Children and Hunting Dogs

There are a number of myths surrounding hunting dogs and children.  In fact, one perpetual myth is that a hunting dog should never be kept in the home because they have gotten a taste of blood from being trained to hunt.  This is simply untrue and has no basis in reality.  Hunting dogs can make a great family pet in addition to their jobs in the field.  It’s important that we all remember that dogs are not vicious by nature. Only their training can make them that way. Hunting dogs by nature have an instinct to hunt. However, not everyone who purchases (or adopts) a hunting dog is going to train them to be hunters.  Like all other dogs, a hunting dog wants to be loved, accepted and praised.  A hunting dog makes a great pet especially retrievers, as they have naturally a soft mouth approach to retrieving and hence will not bite down when playing.

One of the most popular dogs anywhere in the USA is the Golden Retriever.  These dogs love the water, they are docile dogs and they are great hunters, though seldom trained for hunting.  These dogs are perfect dogs for children since they have energy to spare and they love to play. 

Training your hunting dog to take to children is pretty simple. It’s important to remember that a hunting dog sees you (as the adult and trainer) as the top dog and therefore considers children who they are living with as part of the ‘litter’.  As your children grow up, the hunting dog will follow your example. He will watch and see how you treat him as well as his ‘litter-mates’ and he’ll determine what the ‘pecking order’ is in the home.

Not only are most hunting dogs very docile, but they are usually very sturdy dogs. Because of this, they are more likely to stand up to the less than gentle playing that children are so prone to.  Always monitor what is going on so that your children don’t hurt the dog, especially when he’s a puppy since they do not always understand their own boundaries.  Knowing what your children and dog are doing when playing will help make your hunting breed a beloved family pet and keep both children and dog safe. 

Training a hunting dog to be a pet isn’t much different than training any other dog. Setting up boundaries of what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior including table food, begging and other behaviors that should be discouraged from the time they are puppies.  Even though your children may be amused when the puppy is begging for food or trying to get food off the table, you won’t be so amused when you have a full grown dog sitting begging during a large holiday meal with friend and family. Educating your children is as important as training your dog – perhaps even more so.  While your dog is a member of your family, he is none the less a dog and shouldn’t be treated like another child.  Dogs have to be trained to do things in a totally different manner than children and you should teach your child how you are training your dog.  This will allow for consistency which is so important in training your dog.

Years from now when your child is an adult they will be able to tell you more about your dog than you can possibly remember, even if the dog passed many years before. This is because of the lifelong impression that a dog can leave on a child.  Kids will remember long into adult-hood the little quirks and habits of their first dog and any dog they may have as a pet.  Remember, your hunting dog may work side by side with you in the field, but make no mistake about it, he’s a lifelong friend, companion and will help you family create lasting memories. 

To help you train your hunting dog you should make sure you have the proper hunting dog supplies. Some of the more popular supplies include: Tracker Maxima Tracking Collars and  Innotek ADV300P Dog Training Collars.