Hunting Big Game with Man’s Best Friend

[Jason Snyder]

This was a new facet of big game hunting I ventured into about six years ago. The German JGV system of testing hunting dogs incorporates many big game oriented tasks, including blood tracking, dead game retrieval, and a very high degree of discipline.

I have killed a number of deer and elk with my dog(s) along. They stay at heel (off lead) while hunting and will stay where I put them
should I need to sneak forward for a shot. I shot a bull one year while standing on a waist high deadfall log with my dog on the log beside me. Another time my dog ended up about two hundred yards behind me as I was sliding down the hill working my way into a shot on a moving herd of elk.

At first I was concerned about the dog being a burden. Far from it. I’ve had whitetail deer within bow range with him along.

My older dog is a fantastic blood tracker. I’ve not needed him for a recover, although I always let them work the blood trail to the carcass. However, my older dog was able to track a wounded bull for another hunter. It was a really tough track, 18 hours old and polluted by a hundred elk in the vicinity.



Here are some of the photos of our adventures over the years. Finn is the black dog and is six. He has completed his 2 day utility test (VGP) within the testing system. The brown dog is Charli. She is 15 months old and will do the same over the next year and a half.

 

[Jason Snyder]

 

[eldeuce]

That's awsome! I've got a drahthaar, but have always been skeptical of taking her along. I probably shouldn't have worried about it so much. Thanks!

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

There are some other threads on this. For most of the Western states, I believe the book answer is that it’s illegal.
But we have a lab that hikes with us a ton. She hikes and horn hunts with me, the wife, my youngest, or my oldest that hikes about 200 days a year. She is old enough now, I started bringing her on our mule deer hunts when I’m solo, or with the family.
Like I said in the MT mule deer thread that is going now… nobody hunts mule deer in NW MT. She is silent and will literally sit (sometimes on my boot) when I stop to glass, bead down on a buck, etc., so I’ve said screw it, and we take her. I’ve debated on bringing her elk hunting, but we do see some rhinestone cowboys when we’re walking out sometimes, so I haven’t wanted to deal with some dipshit telling me I “can’t do that”.
I will most likely just start bringing her 24-7. If your dog is well behaved and trained, I say do it.

 

[RuggedYogi]

How have you trained your dogs to stay silent while hunting with you? How old were they when they started to pick up on what you were expecting from them?

 

[Jason Snyder]

For most of the Western states, I believe the book answer is that it’s illegal.

Only if you USE them to hunt big game. Otherwise, it’s perfectly legal.

 

[Jason Snyder]

How have you trained your dogs to stay silent while hunting with you? How old were they when they started to pick up on what you were expecting from them?

They will pick up at a very young age. Charli went with me on a backpack deer hunt last year at 8 months of age.

You just have to expose and condition them. Put them on a down stay. Leave them. Shoot around them. Run other dogs or game by them. Collar conditioning is pretty crucial for this and helper makes life much easier.

Some of the test tasks they have to do are:

Stay at heel both on and off lead, varying speeds and through timber. When placed in a down stay they have to remain while the handler moves forward and out of sight. The handler fires two shots. The dog cannot leave its place.

The driven hunt, all dogs (usually 4) are placed in a down stay about five yards apart. They must stay there without whining or barking while the “drivers” walk through the woods firing shots. Any dog that breaks from its place fails. Any dog that barks fails. Whining is a deduction.

And then the blood track is a mandatory pass for the test. 400m, same day or overnight.

 

[Taudisio]

Only if you USE them to hunt big game. Otherwise, it’s perfectly legal.

Sounds like that could be up to interpretation. I’m not risking my hunting rights or a citation for a game warden/judge to decide. My dogs can stay home.

If you’re out walking and your dog hears/sees game before you and you notice they are locked on, and that gets you a shot, isn’t that using the dog to find game?

I’m not here to judge, and you can do whatever you want, but I’m not risking it. Never know what mood the game warden could be in.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Sounds like that could be up to interpretation. I’m not risking my hunting rights or a citation for a game warden/judge to decide. My dogs can stay home.

