Originally Posted by
Chopayne
Why would you need a hunting dog in combination with a bird? Is it to flush out animals?
Depends on what you're hunting. Most people don't use dogs if they're hunting rabbits and squirrels. But, some do use beagles or other dogs to flush rabbits and some use dogs to help find squirrels.
People hunting upland birds use dogs in the same way you'd use them with a shotgun. You don't want to stomp all over wyoming to find a grouse. Use dogs to point them and then your falcon that's waiting in the sky chases them on the flush, or a goshawk or cooper's hawk catches them flying from your glove.
Originally Posted by
Chopayne
Also, how expensive is it to get into Falconry?
Money isn't really the problem with falconry. You CAN put a lot into it. But, I probably got started for around $1,000. The time and effort are where most people can't do it. It's not a hobby. You can't just have a "pet" hawk and go hunting with him once or twice a week. Obviously they need care every day, but they also need to be flown a lot. The more the better. I probably average hunting 5-6 days a week. They need a lot of flying to stay in shape to be fast and strong enough to catch game.