Hi, I’m a keen archer and have been for many years now, being 17 and having a dad more into fishing than hunting i haven’t been able to go out yet but have a few mates who are interested and will do so ASAP. However, recently when talking to my grandad, we stuck up conversation about it and he was telling me of when he used to go out with his dogs and some mates. This has got me excited about the possibility of taking my dog out wild pig hunting with me.. I got her for my 17th birthday (last december) and she is a 9 month old German Shepherd X Alaskan Malamute. She pretty much looks like a black wolf and isnt what i’d call a small dog even at 9 months.
What i was wondering though, was:
1) What would I have to train her to do, and how would I go about it?
2) What is the usefulness of a dog while hunting pigs with a Compound Bow?
and
3) Is there any type of quality in the alaskan malamute or german shepherd breeding that would play to an advantage while bow hunting?
(i was thinking maybe tracking because she looks like a black wolf, very rarely barks, and prefers to howl so i assume there is a fairly large chunk of wolf in her blood)
My grandad was unable to help as he had a pair of golden retrievers to bring back the ducks from the water that he shot with a rifle.
PS: Will more than likely get a 2nd dog when I move out, probably Rottweiler or Doberman, info on the training and breed advantages also appreciated
Tags: Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, Wolf
There are several websites out there that will describe how to train the dog. However, be aware that wild pigs are dangerous animals, and if you decide to do this, you will have to accept that your dog can be seriously injured or killed in the hunt.
We don’t have wild hogs where I live, but I do know a bit about hunting dogs so I’ll give you all the information I know –
Hog hunting is pretty dangerous – a lot of dogs get killed while doing it. If I recall correctly, the point of hog hunting with dogs is baiting rather than tracking.
Any dog can track. Scent hounds are better at tracking than other breeds. Labs and German Shepherds are also relatively very good at tracking – whether because of the quality of their noses or their high level of trainability, not sure – but no breed is as good at tracking as the Basset Hound, Bloodhound, Beagle, etc. (Though these breeds probably wouldn’t be apt for defending themselves against a wild hog.)
All dogs are basically wolves, except that they are domesticated through centuries of breeding. There’s no such thing as a dog that is “closer to wolfhood” than another. They’re the same species, dogs and wolves – canis lupis. They differ by the subspecies.
Even if that were true, wolves aren’t good for hunting in tandem with humans like hunting dogs are. Hunting dogs fulfill different functions to AID the hunter, and a wolf is not as good at tracking as a Basset Hound is – it’s just that the Basset Hound needs to be trained to track FOR HUMANS, while a wolf can’t be trained to do a job for humans (or at least, not as easily), but does so naturally for food for itself. The Basset Hound is great at tracking because it was bred for that particular function, like Retrievers for retrieving and Mastiffs for baiting/fighting. Wolves can track, too, as well as fulfill most of the functions that the various dog breeds were bred for, but the difference is that dogs were isolated for a particular trait and breeds were developed to fulfill it.
You probably ought to talk to a reputable breeder of hunting dogs to get more info.
Ok, I’m sure ANY dog technially could be used for hunting, but the breeds you are listing strike me as odd for what you want them for. What about a coonhound??? Those are excellent for what you are wanting to do!
It is specifically a coonhound forum, BUT you can ask them your hunting questions and they will more than likely have the answers you are looking for.
Not sure where you live….firstly, make sure it’s legal to hunt pigs with a bow & with using dogs to run them down, where you live. Legal in many places, but always good to make sure.
The type of dog you have is not typical of dogs traditionally used for feral pigs and/or wild boar. Pig/boar hunters typically hunt with packs of dogs- usually one of a faster, lighter hunting type for trailing & two or three of a muscular, tenacious “bully” type who are fierce enough to corner the pig & hold it at bay until you arrive to shoot it. This is basically how pig hunting is carried out where I used to live although occasionally I’d heard of dogs who’d end up killing the pig before the hunter arrived with the gun.
Much of what’s involved when holding the hog “at bay” is simply learned by the dog- the dog needs enough instinct to avoid being killed the first time & simply learns from there. Feral/wild boars are an insanely fierce animal when cornered and it takes one h*ll of a dog to know how to fight one without getting gutted. That’s why people tend to use dogs who were specifically bred for the task- a pig will kill an “average” dog. Many pig dogs do have very short lives as it is. Where I lived in the southern US, and from reading about pig hunters in New Zealand, it seems crossbred varities based on Pit Bulls & other bulldogs are most commonly used for pig hunting.
Here is a site based on pig hunting in NZ with a lot of good info. Much of the breed & training advice is universal to any part of the world:
Either way, GSD & Malamute aren’t hunting breeds- you’d have to find a way to test her drive & ability to see if she’d make a decent trailing dog….as that’s about the *only* task I’d consider her for if pig hunting. You’d want to find friends with true pig dogs & go out together. Even if she is a “big” dog, it won’t necessarily translate into ability to effectively fight a boar. Working pig dogs are usually short, stocky, agile and have the “attitude” to fight to the death.
And if your dog did have wolf blood (not something you can be sure of- it’s a Malamute trait to rarely bark & howl a lot)….being part wild animal would likely have the *opposite* effect when asking her to hunt with you. Wolves & hybrids are not biddable creatures who enjoy working “for” humans the way a dog does. Quite likely your dog is 100% domestic dog- and this will work out better for you in terms of any ability she may have.
I don’t know much about bowhunting so I don’t know where it would be an advantage or a disadvantage when pig hunting with dogs. I would see if you can find serious hog hunters in your area & see if you can tag along on a hunt & see how it’s done. You’ll be able to ask more questions and determine if it’s something you want to try….or something you want to work towards when you’re older & can get a hog dog.