If you’re out walking and your dog hears/sees game before you and you notice they are locked on, and that gets you a shot, isn’t that using the dog to find game?

I’m not here to judge, and you can do whatever you want, but I’m not risking it. Never know what mood the game warden could be in.

Trust me, this has been verified through a warden in every state I’ve hunted in.

Some states require blood tracking on lead, others can be off.

We all have to make our own decisions.

 

[Fever Buck]

Trust me, this has been verified through a warden in every state I’ve hunted in.

Some states require blood tracking on lead, others can be off.

We all have to make our own decisions.

Colorado is straight up illegal to have a dog with you while you hunt. It’s unfortunate and I’d love to bring mine. You can get around it with the blood tracking license but I’m not sure how much effort that takes to get.

 

[DanimalW]

If you’ve put the time in to train your dogs well enough to big game hunt with you, then I say go for it. You probably spend more time with your dogs than some people do with their kids. I think it’s awesome. I have a lab that tags a long a lot. Won’t take her musky fishing though. Something about throwing a big, shiny cowbell type bait over and over again into the water is just too much for a lab to watch patiently.

 

[timberjack86]

Does bear hunting with hounds count?

 

[IDVortex]

Id love to, but my lab is as dumb as a door bell and would spook and take off running as soon as a leaf filled from a tree and touched her butt.

Shes a companion dog and that's it lol.

 

[11boo]

Colorado is straight up illegal to have a dog with you while you hunt. It’s unfortunate and I’d love to bring mine. You can get around it with the blood tracking license but I’m not sure how much effort that takes to get.

Per CPW

A.
2. Dogs
a. Use of dogs in the taking of wildlife is prohibited except as authorized in Commission
Regulations. (See also: §33-4-101.3, C.R.S.)
2. A leashed dog may be used as an aid in locating and recovering wounded big game wildlife, except for black bears, with the purchase of an annual tracking permit. Tracking permits can be purchased for $40.00 from any Colorado Parks and Wildlife Office by the dog handler. Prior to using the permit, the dog handler must notify a Colorado Parks and Wildlife Office and provide the following information: the dog handler’s name, hunter’s name (if different than the handler), hunter’s CID number, location of use, species to recover, and time of use. Within five business days of using the permit, the handler must also notify the Division regarding whether they recovered the carcass. A dog may only be used to pursue or locate wounded big game during legal big game hunting hours. Provided however, that such pursuit may continue after legal big game hunting hours if the handler contacts and obtains the permission of a Wildlife Officer prior to continuing such pursuit. In acting on any such request, the Wildlife Officer shall consider the general public safety and may authorize the dispatch of the wounded animal after legal hunting hours. The dog must be leashed at all times and can not be used to kill, chase, or harass wildlife. The properly licensed hunter is required to be present while the dog is tracking and the animal must be dispatched by the hunter using a legal method of take based on their license. The dog handler is required to wear daylight fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink while tracking, unless the handler is tracking an animal shot on an archery license.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Many folks misinterpret “unlawful to use for big game hunting” as they can’t be with you. Do your due diligence. Every warden in five different states said “knock yourself out”. As long as the dog was at heel and not out searching they said it was fine.

 

[11boo]

If mine was as well trained as Jason’s I would take him.

 

[Dawg In Montana]

Many folks misinterpret “unlawful to use for big game hunting” as they can’t be with you. Do your due diligence. Every warden in five different states said “knock yourself out”. As long as the dog was at heel and not out searching they said it was fine.

I think the point is there are several ways to interpret it, and the next warden or the judge may have a different interpretation and that’s when it gets messy.

 

[Jason Snyder]

I think the point is there are several ways to interpret it, and the next warden or the judge may have a different interpretation and that’s when it gets messy.

It’s not as much of a gray area as folks make it out to be, but like I said we all have to make our own decisions.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Does bear hunting with hounds count?

I would love to use my older dog on bears. He found a bear den one winter chukar hunting. It was a BIG bear inside, huffing and popping his teeth. I had to drag him off by his collar because he was ready to go in and rumble. He loves biting dead bears when we come up on the carcass.

 

[Wyo_hntr]

No. Upland bird hunting? Yes. Big game, nope.