Scent hounds spooking game...?

[Conch]

I just purchased my pup and I am wondering how many trophy animals I'm going to have to watch run away because of him...Couple questions:

Do they spook animals while walking with you?
Do they spook animals while laying down/staying?
Do they spook animals while tracking?
If so, does this get better as the dog progresses?
If so, what are your guys' best methods of sustaining successful hunts with your dog alongside you?

The idea of having him with me while hunting is great, but I'm not going to be too fond of losing out on once in a lifetime animals because he's a meathead...haha

Thanks for your time!

[wombatvvv]

I have exactly the same questions. I suspect at-least the answers to 1,3 and 4 are all "yes". Not sure about the others. Although I guess when he/she is laying down (2) it's the equivalent of you going prone.

However, I too would like to hear some answers from someone who actually knows what they're talking about.

I was also curious about the smell of the dog. They do smell pretty strong. Stronger than a person in my estimation. How much of an effect does the dog have when hunting smell-sensitive animals I wonder?

[Hawkeye]

I have exactly the same questions. I suspect at-least the answers to 1,3 and 4 are all "yes". Not sure about the others. Although I guess when he/she is laying down (2) it's the equivalent of you going prone.

However, I too would like to hear some answers from someone who actually knows what they're talking about.

I was also curious about the smell of the dog. They do smell pretty strong. Stronger than a person in my estimation. How much of an effect does the dog have when hunting smell-sensitive animals I wonder?

I'll do my best to answer these. My dog smells great though. You guys must be using smellovision on your monitors down there.

Do they spook animals while walking with you? Definitely, almost always. Crouching is better...crouching & equipping your dog with the appropriate camo vest is even better. But they'll still spook stuff.

Do they spook animals while laying down/staying? I don't find my dog spooking anything while he's in the Stay command. There is some discussion that turkeys are still spooking at 20m, but I've never seen that setup and can't speak to it. Any time I'm hunting with Roscoe, he gets the Stay command every time I stop, and I make a habit of glassing before I move along. If I'm in a Stand, he gets the Stay command around 30m away from the Stand. One number to remember is 75. That's how many meters he will stay away from you after you've told him to Stay. If you get further than that, he'll get up and come after you and now he's spooking again.

Do they spook animals while tracking? A lot can happen here...if you have a poorly wounded animal that likely won't bleed out, Roscoe will spook him, then run him all way off the Huntermate before he runs back to me with a confused look. I've seen him track wounded moose that just stand there and he looks up at them...shoot the moose & the dog starts barking like he's some kind of genius. Also, with wounded animals that are laying down to bleed out or because of a spine injury will usually just remain laying there. I think the rule of thumb there is that if the animal would still be laying there when YOU walk up, then the dog won't spook them either.

If so, does this get better as the dog progresses? Certainly, some things get better. His Focus skill will keep him from chasing after other animals & running them off while you hunt. Follow Owner dictates how close he stays to you & Follow Stance dictates how well he "crouches" when you do, and the Heel skill puts him in the hell position when the owner is moving. His Loyalty affects every command....so you only tell him Stay once.

If so, what are your guys' best methods of sustaining successful hunts with your dog alongside you? First, I LOVE hunting with my dog. I am convinced that he's spooking more now than he used to and am trying to gather enough info for a bug report on that. I always equip him with the right vest for the terrain I'm hunting, and always bring a rifle & bow. I have had situations where I saw a buck heading toward Roscoe, about to flee, so I just put them down with the rifle. I like to walk until I either see something or hear something, then give the Stay command to Roscoe and start hunting whatever I saw or heard. If I'm going to a high point to glass some terrain, I'll always tell him to Stay while I go up to the edge & look over for a bit. Also, any time he starts getting in front of me, I tell him to "Come Here" in hopes that he will heel again. If I'm going to look at an area that I know has a high likelihood of animals, he gets the Stay command while I check it out. Oh, and yes, while he's in the Stay command I've had animals, including wolves nearly standing on him while I shoot. Hope this info helps

[Conch]

I have exactly the same questions. I suspect at-least the answers to 1,3 and 4 are all "yes". Not sure about the others. Although I guess when he/she is laying down (2) it's the equivalent of you going prone.

However, I too would like to hear some answers from someone who actually knows what they're talking about.

I was also curious about the smell of the dog. They do smell pretty strong. Stronger than a person in my estimation. How much of an effect does the dog have when hunting smell-sensitive animals I wonder?

I'll do my best to answer these. My dog smells great though. You guys must be using smellovision on your monitors down there.

Do they spook animals while walking with you? Definitely, almost always. Crouching is better...crouching & equipping your dog with the appropriate camo vest is even better. But they'll still spook stuff.

Do they spook animals while laying down/staying? I don't find my dog spooking anything while he's in the Stay command. There is some discussion that turkeys are still spooking at 20m, but I've never seen that setup and can't speak to it. Any time I'm hunting with Roscoe, he gets the Stay command every time I stop, and I make a habit of glassing before I move along. If I'm in a Stand, he gets the Stay command around 30m away from the Stand. One number to remember is 75. That's how many meters he will stay away from you after you've told him to Stay. If you get further than that, he'll get up and come after you and now he's spooking again.

