Squirrel Dog Training

Prairie Rambler

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Joined
Aug 14, 2017
Messages
70
Location
Spokane, WA
Evening Everyone,
I'm looking into training my young dog to run squirrels. She is extremely food/toy(specifically tennis ball) motivated and seems to have an eye for birds/rabbits in the backyard. She's a mini Australian sheppard in case that matter. I've never trained a dog to run squirrels and don't know anyone that has one where I live now. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm still at square one and not really sure where to start. Thank you
 
We usually start pulling squirrel tails around the yard when they are young, so they get used to trailing the scent. Then maybe a dead squirrel we find on the road. That is all while they are young, might trap one in a live trap and let it smell it, then let it go and let them chase it. But there is nothing better than time in the woods. Just make sure to give reward when they tree one or run after it. They eventually figure it out. When your dog does tree one, to teach him to stay on the tree, we tie his lease to a tree until you shoot the squirrel out.

We hunt with fiest or mountain cur though. These are bred to do this, so might be little different with your sheppard.

Good luck. Nothing funner than hunting squirrels with dogs, except Elk hunting..
 
We usually start pulling squirrel tails around the yard when they are young, so they get used to trailing the scent. Then maybe a dead squirrel we find on the road. That is all while they are young, might trap one in a live trap and let it smell it, then let it go and let them chase it. But there is nothing better than time in the woods. Just make sure to give reward when they tree one or run after it. They eventually figure it out. When your dog does tree one, to teach him to stay on the tree, we tie his lease to a tree until you shoot the squirrel out.

We hunt with fiest or mountain cur though. These are bred to do this, so might be little different with your sheppard.

Good luck. Nothing funner than hunting squirrels with dogs, except Elk hunting..
If you are ever in need of someone to tag along on a squirrel hunt with dogs, please keep me in mind. I don't have to shoot one, but would totally dig seeing it done. I keep thinking I need to see if I can get my bird dog to give it a try... ;)
 
We normally don't hit it hard until end of November, after deer season and leaves are gone, its hard to hunt with a dog with leaves on cause they know your around. We are down in southern Indiana. Gonna try to hit some public ground this year, haven't ever hunted my dog on public before.
 
I have a cabin in Crawford County and get down that way a bit. Lots of state/federal public land in that part of the state with lots of squirrels.
 
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