bird dog caught in snare

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Feb 9, 2015
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SE Michigan
The irony of this thread made my night…

And no, snaring should not be illegal on public land. I am opposed to foot traps on public land however due to concerns for people not dogs.

Honest question - what’s your experience with footholds? Have you set or tripped one before?


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cod007

Lil-Rokslider
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I have a buddy in UT whose dog got caught in one. He ended up having to shove his shotgun against the dogs neck and shoot it off of her. By the stroke of God he shot it off without hurting his dog. The snare was not marked nor did it have any owner information on it and was 30 yds from the parking area. Needless to say he destroyed the entire setup.
Pictures or it didn’t happen.....
 

BigNate

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Athol, Id. USA
The irony of this thread made my night…

And no, snaring should not be illegal on public land. I am opposed to foot traps on public land however due to concerns for people not dogs.
If you oppose foot hold traps you need to be familiarized with them. They don't break bones. I did a speech in high school on this very topic for debate in class. One of the other students did one about banning everything she could think of. I started my speech by making a statement, then sticking my had in a set trap. It stung, but I had the absolute attention of everyone.
 

Trap

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If you oppose foot hold traps you need to be familiarized with them. They don't break bones. I did a speech in high school on this very topic for debate in class. One of the other students did one about banning everything she could think of. I started my speech by making a statement, then sticking my had in a set trap. It stung, but I had the absolute attention of everyone.
They are so dangerously lethal I actually step on my coyote traps on purpose. To trip them before pulling the trap 😂
 
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Our Vizsla got caught in a snare two months ago in BC. We were grouse hunting near the end of season and right after trapping season opened.

She is a big runner and was caught about 100 yds from us. Luckily we have a GPS collar on her so were able to find her…we thought on point. The lynx set was in some thick stuff and the dog was hard to see, and silent. When I finally spotted her she was sitting on her butt with her head up restrained by the snare. She was not fighting it at all.

I always carry an old Leatherman which would not cut the aircraft cable. I was able to hold the cable with the jaws and work the cable until it broke in fatigue fairly quickly. Initially I had tried to release the snare but could not figure it out quickly so resorted to the cutting/breaking mode.

My wife and I each got a pair of top notch wire cutters to carry in our hunting vests. We also won’t hunt grouse after trapping season opens Nov 15.
 
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As a life long trapper I have a lot to say about this but I’m going to try and keep it short-ish.

First off people like to draw lines between different hunting cultures or groups. Houndsmen, western hunters, eastern hunters etc. we are all in this together as outdoorsman.

Trapping has a PR problem from a few bad actors. Most states have set back laws to protect pets and owners from traps. Some people do not follow these rules and then some lab gets caught and a giant shit storm is unleashed. And it is a fact that activist groups target the low hanging fruit like trapping and hound hunting. So keep in mind that even if you don’t participate in those activities your “thing “ could be next on the outlaw list.

As for dogs getting caught in traps, a lot of states have free classes on how to release a pet from a trap. If you have a dog and roam public land you should know how to operate a variety of traps. Aside from a large body gripping trap most traps are not going to kill or severely damage a dog. Now there are a few exceptions but generally speaking if your lab gets pinched by say a leg hold trap set for coyote, He will be ok. Traps are not designed to break bones or chop off feet. As for snares they will kill a pet. But as others have said pack cutters and know how to use them. And make sure it’s something that can cut cable. Some cheap set of nippers might not do the job. But also you should understand how a snare lock works.

Sorry that wasn’t very short but remember that America was built on the fur trade and it has roots deeper that almost any other pursuit.
 

Sanchez

Lil-Rokslider
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Apr 23, 2019
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I can deal with the snares and leghold traps but have a concern with the conibear kill traps when bird hunting with my dogs.

What is the problem with trappers who choose to use conibears from putting up notification that those traps are set in the area so bird hunters can keep their dog safe? It seems like a simple solution to avoid problems while allowing trapping and bird hunting to co-exist.
 
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In my experience most dogs will stop and sit still when they are in a snare. Especially if they are used to having a collar or a leash. I can see how it could be scary but, snare locks are typically easy to release if you stay calm and just tilt the lock back and slide the main cable back through. If you have a leatherman it is even easier because you can grab the lock or cam-lock better. Cutting snare wire can be tough unless you have cable cutting jaws, then its simple. Just buy a pair from a trapping company that they sell for making snares. They are inexpensive and very handy.
Footholds are very easy to remove with a little experience. I have released dogs from snares and footholds several times over 40 plus years of trapping without any issues. I will say none of these dogs were bird dogs, they were dogs that were just running loose in the woods above our small community.
 

sneaky

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Leghold traps pose no threat to humans,,,,,,,,I couldn't tell if your kidding or not with this comment...
Well, there was a lady who got up in front of IDFG and said we need to ban snares on public lands especially National Forests because they were killing wildland fire fighters. The next person who spoke was an actual wildland fire fighter and told the panel the lady in front of him was an idiot basically lol.

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packer58

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May 28, 2013
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I can deal with the snares and leghold traps but have a concern with the conibear kill traps when bird hunting with my dogs.

What is the problem with trappers who choose to use conibears from putting up notification that those traps are set in the area so bird hunters can keep their dog safe? It seems like a simple solution to avoid problems while allowing trapping and bird hunting to co-exist.
I haven't trapped fur for many years now but when I was running a trap line the last thing I wanted to do was to advertise to the world with signage that I was working an area.
I did not use snares much back then, just legholds and conibears. I might get hammered a bit for this one but conibears should be limited to water sets to all but eliminate non target catches such as somebody's bird dog.

Conibears are absolutely lethal and should be used responsibly weather or not it is legal in their state to use on dry land.
 

Rich M

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I can deal with the snares and leghold traps but have a concern with the conibear kill traps when bird hunting with my dogs.

What is the problem with trappers who choose to use conibears from putting up notification that those traps are set in the area so bird hunters can keep their dog safe? It seems like a simple solution to avoid problems while allowing trapping and bird hunting to co-exist.
Not sure where you are at or what the laws are. We can't legally use conibears above the water line.
They are effective in what they do, that's for sure.

As for advertising where and when traps are in use - the trapper is on the line to lose a $25-$50 trap and the possibility of Joe Anti putting a road-killed cat or dog into the trap and calling F&G is pretty high.
 

WRO

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I trap and also have a bird dog (retriever) so I see both sides. There's irresponsible trappers and irresponsible dog owners. However, most of the trap/dog encounters I hear about though is dog owners letting their untrained mut run free on a hike when technically (according to the law) they should be on a leash.

My field trials setters run 250-600 yards out.

I run tracking collars on them, so hopefully I can be to them in time with a snare.




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elkhuntrr75

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Broken Arrow, OK
There has always been a riff between trappers and bird hunters. I have caught a few dogs in leg hold traps. The bird hunters always got bent out of shape about it. Pull my traps, cuss me and just be jerks about it. They always failed to recognize that I had just as much right to be there as they do. If you don’t like it then hunt private. Your rights aren’t any more or less than trappers. Banning anything outdoors related is a loss and it’s just a matter of time before it affects something that you are passionate about.


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elkhuntrr75

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Posting signs is an awful regulation for trappers. Unfortunately it is required when trapping on public in my state. Any signs posted inform others and it’s just a matter of time before someone moves in and steals your sets. I have lost quite a few this way.
 
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