Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

Well here goes, I was up and my grandpa's ranch and in town for some dinner at the cafe when a guy approaches me asking me if I would like a new dog. He said it would make a really good hunting dog. I have always wanted a hunting dog and since I should finally be moving out on my own in a couple months I called my parents and asked them if it was alright since I will be moving out anyways it wont be in the house for long.

Anyways I will post a pic of it in the next day or 2, it looks to be about 5-6 weeks old, he said that it was a Australian Shepard / Blue Lassie(sp) mix, he told me a Blue Lassie is a cross between a Coyote, Greyhound, and a scent hound.. the momma was the Shepard and daddy was the Blue Lassey.

So what kind of of hunting do you think this dog would be best suited to? Will it be easy to teach to retrieve birds. Or maybe use it as a squirrel dog. Does anyone have any tips to raising/training a dog, or can recommend some books/movies whatever that go through it. And also at what age can I try to start training it. Any help/tips would be appreciated all I have ever had around me were my moms little yappy dogs that just sit on the couch all day.

Remember I know nothing so any knowledge yall could impart on me would be greatly appreciated!

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

Oh yea it is a lil boy, and I havent figured out a name for it yet. Had it for 2 or 3 days and am still just calling it puppy, hehe any suggestions =)

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

OK well I decided that I will call is Rosco. heh still looking for some advice. Also I have never heard of a Blue Lasse(sp) does anyone know where I can find some reading material about the breed?

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

I strongly recommend you enrole him in a puppy class. It will teach you both the basic obedience commands and, more importantly, will help get him accustomed to other people and other dogs. Others on this board who hunt with dogs will be able to help you further.

Bruce

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

About what age do you reccomend enrolling him? he is only about 5 weeks right now. And also can this dog even make an ok hunting dog? How could I find out

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I think somebody screwed you over. Neither of the parents is recognized as a hunting breed, and this pup should not have been taken from its mother for another 2-3 weeks at least. Most likely this was someone who didn't want his dog to have pups to begin with, and he was just trying to dump them off on anyone who'd be willing to take them.

On the bright side, you'll most likely have a wonderful companion, and friend. Judging by your original post, you're probably not much of a hunter anyways, so I would just accept the dog for what it is and get involved in obedience. There's still a chance that you could have a hunting dog...all dogs have some degree of prey drive...but chances are slim.

If you've got sheep to herd, you might be pleasantly surprised! Best of luck...

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

Well I really had the same suspicions dez by the way the guy just handed it to me and took off. But I have pretty much only deer hunted before but have been wanting to try bird hunting for a long long time, and have also wanted a hunting dog. I am still going to try to train it, who knows, so I would still like some tips, what is a good way to go about seeing if he has it in him to be a good hunting dog.

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

I know several people who hunt with non-standard hunting breeds, and they all do a passable job in the field. The things you have going for you are: part Coyote (prey drive), part scent hound (good nose), part herding breed (intelligent, good demeanor). I would think that something like this would be better suited to rabbit hunting than bird hunting, but definitely try both. The main thing is to get the pup introduced to game as early as possible. No pressure, just having fun finding game with the pup. At about 6 months you can start obedience classes, which will help out in the woods. At that time, once the pup is excited about finding and chasing game, you need to start controlling the dog more during your outings.

Depending on what type of hunting you want to do, there are lots of good books and videos out there. Just go to Amazon.com and type in a search for "rabbit dog training" or "bird dog training" or "gun dog training".

Good luck.

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

Thanks, dez, about what age can I start taking him out with me to let him chase some small game? Also where can you get live pigeons? Just curious bc I might try useing them later to see whats what. Thanks agin!

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

It's never too early to let him chase game. The sooner the better! Just make it fun for him until he's 6 months or so.

I get pigeons from local farmers, they always want to get rid of them. Just make a trap out of a big cardboard box with fishing line criss-crossed across the top, about 6 inches apart. Put some corn in the bottom of the box. The birds drop in to get the corn, but can't get fly out because of the fishing line. If this doesn't make sense, there are lot of places online with directions for making a pigeion trap.

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

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

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

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

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

congrats..........:D

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

Thanks for the replys guys, I appreciate it!

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

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!

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

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.

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

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 =)

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

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

RE: Got a new pup, 1st one, lil help?
 

Thanks!