Mite

You can usually find someone who has to give up a pup because they are either unregisterable or can't handle it for some reason. Alot of these are given away for the cost of welping + initial shots + vet fees + transportation.

Also, Doc E probably meant the cost of vet fees. People can usually handle the cost of food and sheltering dogs but the moment something turns up, like surgery, the vet fee can't climb through the roof. Hunting dogs are very prone to having accidents because of the situation.

camelcluch

Many people can afford the streched out cost of a pet but may not have the chuck of cash to put out on the high end dogs. However, if I were to be looking for a mixed breed, it would be of bird dog lines. Like I said, I have a mixed breed that is awesome hunter. I also have a pointing lab form a very well known kennel and she is a very good hunter as well. They are two different dogs but get the samejob done. One cost a pretty penny and the other was free.It is all a risk youwill have to take.

Doc E

At the end of 12 years, a $1000 dog only costs $0.025 (two and a half cents) a day more than a $200 dog.


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Breachin

This may come off weird but all dogs are have a natural talent to smell anything! I got 11 great danes 8 of them are pups. Anyhow, these dogs were used primarlily for big game hunting and royal family guardians back in the day. My thing about dogs and hunting are its fun to have a retriever dog, a coon dog, and a family pet. So I stuck to my great danes. Very powerful dogs weigh in at a massive 205llbs and 42'' to the shoulder. I used to get off my school bus and see King (my pride and joy) come flying down the hill to meet me and knock me over lick me all over the face, he is truly a great dog. Two years ago I started training 2 pups I kept from one of Kings litters to hunt coons. Great Danes are far from stupid so it wasn't as hard as my old blue tick. Really all it takes is time and any dog is going to be a good hunting dog.

Last year I took rufus and spitz (my two hunting dogs) out to lay it to the coons. Let me tell you once they pick up the scent and you let em off the leashes they are way too fast for coon to out run so they will definatley take to a tree. I had one coon that took to the creek and went on for 200 yards and had rufus stumped! Luckly Spitz is a little to smart for his own good and got the scent back, he started barking loud and it didn't take long for me to lose my dogs, so now I'm scared and worried for my dogs and adrenaline kicked in so I ran, ran and ran some more untill I gave up. I was far from home no clue where I was at and no sign of life anywhere. My battery in my light gave out and I was all alone in the dark in these creepy woods. Hearing sounds I never heard before or never payed any attention to. I'm worried I'd never make it back home so I decided to stay put untill morning. I proceeded to make a bed out of pine needles and rocks. While going over this ridge to find some more rocks I hear something approaching me and with a good quickness so my heart started beating my palms got all sweaty and I pulled out my 22mag and was ready to blow somethings head off and here come Rufus all battered and bloody first carrying a leg off a coon and Spitz right behind him with the rest of him. Relieved as I was, still worried I'd never make it back I continued to get rocks and such. Made a cozy little bed and a small fire so I could see to repair Rufus's wounds on his legs. I went to sleep petrified thinking I was going to attacked in the middle of the night. Hours later I was woken up by a bobcat screaming and my dogs barking right back at him as if to say "back off this is my territory" I finally get them to shut up and continued resting and it wasn't long before I was woke up by a friendly face licking me all over it was King. Early morning with all three of my dogs and a coon to show for the nights hard work. Luckily I wasn't as deep into the woods as I thought and was barely over the hill to my house...



P.S if you ever buy one of these dogs I'm warning you they hate small animals but love people you have to introduce them to small domestic animals while they are young or they will end up like my neighbor's chickens... DEAD

Mite

Personally, if I searched for a hunting dogfrom a shelter, I would want to evaluate the dog first. My criteria would be to watch how they act during walks. I would like to see focus rather than a dog that walks or runs along. Our neighbor dog park is very undeveloped. It has swamps, small ponds and thick undergrowth beneath the forest. No game birds but alot of waterfowl, rabbits and coyotes. I've walked with alot of dogs and their owners, some hunting breeds and non-hunting breeds. Non-hunting breeds will chase when they see or scent something but most of the time they are up ahead just glad to be outside.

The hunting breeds are always focused. When walking alone, my dog will stalk at certain areas where she's seen game (rabbits or ducks) before. She goes low to the ground, stopping every so often to sniff the air, then slowly moves ahead. She checks out every water hole for ducks. Other dogs I've seen will have their noses to the ground brusting thru the bushes. They are always focused on finding something.

But for a companion dog, I would look for temperment.

SWOSUMike

I am not so sure about that. I think this depends hugely on the breed and what you are wanting to hunt.