Do they spook animals while tracking? A lot can happen here...if you have a poorly wounded animal that likely won't bleed out, Roscoe will spook him, then run him all way off the Huntermate before he runs back to me with a confused look. I've seen him track wounded moose that just stand there and he looks up at them...shoot the moose & the dog starts barking like he's some kind of genius. Also, with wounded animals that are laying down to bleed out or because of a spine injury will usually just remain laying there. I think the rule of thumb there is that if the animal would still be laying there when YOU walk up, then the dog won't spook them either.

If so, does this get better as the dog progresses? Certainly, some things get better. His Focus skill will keep him from chasing after other animals & running them off while you hunt. Follow Owner dictates how close he stays to you & Follow Stance dictates how well he "crouches" when you do, and the Heel skill puts him in the hell position when the owner is moving. His Loyalty affects every command....so you only tell him Stay once.

If so, what are your guys' best methods of sustaining successful hunts with your dog alongside you? First, I LOVE hunting with my dog. I am convinced that he's spooking more now than he used to and am trying to gather enough info for a bug report on that. I always equip him with the right vest for the terrain I'm hunting, and always bring a rifle & bow. I have had situations where I saw a buck heading toward Roscoe, about to flee, so I just put them down with the rifle. I like to walk until I either see something or hear something, then give the Stay command to Roscoe and start hunting whatever I saw or heard. If I'm going to a high point to glass some terrain, I'll always tell him to Stay while I go up to the edge & look over for a bit. Also, any time he starts getting in front of me, I tell him to "Come Here" in hopes that he will heel again. If I'm going to look at an area that I know has a high likelihood of animals, he gets the Stay command while I check it out. Oh, and yes, while he's in the Stay command I've had animals, including wolves nearly standing on him while I shoot. Hope this info helps

Great info bud and I thank you!

[BCKidd]

Hey Conci, how did the "Wild Game Event, go this year out in Castlebush?" That is of course if you are the same Conci who is part of that event. If you are, we know some of the same people...interesting. Peace.

BCKidd.

[DMNHunter]

I'll do my best to answer these. My dog smells great though. You guys must be using smellovision on your monitors down there.

Do they spook animals while walking with you? Definitely, almost always. Crouching is better...crouching & equipping your dog with the appropriate camo vest is even better. But they'll still spook stuff.

Do they spook animals while laying down/staying? I don't find my dog spooking anything while he's in the Stay command. There is some discussion that turkeys are still spooking at 20m, but I've never seen that setup and can't speak to it. Any time I'm hunting with Roscoe, he gets the Stay command every time I stop, and I make a habit of glassing before I move along. If I'm in a Stand, he gets the Stay command around 30m away from the Stand. One number to remember is 75. That's how many meters he will stay away from you after you've told him to Stay. If you get further than that, he'll get up and come after you and now he's spooking again.

Do they spook animals while tracking? A lot can happen here...if you have a poorly wounded animal that likely won't bleed out, Roscoe will spook him, then run him all way off the Huntermate before he runs back to me with a confused look. I've seen him track wounded moose that just stand there and he looks up at them...shoot the moose & the dog starts barking like he's some kind of genius. Also, with wounded animals that are laying down to bleed out or because of a spine injury will usually just remain laying there. I think the rule of thumb there is that if the animal would still be laying there when YOU walk up, then the dog won't spook them either.

If so, does this get better as the dog progresses? Certainly, some things get better. His Focus skill will keep him from chasing after other animals & running them off while you hunt. Follow Owner dictates how close he stays to you & Follow Stance dictates how well he "crouches" when you do, and the Heel skill puts him in the hell position when the owner is moving. His Loyalty affects every command....so you only tell him Stay once.

If so, what are your guys' best methods of sustaining successful hunts with your dog alongside you? First, I LOVE hunting with my dog. I am convinced that he's spooking more now than he used to and am trying to gather enough info for a bug report on that. I always equip him with the right vest for the terrain I'm hunting, and always bring a rifle & bow. I have had situations where I saw a buck heading toward Roscoe, about to flee, so I just put them down with the rifle. I like to walk until I either see something or hear something, then give the Stay command to Roscoe and start hunting whatever I saw or heard. If I'm going to a high point to glass some terrain, I'll always tell him to Stay while I go up to the edge & look over for a bit. Also, any time he starts getting in front of me, I tell him to "Come Here" in hopes that he will heel again. If I'm going to look at an area that I know has a high likelihood of animals, he gets the Stay command while I check it out. Oh, and yes, while he's in the Stay command I've had animals, including wolves nearly standing on him while I shoot. Hope this info helps

Great info! Thanks Hawkeye! I have a retriever that I use while in a blind often. She has gotten better, but she LOVES to run (I think it is a lab thing, to be honest. She is level 27 lol), but once in the blind, aside from the occasional whimper (which I would be bored if I were a retriever being told to lay down and not move after my owner shot, therefore I would be whimpering all the time lol), I dont have too often that I have a command not followed.

[wombatvvv]

crouching & equipping your dog with the appropriate camo vest is even better.

I actually read somewhere (the fan wiki, I believe) that the camo vests have no effect for dogs. They're purely visual.

[Tanngnjostr]

crouching & equipping your dog with the appropriate camo vest is even better.

I actually read somewhere (the fan wiki, I believe) that the camo vests have no effect for dogs. They're purely visual.

The vests do have a camo effect, but the collars (even those in camo style) do not.

[wombatvvv]

Ahhh .... gotcha. Makes sense.