Squirrel Dogs

[twocan]

Speaking as an old coon hunter, you either love to watch dogs work or you don't! Some guys hear music in the woods others just hear a bunch of dogs barking. I even love to watch my rat terrier pup get after mice in the barn. Hope to start him on squirrels this spring. To boil it down some of us just get hooked on dogs!

There is not a better sound than a big loud blue hound running a coon.

 

[RWS]

i agree that any kind of dog can make a squirrel dog, the best one i ever hunted was 1/2 blue heeler 1/2 pit. but i also agree that most any kind of cur is great. they tend to be great all around dogs.

 

[criticalbass]

Why do you need a dog for squirrels?

So you can kill more squirrels in a given setting. Obviously you can hunt without a dog. Dogs just improve the odds a lot.

And, as has already been said, dogs are cool. CB

 

[criticalbass]

Speaking as an old coon hunter, you either love to watch dogs work or you don't! Some guys hear music in the woods others just hear a bunch of dogs barking. I even love to watch my rat terrier pup get after mice in the barn. Hope to start him on squirrels this spring. To boil it down some of us just get hooked on dogs!

My dad was a "wolf huter" most of his life. The joke was "Listen to that beautiful music!" with the non hunter responding "Can't hear a damn thing for all those dogs!"

Dad actually did find a few wolves over the years, but coyotes were usually what got chased and occasionally caught by the dogs. All the old wolf hunters are pretty much gone now as far as I know.

We never had squirrel dogs, but I hunted with some friends who did. As someone has already said, lots of different breeds are suitable. My old Bichon really wants a squirrel, but with hair like hers, every trip would result in a couple hours of grooming to remove vegetation. Besides, my wife informs me that if I use her on squirrels, the consequences to me will be dire . . . CB

 

[J.T.]

Thank you all for the information, goes to show OSA is a consistent source of information on just about anything! The boy has his sights on a Fiest or Mountain Cur, if you have any squirrel friends tell them to look out this time next year.

 

[jtischauser]

I use to have my Brittany Spaniel trained for squirrels as a kid. Man we loved to hunt those liitle SOB's. I ruined her for hunting birds with dad though;0

 

[Okie4570]

The most dedicated squirrel dog I've seen was a buddys blue heeler. He was never trained for that but everytime someone would show up to hunt anything and he saw a gun out, he took off for the timber and was barking within a minute. Not quite sure where he got the interest for squirrles but he was good at it.