That brings me to my question for the original poster. What exactly do you want to hunt? Birds, I guess? Small upland game like squirrels? The answer can make a big difference in what you need and how much you spend.

SWOSUMike

Not to just be the guy who disagrees with everybody, but I don't agree with this in all cases, either. In my opinion, an untrained hunting breed that has not been messed with should be a little bit of a handful in the woods. They should chase rabbits and chase deer. I have even heard some big name birddog men say that a puppy who sight points a quail wing ona fishing rod and line (a little game breeders like to play with pups)is no more likely to be a good birddog than one that doesn't and that, in fact, they would just as soon have their pup try to "catch" the wing instead of point it.

My point is if I go buy an older or simply unstarted hunting breed that hasn't been messed with yet, I would not care if on its trips to the woods if it chased deer or other off game and wasn't focused at all but instead just ran. That's what I would want to see -- running. If the dog has it in 'em, then running will bring it out. Not discipline. Not calling their name every 10 seconds. Not training them on 20 different commands (excluding retrievers and such). But running. It is then that they will begin to find things and actually hunt. Then you encourage and discourage as needed.

Then again, I notice on this particular board that I am often what you guys might consider an unorthodox dog man. First off, I hunt treedogs. I hunt mountain curs on squirrels and it is completely bred into the good ones. You do not train a mountain cur or any breed for that matter to be a good squirrel dog, at least not a good one. You teach them to be polite, don't over-command them, and let them hunt. In time, IF they got it in them, they will come along. But two of the biggest factors in them becoming a nice dog is time and boot leather. That said, last summer I purchased a started young gyp at about seven months old. On my first or second trip to the woods with her, she flat ran a fawn hard in just about a full circle, open on track and barking just about every breath. This does not bother me at all. It let me know she is what I call "gamey." By the end of the season I was killing game with her and enjoying a nice little dog. Not perfect, but still a nice one.

varmint stalker

I've got me a black lab/pit mix that I picked up at a shelter for merely an adoption fee. She is a natural. Stays with me or the group, stops when we stop, moves when we moves and stays by me, flushes rabbits, retrieves squirrels, and responds to deer simply by looking and lifting her head right next to me which tells me where they are. No training whatsoever. Obviously she isn't a upland bird dog or a hog dog or any specialized hunting dog, but she suits my needs just fine. Makes a great camp dog too, with no training. Sometimes you get lucky with dogs like this, but I wouldn't call it common.

mustad

I hear what you're saying Mike, but would argue that there is no dependency on the breed nor what you want to hunt. The dependancy is what the breeder is trying to bring out in his dogs. If a good breeder is trying to make the best squirrel dogs, that's what you will get from every dog in his litter.

SWOSUMike

Hey Mustad,

I am sure you are right when it comes to bird dogs. They have been breeding them for a long time and therefore have some consistent results--especially the good breeders. But it just isn't so with squirrel dogs. They came from the old "all-purpose" dogs of thepre-World War II southern U.S. And only in the last 50 years or so have been specifically bred to tree squirrels without all the other"all-purpose" qualities these dogs used to have like stock work, etc. And the best breeders will even tell you that lots of pups don't turn out. Probably most of them do or at least would haveif they had been handled right. But some just don't. Treeing a squirrel is a very abstract thing for a dog to do. If you ever watch a squirrel in the woods while sitting on adeer stand, just watch how many limbs and trees they hit. For a dog to consistenly and naturally tell you which tree a squirrel ends up in time and time again after all that, and to have the drive to do it naturally, is pretty impressive. On the squirrel dog message boards, guys discuss the question of what percentage of pups turn out per litter all the time. It's always a busy topic, and the consensus seems to vary. But one thing squirrel dog men seem to realize is that there are plenty of culls out there even from nice litters. And I think that is also why what you pay for squirrel dogs can vary. A pup just isn't worth much--usually about $200--because there is simply no guarantees that they will make nice dogs, even if messed with. However, a nice finished squirrel dog can bring hundreds or thousands of dollars.

But when it comes to bird dogs, etc., I am sure you are very much correct. But this is why I say what breed the guy chooses and what game he decides to hunt can make a big difference in what he pays. If he wants to hunts birds with labs, he better have some money ready to fork over. Andthe odds of him getting a nice dog are probably high. However, if he wants a puppy in hopes of maybe getting a squirrel dog in the end, two bills or less is all the more he needs to buy a pup, but he still may end up with a worthless hunting dog. Therefore, what breed he chooses and what game he hunts will affect what he pays. This is all very good discussion stuff.