Excited for season #2 with my blood tracker Lady. She’s a Great Pyrenees/Alaskan Malamute Mix with a better nose than my parents GSP. Hope I can get her on some more trails this fall. Anyone else have “non traditional” hunting buddies?

Beautiful. Would if I could.

I remember years ago there was a thread like this on shotgun world.com. They were a couple guys that hunted with German Shepherd’s, Aridales and blue healers. It was an interesting thread.

Long ago over several years I was a houndsman as my Grandfather once was. One of my Walkers I also used during the day for Rabbit hunting. One day while out hunting that hound started showing an interest in tracking Quail coveys. I encouraged the behavior and since she already stayed in close during daytime hunting, she worked out well as a flushing dog. The only difference is she found them by ground tracking rather then normal scenting like a pointer would normally do. I had some great Quail hunts with that dog. Could even say my best Quail hunts considering how so many more Quail could be found on public lands back then compared to now.

In the 1980s I was drawn for an experimental Pheasant hunt at Granger WMA. TPWD had been stocking Pheasants trying to get them established there. My friend and I was assigned a compartment along with a couple guys from Louisiana who were hunting with a Pit Bull. At the gate I had commented to my friend questioning the Cajuns bringing a Pit Bull and they did hear me. Right inside the gate that Pit Bull Whoad on a Pheasant and they shot the first bird. I had a Brittany then and it was hot and dry, over 100 degrees that first day. My dog was having a hard time scenting in those temps. I finished the day with one Dove. The Cajuns shot a limit of Pheasants over that Pit. The second day I shot nothing yet the Cajuns with the Pit limited yet again. We had camped next to those guys and humbled I did go sit at their campfire with them to apologize for questioning their dog. As they put it to me "You can put a Whoa on anything".

It was those two experiences that caused me to look for a versatile breed to have one dog to train for every kind of hunting I do. And that is how I ended up with Vizslas.

I plan on taking my Doberman pup with me this fall for an attempt at tracking. That dude seems to have one heck of a nose.

A friend has a dachshund that retrieves dove.
He brought him out on a tower shoot, and that little dog would retrieve pheasants too.

My Lacy hunts quail.

My Brittany I think has ADD. He might point quail as good as any you ever saw or bust right through a covey he came up on from down wind which happens more than a good point. I have been offered $1000 for that cow dog which he did work cos quite well a few times then lost interest in them. He is gun shy but I finally figured out the 28Ga is ok with him so went to that for dove and he did good on a few dove hunts. When he was younger he would go to the stand with me for deer and sit in my lap spotting deer or turkey most of the time before I did, then get out of my lap and sit quite until I shot or told him to get back in hunting position.

One thing he did do well is blood trail and could be counted on every time for that.

These days he doesn't hunt, Life is harder on the old boy with progressing Laryngeal paralysis. Keeping him inside a lot as the heat is hard on his breathing.

Beautiful 👍

The dog was bought for the wife ( Jack Russel /Parsons Terrier ) and never thought of using him to hunt. The nose is not a problem, great rabbit dog. The limited quail in the panhandle, the rabbit chase is on. But for finding downed birds he is great. He been on a few dove hunts and playa duck hunts. He is not going to swim or retrieve the bird back to you, but I do not loose birds on land. He is very soft month and done well on the last pigeon hunt collecting down birds.

Very cool dog.