no one else.




Rachel

 

[danalama20]

ramill thanks for the info i really appreciate it.this is going to be fun, i have been seeing improvements with her and your info will greatly help!:thumb:

 

[possum]

The important thing is to keep her in the woods where she can start to sort all these things out for herself. Once that switch clicks on in her head the squirrels will begin to draw her attention and you will see her change.

And that switch will click, trust me. I'm just experiencing that light coming on myself and it's a wonderful feeling hearing and seeing that pup open up on a tree. :thumb: