Liesje
Posted : 11/29/2007 1:46:20 PM
DPU
A puppy? Isn't he taking a chance that the hunting instinct may not be strong. I placed a field pointer to a hunting family and the reason why my foster was selected was because of the pointer's strong hunting instinct. The family had one as a pup and was hoping my foster would teach or at least activate the drive in the other.
I don't think the drive needs to even be that strong. The dog would track, not hunt. Like others have said (and I agree) you can really train any breed to track, especially when there's actually blood on the ground. He mostly hunts large game where the dog is used to track wounded game. I'm sure he would love hunting birds and coons and stuff and probably would if the dog was interested in that, but he's mainly looking for a tracking dog and constant outdoor companion when he's in the woods and fishing. He took my uncle's dog everywhere with him and I think he really got used to having a dog at his side.
I'd rather look for a shelter adult, but like I said, no rescue or shelter around here would place a dog into a home where it would be an outdoor dog, primarily used for tracking and hunting. Our local groups are all about "forever" homes that mean indoor only, companion animals.
Gina - he CANNOT get an Akita because I will be insanely jealous and steal it!!!