I have 2 points to make, but before go into this, there are cases where a dog probably should be taken care of, I am not 100% against it. If you do it, just make the dog disappear (avoids problems later). But for the most part, I wont shoot one.

1). I gained permission to hunt on a property exactly because the ladies dog liked me. If that dog turns up missing and found shot, they may blame me and not let me hunt anymore. Stories of hunter-shot-dogs ruins it for others. I am good with dogs and they do like me, this dog doesn't like many people. I explained to the couple that I could never shoot a dog, and wouldn't shoot thiers. I have seen their dog and deer from the same stand in the same hunt in the same day. Most people can't sit still long enough to know you can. the dog is there all the time, so are the deer. The deer know that dog and where it runs, and how to stay away from it. Which leads me to point #2.

2). Sitting in a tree stand on an adjoining property, I saw three does coming towards me, about 60 yds away (bow hunting). They turned up a hill and away from me. I then saw the neighbors chow and mutt running around, down where the does were. They ran around at the bottom of the hill for about 5 minutes then left. The does came down the hill and proceeded on to me (where one busted me pulling my bow, I beat 4 out of 6 of the eyes that day, not enough). So again, the deer are used to the dogs and know how to avoid them. And came right back thru within 5 minutes of the dogs.

I believe the dogs push the deer around. Sometimes, the dogs are gonna push the deer away, and sometimes you will never know that a dog pushed a deer right to you. So my opinon is to let the dogs do what the dogs do. But I do know there are extreme cases. My dogs are fenced, but my GSP would get out occasionally when he was younger. If I lived in the country I would make doubly sure during deer season he wasn't out off a lead, being solid liver he would have gotten tagged!

--Jim

Edited by - hucklburry on 12/02/2002 22:24:51