First Dog

[FeniQuest217]

So wife has been bugging about getting a dog and she agreed that if we get one its gotta be hunting breed. I was electing to go with a Vizsla, had on when i was growing up, love them. But presently we are in the process of a beagle/coondog mix female. Shes only a few months. I'm just reaching out for advice in training. I been youtubing and reading up, but was wondering if there's any specific references you recommend - books, websites, videos.

Also must have training toys. Figure eventually hoping to hunt not just pheasant but i want to get into duck hunting.

I'd imagine its not ideal to start with a wading pool in the dead of winter for water exposure but does it matter one the age to get her comfortable with water?

 

[smittty]

40 minutes ago, FeniQuest217 said:

So wife has been bugging about getting a dog and she agreed that if we get one its gotta be hunting breed. I was electing to go with a Vizsla, had on when i was growing up, love them. But presently we are in the process of a beagle/coondog mix female. Shes only a few months. I'm just reaching out for advice in training. I been youtubing and reading up, but was wondering if there's any specific references you recommend - books, websites, videos.

Also must have training toys. Figure eventually hoping to hunt not just pheasant but i want to get into duck hunting.

I'd imagine its not ideal to start with a wading pool in the dead of winter for water exposure but does it matter one the age to get her comfortable with water?

 

Let me see if I got this straight you wanted a bird dog and opted to get a mixed hound. Good luck sorry I can’t help. Sounds to me you waited to long to ask for help

[Gunsmoke]

I have to say this is an interesting thread.

[birdshotnj]

Did you actually get the dog yet, because you said you are in the process? If not, I would rethink the breed. I'm the furthest thing from an expert, but for pheasant and duck hunting like you said, a beagle won't do much for you.

[Gunsmoke]

I've had a couple of beagles that run and flush pheasants but it takes them too long when compared to bird dogs.   A beagle certainly isn't going to help with duck hunting and the beagle/coondog mix makes this puzzling for me.

 

[smittty]

That’s like using a vacuum cleaner to cut grass lol

[JD48]

Perhaps a cat would be a better choice

[hammer4reel]

A beagle mix is great for rabbits , they will also run pheasants . But def not the best for them .

1 hour ago, smittty said:

Let me see if I got this straight you wanted a bird dog and opted to get a mixed hound. Good luck sorry I can’t help. Sounds to me you waited to long to ask for help

haven’t you ever heard a Bassett hound use a goose flute ?

.

[Bucksnbows]

3 hours ago, FeniQuest217 said:

So wife has been bugging about getting a dog and she agreed that if we get one its gotta be hunting breed. I was electing to go with a Vizsla, had on when i was growing up, love them. But presently we are in the process of a beagle/coondog mix female. Shes only a few months. I'm just reaching out for advice in training. I been youtubing and reading up, but was wondering if there's any specific references you recommend - books, websites, videos.

Also must have training toys. Figure eventually hoping to hunt not just pheasant but i want to get into duck hunting.

I'd imagine its not ideal to start with a wading pool in the dead of winter for water exposure but does it matter one the age to get her comfortable with water?

 

Based on what you want to do with the dog, I'd strongly suggest a flushing breed that is also an excellent retriever.  The Labrador retriever comes to mind as likely the best dog for both pheasants and ducks.  Sounds like dog ownership is new to you and the wife, so you may not know that not all "hunting dogs" are created equal.  And combining two different hunting breeds only makes things less clear as to whether or not pup will grow up and hunt.  Go with a breed that is good at both of the pursuits you are interested in and you will not be sorry.   

[bushden]

If you are prepared to put the time a beagle/Coonhound mix can be a good all around hunting dog but you have to decide what you want to hunt Pheasant, rabbits or coon.  I have had both GSP'S and Rabbit Beagles and they will both find pheasants but the beagle will run they to a flush usually way ahead of you so not a good idea for a bird dog. If you want to hunt rabbits, coon dog beagle mix will run them but big dogs on rabbits do not work well because they cannot get into the thickets like a small 10" -12" beagle.

Now if you already got the dog and decided you made a mistake, I will gladly take him off your hands and turn him into a pet as I am looking for just that a pet that I can grow old with. LMK

[smittty]

2 minutes ago, bushden said:

If you are prepared to put the time a beagle/Coonhound mix can be a good all around hunting dog but you have to decide what you want to hunt Pheasant, rabbits or coon.  I have had both GSP'S and Rabbit Beagles and they will both find pheasants but the beagle will run they to a flush usually way ahead of you so not a good idea for a bird dog. If you want to hunt rabbits, coon dog beagle mix will run them but big dogs on rabbits do not work well because they cannot get into the thickets like a small 10" -12" beagle.

