jpman2112

Yeah I know I probably shouldn' t do this but during bowhunting my dog pretty much stays on the leash.I have also noticed that in the places i hunt the deer don' t really get to worried about it.They never seem to smell me or the dog and go about there business.I' m lucky as I usually get laid-off this time of the year and have plenty of days to hunt.But if I was working full time and had little time to hunt i would probably not do this.Most the places I hunt are close to houses.I think the deer are kinda used to smelling dogs around the area.Anyone else do this?

rockytop

I' ve never done it, is your dog a good tracker?

Solax

My dogs hate it when I go out in the woods with out them......too bad during the season. But in the summer when I' m putting up stands, sure, I' ll take them along. They stay close and I figure by hunting season they won' t have spooked the deer.

If you don' t have a problem with it then it should be fine. Make sure it' s legal though.

jpman2112

Last year i brought my dog up to our rifle hunting shack.It was the second weekend where we usually bring up the wives and kids.I shot a doe and walked back to the cabin to bring my sister and her boyfriend to see the deer and show them how to gut it.My dog came along and lets just say the dog had the best time.He was licking the gut pile and the deer.Even after it was hung out of his reach he stayed there all day in awe of the deer.
He has a pretty good nose but really isn' t a hunting dog.He runs way ahead of me so he wouldn' t make a very good bird dog.I like to trick him by hiding in the thickets when he' s ahead of me.Usually he runs down the trail and stops exactly where i went in the woods and most often runs into me with his head down smelling my trail.

burniegoeasily

I never let my dogs around where I hunt. The last thing I want is dog hair around my stand. I will let them play all over the place after season. I just dont want to take the chance of spoking a good deer. You have to remember the big guys got big because of their ability to avoid danger. That includes being leary of strange smells. I dont want that big boy to avoid my stand because of a lingering dog smell. I guess to each his own. Good luck in your ventures.

bubbamoose

I guess it mostly depends on the area. I see deer in my back yard all the time. In fact today the kids reported that we have a new doe and a fawn with a few spots left. (I didn' t see it but this is what they tell me). My dogs run around in the woods behind my house all the time, as well as the horses and foxes and other strays that pass by. If it' s a surburban area I don' t think they will get spooked. Now where I rifle hunt I wouldn' t dream of it. Some years I believe that nothing other than forest animals have been around my stand location since the last time I was there.

ARMallardSlayer

Negative!