Clockwork

generally more research and preparations should go witha puppy decision but o well. I have good news and bad news. first the bad news: the guy basically lied to you. first, none of those dogs are hunting dogs. first off, i've never heard of a blue lassie and i think he made it up. second, people who claim to have coyote or wolf in highly mixed dog are usually full of BS, to know that a dog is 1/4 coyote, he'd have to know that dogs lineage as well back 2 generations and i doubt that. its usually used as a novel selling device. a 5wk old puppy is far too young to be away from his parents. you will have to be very careful and attentive to it because of this. if the said heritage is correct, you still dont have a quote-unquote hunting dog. a hound and hunting dog are two separate things. both hunt, but in far different ways.

that being said: dont despair there is good new here IMO. while none of the breeds in this dog are your typical hunters, you have a mix that might very well make a great "de facto" hunter. first the australian shephard is extremely trainable. one of the most trainable dogs, in fact, because they have a very strong desire to please and they are extrememly smart. they are also very athletic. both traits you want in hunters. and the hound will give him the scenting ability and the drive to find game. the fact that it is half shepherd is good IMO because you will in any case be able to train him to do all kinds of things if you put enough effort into it. while there may not be an inherent desire to hunt birds in that dog, it will still have a hunting instinct as all dogs do and will most likely do just about anything you ask of him if you train him well. thats the main problem in many hunting breeds, they may have a strong drive to hunt but they are difficult to train.

still, for the guy to tell you its a hunter was BS, there is no telling, but its definitely worth a try. what id do is to get animal hides or bird wings whichever you want to hunt and hide them in the yard, let him out and then when he finds them, make a huge positive production about him with praise etc. without a natural drive you will need to use methods different from your typical hunting dog training. that is how they train drug sniffing dogs. they typically use hunting and hound type breeds for their noses but surely none have a born-in desire to find drugs. they make a bunch of boxes and cut scent holes in them and put drugs in one and misc stuff in the others and when that dog sniffs the drugged box, he is rewarded.

if nothing else he will be valuable as a flusher, any dog works for this even untrained and indifferentr dogs. just have him keep in range and he will zig zag and cover far more ground than you so he will aid in flushing birds regardless. things should work out just fine

Bruce H

I would get him into a puppy class as soon as he has had his rabies shot. Talk to the vet about the proper age for rabies and the other necessary shots.

Bruce

huntnma

congrats..........

Jluke04

Thanks for the replys guys, I appreciate it!

obby1

I would suggest picking up some wings for a local sporting goods store. Introduce them to the dog see if sh/she is interested. With the wings you can do retrieving practiceand locating practice (hide in yard or small cover). One thing I did with my lab was to tie the wing to fishing line and have the dog try to get it. I wouldn't let her catch it but simply chase it. Make sure to make the introductions short and fun to peak the dogs interest and keep it excited for the next time. Good Luck!

obby1

One other thing. Mixes often bring out the best characteristics of its parent breeds, and my gradfathers greatest hunting dog was a lab shepard mix that he took out of kindness at 2 years old. The dog took to hunting with no training and in the end was my grandfathers dog of a lifetime. SO there is hope don't get discourged and take what the dog offers.

Jluke04

I am going to try to get some bird wings sometime next week after all the x-mass stuff, you are talking about a fully feathered wing? Or something that comes frozen? Sorry but asking questions is how I learn =)

EvBouret

The dog he was talking about is a Blue Lacy. They make good squirrel, coon and hog dogs. The latter p[robably being the most popular use of the breed. Go to baydogs.com and look at the classifieds theres a number of them usually for sale there. I dont know about being able to train it for a bird dog. Google it, you'll find tons of information.

evan

Jluke04

Thanks!