Now if you already got the dog and decided you made a mistake, I will gladly take him off your hands and turn him into a pet as I am looking for just that a pet that I can grow old with. LMK

Good offer. And let me add something here my comments above are not ment to be hard on the poster but think about the dog and all the stress he will be put through try to get him to do something he wasn’t breed to do. No good in my open. Never set anything person or pet up to fail. Always get a dog that was breed to do the job at hand this way you and the dog will succeed and both happy

[bushden]

1 minute ago, smittty said:

Good offer. And let me add something here my comments above are not ment to be hard on the poster but think about the dog and all the stress he will be put through try to get him to do something he wasn’t breed to do. No good in my open. Never set anything person or pet up to fail. Always get a dog that was breed to do the job at hand this way you and the dog will succeed and both happy

Good advice Smitty !!

[Roon]

Don't let others opinions sway your want.

I had a mini dachshund that I bird hunted for 12.5 years yes a mini dachshund.

In his career he put around 400 pheasants in my freezer plus a number for others because I had my limit and he still wanted to hunt.

One thanksgiving morning at Clinton I had an old man saying I had a pussy dog with the amount of good dogs out I should have just stayed home and I needed a real dog like his Brittany.

Let him have his fun and we went on our way, place was packed and only spot we really found was same field as old man, I let him walk in about 75 yards and then followed down his path about 30 yards in my dog got birdie got gun up boom, old man turned to see feathers falling from the sky and my pussy dog on a bird that his "real dog" could have tripped over.

I yelled to him wish I had a real dog we might have some birds left over on non stock days.

I got a f&$k you under his breath and a good laugh.

Beagles can be stubborn but any dog if the will is there can and will be productive at what you train for.

Best of luck

Edited January 10, 2022 by Roon

[FeniQuest217]

I just love the feedback of all points regardless of what they are. I am new to training a dog yes but no stranger to dogs at all. I feel as though things always read differently on a forum page no matter what you are trying to convey.  Training is on the owner and i fully am committed to that, i just always theorized that dogs that were bred for hunting have a bit more of a calmness, obedience, intelligence, companionship versus dogs that were not bred for it. Just a theory based off my own experiences.

I plan on training the dog with the basics and fundamentals and mixing in with some of the hunting training and seeing how she performs. But in no way will i force her to hunt if it doesn't take, and honestly if she does want to, that's the bonus in my opinion. I've just been putting off getting a dog for a while, and the wife showed me a picture of one she loved and lets just say before i knew it we were completing the application. I'm jsut looking for feedback, comments, suggestions, whatever everyone been so helpful with the hunting gear and stuff - figure tips tricks for people in the same state training may have soom good advice. Like which WMA is great to try out for training? BlackRiver i believe is the closest to where i live so i figure that'd be the best place to start trying out training days.

My dads Vizsla was a good hunting dog but he was stubborn. I feel like dogs will always keep a bit of themselves no matter what, kind of like saying 'okay enough human push me but not that far'

Im not surprised somebody would make a comment like that about your dog Roon, people suck, but im glad he showed up the ol man! 

[Kype]

34 minutes ago, Roon said:

Don't let others opinions sway your want.

I had a mini dachshund that I bird hunted for 12.5 years yes a mini dachshund.

In his career he put around 400 pheasants in my freezer plus a number for others because I had my limit and he still wanted to hunt.

One thanksgiving morning at Clinton I had an old man saying I had a pussy dog with the amount of good dogs out I should have just stayed home and I needed a real dog like his Brittany.

Let him have his fun and we went on our way, place was packed and only spot we really found was same field as old man, I let him walk in about 75 yards and then followed down his path about 30 yards in my dog got birdie got gun up boom, old man turned to see feathers falling from the sky and my pussy dog on a bird that his "real dog" could have tripped over.

I yelled to him wish I had a real dog we might have some birds left over on non stock days.

I got a f&$k you under his breath and a good laugh.

Beagles can be stubborn but any dog if the will is there can and will be productive at what you train for.

Best of luck

some guys pride themselves on being assholes. like the one you ran into that day hunting.