[QUOTE=GoodTimes;8990654]
Also, Jim R, you’re really jumping to conclusions. Everyone I know with retrievers and pointers strictly hunts wild birds, and they eat everything they shoot. Not a single bird rocked to sleep…[/QUOTE]
So nobody competes their dog?
Lucky to live in an area where you plenty of wild birds and long enough season to train their dog.
[QUOTE=Jim R;8990745]
That you are passing judgment on how others hunt. I have no problem with planted birds, I want to work my dog. I am just pointing that out your double standard. The way you hunt is fine and how others hunt is wrong.[/QUOTE]
Sure, then I am passing judgment on the video - I don’t consider it “hunting” and I don’t consider it “humane” to let a pack of dogs run down the prey and rip it apart…not to mention sort of goes against the concept of “hunting”.
To me this video looks like it is entirely for the sport of watching the dogs kill a coyote. That’s not hunting, in my opinion. Which is why I prefaced my comments by saying I’m not “anti-hunting.”
But, we all have to draw a line somewhere. Where do you draw it?
[QUOTE=S1969;8990792]
Sure, then I am passing judgment on the video - I don’t consider it “hunting” and I don’t consider it “humane” to let a pack of dogs run down the prey and rip it apart…not to mention sort of goes against the concept of “hunting”.
To me this video looks like it is entirely for the sport of watching the dogs kill a coyote. That’s not hunting, in my opinion. Which is why I prefaced my comments by saying I’m not “anti-hunting.”
But, we all have to draw a line somewhere. Where do you draw it?[/QUOTE]
If they were on horses instead of in a truck it would be different.
Hounds running a fox is alright?
People around here, use Llamas and donkeys to keep coyotes away from their pastures/livestock.
I didn’t watch the video, from reading other replies, I’m sure it’s not my idea of entertainment.
What is DK hunting?
[QUOTE=wireweiners;8990809]
What is DK hunting?[/QUOTE]
It is a breed of dog. It is like a German Shorthair, usually heavier boned, more course. In their testing they have to track and kill a fur bearing animal. Usually a fox. I hunt GSP’s not DK’s.
A DK can also be registered GSP but not vice versa.
Deutsch Kurzhaar
[QUOTE=wireweiners;8990809]
What is DK hunting?[/QUOTE]
It’s a dog breed; most similar to a GSP. It’s managed like a German Warmblood registry; dogs have to test in the field and in conformation to be able to use the title DK in their breeding programs. As Jim says, unlike other upland game associations in the US they require a furred animal track/drag as part of the test. I think there is a water search & retrieve as well.
If you’re familiar with NAVHDA - it has a similar performance requirement but using rabbits or fox instead of use pheasants & ducks for the tracking and drags.
I believe the testing is pretty stringent and it’s not easy to find. My NAVHDA trainer has a DK bitch and it was a lot of work to train for the field portions, plus he had to travel quite a distance.
[QUOTE=Jim R;8990797]
If they were on horses instead of in a truck it would be different.
Hounds running a fox is alright?[/QUOTE]
Not in my opinion, no. But, again, that’s just my opinion. If it was really for vermin control, maybe. But not just for sport.
[QUOTE=S1969;8991010]
It’s a dog breed; most similar to a GSP. It’s managed like a German Warmblood registry; dogs have to test in the field and in conformation to be able to use the title DK in their breeding programs. As Jim says, unlike other upland game associations in the US they require a furred animal track/drag as part of the test. I think there is a water search & retrieve as well.
If you’re familiar with NAVHDA - it has a similar performance requirement but using rabbits or fox instead of use pheasants & ducks for the tracking and drags.
I believe the testing is pretty stringent and it’s not easy to find. My NAVHDA trainer has a DK bitch and it was a lot of work to train for the field portions, plus he had to travel quite a distance.[/QUOTE]
I am somewhat familiar with a similar test used by the Deutscher Teckel Club for dachshunds. I believe they have blood tracking as part of the test. But the dogs aren’t required to kill the game. I have also field trialed dachshunds where the dogs are judged on their ability to track live rabbits. While they occasionally do catch and kill a rabbit, its rare and not considered good form. I’ve also participated in earth dog trials but the quarry is protected.
[QUOTE=wireweiners;8991027]
I am somewhat familiar with a similar test used by the Deutscher Teckel Club for dachshunds. I believe they have blood tracking as part of the test. But the dogs aren’t required to kill the game. I have also field trialed dachshunds where the dogs are judged on their ability to track live rabbits. While they occasionally do catch and kill a rabbit, its rare and not considered good form. I’ve also participated in earth dog trials but the quarry is protected.[/QUOTE]
They are not supposed to kill the game in DK or NAVHDA - but to track the scent trail, and retrieve the dead animal. The theory, in NAVHDA, at least, is that the dog should be able to retrieve wounded game by scent (e.g. a duck that was shot but still walking) – by tracking a trail and returning with the animal.
In NAVHDA the duck drag is considered to be an obedience test, not really a scent test - all of the dogs can track it if they want. But they are sent by the handler without any hunting, no shot, and must go a fair distance out of the sight of the handler. A judge is positioned near the game to watch the retrieve. Some dogs don’t care about a killed animal, and will leave it and return with nothing, or might decide to eat some of it, etc.
Just editing to say that in all the trials and tests I’ve participated in and/or watched - the dogs are not supposed to kill the game. That’s not typically part of the hunter/dog relationship. 
You kill the game, they bring it back to you, not eat it themselves.
I’ve seen several lurchers owned by differed fox hound Huntsmen so your friend might ask around those circles.
What does it mean to rock a bird to sleep?
[QUOTE=gypsymare;8992865]
What does it mean to rock a bird to sleep?[/QUOTE]
There are different methods you can use to help make sure the planted bird doesn’t fly away. Sort of dizzying the bird and then tucking its head under its wing so it just sits there.
And while that might sound “unsportsmanlike” - the difficulty in testing a dog on birds isn’t the dog actually finding them. Most dogs only need a couple of times on birds to figure out how to find them - the skill/training comes in the dogs steadiness to wing, shot and the skill of the retrieve. Which is hard to test on wild birds…if there are any to be found on the day of the test. So…birds are planted instead.
My national breed club has some wild bird trials. But they are field trials, not hunt tests - so no shooting/retrieving anyway.
I’m not anti-hunting–a gunshot results in a fast death with no suffering (and yes, I know some animals are wounded by accident), but the pain and terror of an animal being run down and torn apart is not OK. A lack of empathy for pain and terror in any living thing equals a sociopath in my book. I count fox (or rabbit) hunts where the fox is killed, and deliberately running down animals with a car in this group as well.
There are so many other ways to protect livestock than this “fun”.
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