Squirrel Dog

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Before our male scotty passed. That dog lived to chased backyard squirrels. As all three of us were relaxing on the back yard deck enjoying a late summers afternoon with a boat drink in hand for the wife and I. We had at the time with us a registered black scotty named Mr. Mc Duff (or Duffy for short.) Well, we all observed a rather large gray squirrel had entered our back yard via from under the neighbors chain link fence one occasion and he was headed in all possible haste towards an old hard maple sitting in the middle of our yard some 30-ft away on a straight run for him. (The distance between Us and the squirrel was about the same >some 25-30ft away.) Our Duffy must of thought he had that squirrel for sure. As the dogs little 5 inch legs would have been a blur in anyone's vision just'a scratch'en for traction over the top of that man made vinyl deck flooring. But somehow that nasty smiling dog he managed to cut that squirrels pathway in 1/2. Duffy met the squirrel head on and face to face. Mr. Squirrel stood up on its back legs and literally barked right in the scotty's face. (Less that 2 feet away from each other.) Doing that I think actually bewildered & froze the dog long enough for that squirrel to drop down again and proceed on his way directly to the safety of his tree. Ah yes Memories.

PScript: I think Duffy and perhaps the breed (Scottish terriers) would make excellent squirrel tree'in dogs. Very smart and easy to train they are.

 

[wooly booger]

I just lost my JRT this past October after 15 loyal, pain in the *** years. They are fearless, headstrong, smarter than most people and loyal. They tend to be one person dogs. They are protective of their families to the death. They are natural born hunters and killers. Mine killed a possum in the backyard one night, talk about a mess. They honestly don't do well around small children and can be food aggressive.

I love them and want another one soon.

 

[RonR6]

Chewie, the one is 1/2 jack russel an he is crazy but listens very well.They are both very protective and always stay at your side no matter what you are doing. I always had Labradors, but these 2 little dogs are awesome house dogs with that hound/ hunting instinct. My wife brought them both home and the Russel was my birthday gift. You can't go wrong with them, they will be your best friend for life.

 

[wooly booger]

You can't go wrong with them, they will be your best friend for life.

Gotta concur with that. Mine went just about everywhere with me. To the office, into the backcountry, out on the boat. Jack Russel's are big dogs in a small package.

 

[HOGSHOOTER]

My Blue pitbull thinks he a Squirrel Dog if they do not get back to the tree its over,thang is he won`t share breakfast lunch or supper down it goes. My cuz is using MT.CUR for squirrel dog do not use dogs to hunt them myself so many here you can`t sit in a treestand in peace.HOGSHOOTER

 

[buck460XVR]

I think any breed a dog with half a nose and a will to hunt could be a good squirrel dog. Hardest thing to teach most of 'em is not to chew 'em up when they fall from the tree still kickin'. I made the mistake one day bird huntin' when the birds were absent, to shoot a coupla squirrels on the way back to the truck for supper. From that day on, my GWP couldn't walk by any large tree without stopping and looking up.

For turkeys, fall is when one would use a dog. In most states where it's legal to use dogs for turkeys, it's only legal in the fall. I use mine like overhead described. To scatter a flock so that one can use assembly calls to bring them back to the spot they were scattered from. This only works if the flock is scattered in more than one direction. You scatter the whole flock as one and they generally keep going and don't come back. Get even one or two to in a different direction and the whole flock will come back to the exact spot they were scattered from. Many times within just a few minutes. Dogs with their better speed get closer before the flush and tend to make the birds fly. When they fly, they tend to scatter better than when they just run. I also have shot turkeys from points from my bird dogs. If you ever wonder where those big birds go sometimes when they just seem to disappear, they are well adept at crouching down and disappearing under cover like a pheasant. When they bust tho, they bust like a giant grouse and just explode into the air. Sometimes if you get lucky, they stick their head up first. Surprisingly, every bird I have shot from behind a staunch point has been a mature tom.

 

[pmeisel]

I have a Jack Russell and a Manchester terrier, they tree squirrels in the yard routinely. I think the beagles are learning from them!

 

[birdshot]

My rat dog

I also live in an area where telling someone you have a "squirrel dog" gets a funny look. Mine is a Rat Terrier and she has all the go I can handle. I wish she was more vocal on the tree but fortunately she does not range more than a hundred yards and I can usually locate her fairly quickly. Her vision is better than her nose.

 

[L_Killkenny]

Double post

 

[Prof Young]

Schultz wouldn't go for it.

I have a miniature Schnauzer that loves to chase squirrels so I thought I could teach him to squirrel hunt. Well he chased one up a tree, I shot it down and he ran to it. When it didn't run away he looked at me like "what the heck is the point if it doesn't run away."

Live well, be safe
Prof Young