Hope none of this discourages you, you have a lot of time ahead of you & can make it happen sooner or later
I’m around pig dogs an awful lot. It’s extremely popular where I live. I’m sorry but your dog would not make a good pig dog at all.
What you have to understand about pig dogs is that they are not pets. Taking your pet pig hunting is a big mistake and very stressful. The dogs that do it are born and bred to do it. They grow up doing it their whole life. They are hunted in packs with experienced pig dogs so they can learn the ropes. They are hunted in packs because a single dog can’t take on a fully grown boar. They couldn’t even properly bay up a pig unless they got it in the perfect spot where there was cliffs surrounding the pig on 3 sides.
Even then the dog would be screwed since a boar will have no qualms at all about taking on a single dog. Pig dogs are kept safer by numbers since they are less inclined to single one and have a go at it and even still they get injured.
Being big is not an advantage for a pig dog. Actually it’s a disadvantage as they can’t maneuver as quickly. If you get a chance to see some working dogs you’ll see that they are about half the size of your dog and just tough as nails. Boar are very quick and don’t take this the wrong way as I’m sure your dog is very tough and strong but they could take a dog like yours apart in a second.
There’s two types of pig dogs, bay dogs and catch dogs. Bay dogs find and track the pigs until they can get it stopped. The catch dog (usually part pit or bull terrier) is sent in with a special guard to protect it’s neck to grab the pig by the ear and hold it and gets right up beside the pig and the pig is then dispatched. For people reading this that are not hunters, I know it sounds gruesome but pigs are a massive environmental problem and there is no more humane way to do it effectively. Unless you’ve hunted them you’ll just have to take my word for it.
The kind of hunting you want to do a catch dog is obviously not necessary. Even if your dog was successful in baying a pig and at least initially, dodging it’s tusks, would you be able to shoot a pig with your bow quickly and effectively at a pig that’s trying to have a go at your dog? You’ve got a pretty high chance of hitting the dog and an extremely high chance of missing all together. Then you’ve got to knock a new arrow and try again, the whole time your dog is trying to deal with a pissed off boar that’s doing everything it can to take you and your dog out. Pretty much all the pig hunters I know with dogs wouldn’t even dream of letting you try and arrow a pig their dogs have bayed and those are experienced dogs. Trying it with your own will be disastrous.
If you love your dog or even like it don’t let it take on pigs. I have a dog with a litter mate that is an accomplished pig dog but I’ll never take mine after pigs and I’ll never raise pig dogs because I can’t raise a dog and put it in that kind of danger. For people around here it’s a way of life and a necessary one as pigs would be destroying the countryside if they didn’t do something about it.
I’ve been out with dogs and I’ll tell you I prefer to hunt other ways. They aren’t even my dogs and the whole time I’m just worried about one of them getting hurt.
So there’s my response to #1
For #2, she could actually be fairly useful as a blood trailer. Basically you teach them to track blood trails and if you have one that you can’t find she helps you find it. It’s also very useful for anything else you bow hunt and let me tell you, when a buddy shoots a deer and takes all night and all morning trying to find it then calls you and your dog finds the deer within 5 minutes, it’s pretty funny. It’s also just responsible hunting as everything that is killed should be found and utilized. The one thing to be sure of with pigs is that you wait a real long time before you start and keep her leashed when trailing because if she comes on a wounded pig, it’s game on.
For 3, yes german shepherds can track but it only makes them useful for blood trailing. Trying to track a pig with a non baying dog is asking to get a tusk in both you and your dog as they frequently double back on their own trail and live in thick brush so your very likely to come on them unexpectedly. As it is, anytime you’re out going after pigs you should have a firearm, you just can’t knock an arrow, draw, and shoot before the pig is on you.
I would recommend you try baiting or spot and stalk depending on your area and the laws. Unless pigs are native though, which they rarely are, you can usually bait or do whatever.
Regarding other breeds, neither of them will be appropriate for any kind of hunting. They may blood trail but they aren’t an ideal choice by any means. What you get will be dependent on what you want to hunt. Pigs aren’t it though as even two dogs won’t work either.
I would get a different dog. You need alot more of a “gamedog.” My friend recently returned from a trip to SC and out the 10 pitbulls in armor they lost 4 of the on 6 hogs. They used the pits to track and bay. Ive had luck using plott hounds or curs to track and bay with the pits leashed until you get there on the few times Ive gone. We used the same method for bear. If you are going to use a dog to hunt the dog needs to be able to hold its ground if not hold the pig down in groups. I wouldn’t use a bow if you are going to use dogs for the chance of hitting one of them. A knife was the method used once the pig was held. The best thing for hunting with dogs is simple. Get a well bred dog. It will cost some money but the training will be so much easier, the drive is genetic and the dog will take right to it. You may even look into a few nice crosses such as pit/cur pit/hound (yes I am a bit biased). Basically get with some serious hunters and talk to them about obtaining a dog. Leave your shepherd at home because the hog will come at her hard and you don’t want to see her get injured and run off. Hope this helped, best of luck to you.
To be honest training a dog to flush is what you want to do, for hunting, German Shepperd’s are more like herding dogs, and will be more of chasing your prey then flushing it. More over just because your dog may look like a wolf to you, more then 5% in her blood, you wouldn’t be able to handle this dog up to this point. So be realistic here. You can not go by the color of the dogs coat.
Doberman and Rottweilers are not the best breed for flushing out game.
Having your dog so dark in color isn’t the ideal color for a flushing dog, so your going to have to make sure your dog has a hunting back pack in bright colors so you don’t shoot your own dog.
That being said its not easy to train a dog for any type of hunting, most people pay professional trainers for this type of work.