Somewhere in the middle of Oregon.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Dogs And Hunting



I have never really been much of a bird hunter, and though we have a couple of bird dogs, my husband is the only one that uses them for hunting. He hunts pheasants with pointers, my brothers hunt ducks and geese with their labradors.....my dogs...... chase chipmunks when we're camping, (which usually stresses me out because I like the chipmunks).

Recently, however, we were introduced to another type of hunting with dogs. Bears. Hunting bears with dogs has become a very controvercial issue with all of the animal rights folks these days. I wasn't for or against it when my husbands bear hunt began. I am a firm believer in 'don't knock it until you try it', so I keep an open mind.

Since we had hunted bears in other ways, several times before, we thought we would try using dogs this time.

Can I just say, these dogs are AMAZING animals! It was truly worth the entire trip just to watch them work. They were a mixture of differnt types of hounds. Some were Blue Tick, some Red Bone, some Walker, and some Black and Tan. Their sense of smell is second only to the animals they chase. They are made for tracking, and watching them work is an experience i'll not forget.

The dogs are secured in a big kennel (or dog box) in the back of a truck until the hunters reach 'bear country'. At that point, 2 or 3 'tracker' dogs are put on top of the kennel and leashed (so they don't fall off or begin the chase too soon.) The hunters then drive roads that are less traveled by people(because bears are shy and tend to stay away from busy areas). If a bear has crossed the road or is near enough to the road that the dogs can smell them, the dogs go off like an alarm. The hunters look for tracks and turn loose a pack of dogs who run into the forest barking and whaling for all they're worth.

Each dog is equiped with a tracking collar and when they catch up to whatever they're chasing, that animal, be it a bear or mountain lion, will typically climb a tree to get away from these pesky critters. The hunter then goes to the tree and takes his game animal if it is what he's after, sometimes with a camera, sometimes not. However easy this may sound.....it is far from a cake walk. While the dogs are chasing, the hunters are racing up and down mountains and trails and roads in hopes of seeing the animal for a shot, hoping it will tree soon, or hoping to get in front of it. Sometimes the dogs lose the scent and the critter outsmarts them. A bear, for instance will circle back around where it first saw the dogs and runs it's same track to confuse them. Bears are extremely inteligent animals. If the dogs do not lose the scent, they will stay with the animal for as long as they are able. If they do happen to lose the scent, they will go back to where they were first let out, or they will wander until they find a road and wait there for someone to pick them up. The tracking collars help retrieve the dogs.

Some of the dogs are more aggressive than others. Usually the ones that have been munched by a bear or lion know better than to get that close again, but they are still used to intimidate the animal and track it. Some of these little dogs will go until they can't anymore....and then they keep going because it's not in them to quit. They know their job. They will stay with the pack until it is done.




Hound dogs are my new favorite breed. Watching them work and seeing their excitement when they're on the chase is so much fun. When some are turned on a track and others must stay behind until it is their turn, they can hardly contain themselves, barking and whining as if to say 'pllllleeeeeeaaaasssseeee, let me go with them!' They have such sweet personalities, and yet can be extremely brave when it comes to knowing what they have to do. One little such dog was with us on my husbands bear hunt. She took a bite to her head from the bear. Teeth marks in the top and one through the bottom of her jowel, bleeding profusely, she stayed with the bear until her hunter pulled her away and she knew it was ok to back off. Some of these dogs fight to the death because they are protecting one another, but trust me when I tell you, the bear or lion has a definate advantage over these little guys that aren't much bigger than one of their paws, complete with razor claws.

I am still unsure about being for or against this type of hunting, as I have seen both sides. The adrenalin in bear hunting is second to none and the boys that do it are just as athletically amazing as the dogs they take so much pride in. It is, hands down, the most exciting hunt i've ever been on. Still....the sentimental side of me says I couldn't turn my pets out in hopes that they don't get eaten. There in lies the differences between the guys that run the dogs and myself, these dogs are not pets, they are tools, and effective ones at that. They try not to get attached to the dogs because they know what could happen when they turn them loose, but you can see the love they have for each one.

 Many bears and lions could not be harvested without the aid of dogs. Mountain lion populations would soar and deer and elk herds would decline significantly. They would move to the valleys and begin to eat people and their pets. It's a need to balance nature that gives this hunt justification. In some cases, wounded animals may never be recovered without the aid of dogs and the meat would spoil, thus making the hunt a wasted effort. There is no doubt that dogs do have a place in hunting, and they have had since the dawn of time. It's what they're bred for, and what they live for. 'Go get em' boys!!