Father Forkhorn

Whatever you do, try not to do so something that's going to earn hunters a bad reputation. It'd be easy to just shoot them, but there's the big picture to think about. Try to solve it without a bunch dead beagles, and you and all the other hunters will probably be better off.

mackesr

I agree Father Forkhorn. What WhitBri said is the way I would handle it. I own seven beagles and I take care of them better than I do myself. In my state there is a training season and I am allowed to take them out and get them some good excercise and training. Very rarely a young dog will jump a deer and get away from me and go to an area that I dont have permission to go on and do not have any access to enter. I live miles away from where I do the training, so I have to keep trying to catch my dog or hope that he ends up with a nice person who is willing to call me to come get him. All my dogs have bright Orange collars with my name and address and phone number on them. Some of these hunters advocating just blasting away at these dogs are the same ones busting on people who give hunters a bad name. You shoot some little girls beagle pup and you will make a hunter hater for life and I will guarantee that. Beagles were bred to run game, so doing so is not their fault. They usually dont run very fast and most deer are used to them and are more annoyed than fearful of them. Stray house dogs are another story. They would have to be handled on a case by case basis. I hunt Archery, black powder and the rifle seasons, so I understand both sides to the story. I just cant sit by and let all these people advocate blasting all dogs just because they are running deer. Think before you shoot because you cant take it back.

toyota4x4

Nope..if you took better care of your beagles than yourself you would have a electic collar on every one for that rare case they jump a deer. We dont hunt without collars for all dogs, that way we dont lose any and there not runnin wild through the woods. People say its not the dogs fault its the owners...dern right it is do your part to keep keep your dogs corraled as best as you can. Otherwise as I stated before there no better than yotes...

fastetti

I think all of these have to be played case by case. If the beagles look to be well kept with bright collars on then I would make an effort to at least contact the owner. If it regularly occurs after that, maybe try to trap a few of them and take them to the local pound. I believe the owner will have to pay to get them out through a fine. After that, the SSS rule may start to apply. I think it all depends on the dog and how well upkept it looks. If its dirty, no collar and looks wild I may try to trap it once and take it to the pound. You never know, it could be someones lost hunting dog. After that though, its open season.

Years back there was a farmer who died near where I hunt. He had two dobermans that just ran wild after that. Killing animals and chasing deer. The DNR told us to shoot on sight. These dogs were VICIOUS. I went through 2 bullets that year, one got a deer and the other.......

Again, I believe a lot of these have to be played case be case. Use your best judgement, but reoccuring problems....SSS......

hycohounds

what happened to all the people preaching ethics on all the other post. some of the sameones talking about ethics and sportsmanship are now saying sss. seems like the only time ethics are involved are when big horns show up............tony

bryant1

I owned 4 electric collars and my deer dogs have never, ever been off our hunting lease. They are also very easy to handle when they know who's boss. If it was a persistant problem on any of my private land, then I would kill everyone of them. It's not the dog's fault, but there is also only one way to stop it...

kateraxl2381

I would try and figure the owner of the dogs and speak with he/she. If that doesn't work I'd take matters into my own hands.

toyota4x4

See if only everybody did what you do bryant1. It is the owners responsibilty to control and look after there dogs. All the problems Ive ran into on our land has been non collard dogs lately. But two weeks ago I was sittin on the ground and a walker and lab came runnin through the woods. Now the walker was trailing something and the lab was just followin...he was trackin me haha! They got to me I stood up and they ran over n sat down beside me. The walker was not collard but healthy and the lab looked like it escaped from a 5 star pet resort. I just sat there and they did to but "we" didnt see anythig lol. They followed me out when I left and I havnt seen em since. Bottom line is if they are affecting your hunting over periods of time shoot em.

Lanse couche couche

Can't recall ever seeing a beagle drag down a deer, although I'll bet somebody shows up here claiming that their Uncle's wife's 3rd cousin has such an incident on video.

In many instances today, people are increasingly being prosecuted for shooting animals that were chasing game but which were not clearly endangering it. In some states, wildlife officials cannot even shoot a dog that is chasing deer until they have first made an effort to catch it live.

So, the shoot and shovel solution can get you in very hot water. Always best to try to work things out another way first. You should also consult the local police, game wardens, etc. about what your specific rights are in terms of being able to legally shoot a dog. Some folks sometimes assume that just because a dog is trespasing or chasing game, it is legal to shoot them. Sometimes those folks are wrong and they end up paying a heavy price for it.

This topic comes up about once a year and usually turns into a ten page war. There is not a clear right/wrong on the issue because the laws and local authorities attitudes toward shooting dogs vary so widely.

Stonewall308

I couldn't disagree more.

I would never shoot a dog which appeared to be a house dog (i.e. indoor dog). As for hunting dogs, if it is a perpetual problem I would consider shooting them.


The argument of dog hunters typically goes like this: you shouldn't shoot the dog because it isn't the dogs fault; you obviously can't shoot the dogs owner, who is the party at fault; you can call the law but even if they are motivated to catch the guilty party (which usually they aren't), it would be very hard to do. Basically, the argument of dog hunters is set up in a way that gives the landowner no practical recourse, which of course is very self-serving for the dog hunter.

People don't talk about shooting dogs because they are cruel, but because it is really the only practical way to handle the situation when it is a reoccuring problem. The burden is on the dog hunter to be responsible. If you are irresponsible on a regular basis, don't complain when your dogs start going missing.