Controversial Bear Hunting Dogs

?Bear hunting dogs usually fall into the category of scent hounds, meaning they primarily hunt by scent and not sight. Often they are used to trail and sometimes kill game. Bear hunting dogs are often hunted in packs leading the hunters behind them and eventually leading them to a treed quarry. Bear hunting dogs are mostly regarded as having the most sensitive noses among all canine species. Most bear hunting dogs also have deep booming voices while running a scent trail.

Of interest to those who like different breeds of dogs and appreciate what they do and what they are bred for, is the Karelischer Barenhund or Carelian Bear Dog. A hunting spitz mainly used for hunting bear and moose.

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Bear hunting dogs like the Carelian Bear dog hold the game at bay by bark, and the hunter can even learn to distinguish what prey the dog is holding by its tone of bark. This dog is highly persistent and very courageous, and works with the hunter using its highly developed sense of smell and direction. This is definitely not a pet, but a working dog, bred to hunt.

The history of bear hunting dogs is rather interesting. In the state of Minnesota for instance, dogs routinely tracked and treed bears. Those were the bears are varmint days. Flash forward to 1971 when Minnesota listed Black bears as big game and banned hunters from using dogs to chase them. The end result of banning bear hunting dogs was the Black bear population skyrocketed.

The Department of Natural Resources is in a quandary at how to control the out of control Black bear population and have started asking that bear hunting dogs be allowed to be used once again. A move that makes a great deal of sense when you consider hounds currently trail raccoons, coyotes, bobcats and foxes. What's the difference if bear hunting dogs are brought back?

Twenty-seven states in the US allow bear hunting. More than half of those let hunters use bear hunting dogs. Nine states allow hunters to use bait. Wisconsin allows bait and dogs.

Bear hunting dogs are allowed in only two provinces in Canada, Ontario and British Columbia. Often fitted with hi-tech radio collars, hunters monitoring the signal determine the exact location of the cornered bear and arrive for the harvest.

The dog tracking collar has two parts, the radio collar transmitter and the receiver. The collar is worn by the dog and the radio transmitter is connected to a collar strap. It has one or two antennas. The Radio Collar/Transmitter sends a signal on a set frequency and can be detected by the hunter/handler's receiver. For trailing bear, the collar you would most likely consider using would be the Tree Switch collar that tells you if your bear hunting dogs have treed their prey.

The Right Timing For Grizzly Bear Hunting

?Grizzly bear hunting can be the biggest charge of your life if your make sure you know what you are doing, and pay attention to everything around you. For instance, know your bears. That's usually the biggest mistake made while Grizzly bear hunting is taking a bear that turns out to be smaller than the hunter thought or wanted. It's hard to field-judge the size of bears until you have experience.

If the bear appears to be lanky and has a long nose and ears, and longer legs, it's a smaller specimen, likely less than 125 pounds. The big bears you want to see while Grizzly bear hunting will look blocky with small ears and their legs appear short. Most hunters shoot smaller bears because they shoot the first one they see. Bigger bears usually come in later in the season. After all, that's how they got that big in the first place.

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You also want to be timing your Grizzly bear hunting at the right time of the year. Timing means everything for spring bears. You need to be out there hunting right after the bear get active following hibernation, and before they start shedding their winter coats. Usually the peak time is the last week in May and first two weeks of June. Grizzly bear hunting in the spring offers more ways and more diverse types of habitat than any other big game animal.

Know what your bear will eat and where it is likely to be found. If you are Grizzly bear hunting, be aware these bears are typically, but not exclusively active during the dawn, dusk, and nighttime hours.

In spring and early summer, they'll often be found in lower elevations along rivers and streams, catching fish when the spawning runs are in progress. Grizzlies will also hunt for winter-killed animals in these areas as well. In later summer these bears usually head up to higher elevations scrounging for ripe wild berries.

For Fall Grizzly bear hunting, you'll likely find these bears in white bark pine stands eating pine nuts. Or they'll be digging around a tree trying to find a squirrels cache of nuts. Bears also dig for roots in mid-elevation meadows, more so in years when there are fewer pine nuts.

Knowing bear body language will stand you in good stead on your Grizzly bear hunting trip. For instance, and this information will come in handy if you come upon a bear by surprise, a bear standing on its hind feet is usually trying to get a better look and smell by sniffing the air. This is not an aggressive posture. It means the bear is unsure of what's in front of him - but still could drop on all fours and charge.

If the Grizzly is swinging its head from side to side, or turns sideways from you, it expressing a reluctance to charge and is looking for a way out of the situation. Your bear hunting adventure can only be heightened by as much information as possible to make it a trip to remember.

Pig Hunting Dogs Offer Excitement And Challenge

?Wild pigs and wild boars are not the same thing at all other than they both are pork, but they involve the excitement of the hunt with pig hunting dogs and a dedicated true blue pig hunting hunter.

All wild boar and feral domestic pig hybrids began in the 1920s when the European wild boar was introduced into California by a Monterey country landowner. When it bred the domesticated pigs that were present in the area, the result was today's wild boar hunting that runs wild.

Due to the non-domesticated excessive breeding and the over-running of the wild boar population, pig hunting dogs and their hunters were unclassified until the mid-1950s. Then the Fish and Game Commission soon after that, around 1957, established hunting seasons on them, with specific conditions for using pig hunting dogs. In 1992, sections were added to the Fish and Game Code Sections that required hunters to possess tags for hunting pigs.

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In California, wild pigs exist in 56 of the state's 58 counties with the majority of them on private lands. Interestingly, their behavior is changing as they are hunted. The more they are hunted, the pig doesn't come out until evening and night time where normally they will forage during the day. If they are not hunted a lot, they will come out during the day more.

Topics like this are taught at places like Joshua Kauta's pig dog training school, which is possibly one of the oldest and only pig hunting dogs schools available in New Zealand. This place looks for pig hunting dogs that are from assorted breeds, those that contain characteristics of courage, stamina, intelligence, and tenacity.

When young pig hunting dogs are initially trained in pig hunting, they need lots of room and trained pigs to work with. The land for training pig hunting dogs needs to be pig terrain, which is rugged and hilly country. The best pig hunting dogs are the breeds such as bull terriers, which are tough and pugnacious. Another popular breed is the working sheep and cattle dog, crossed with hunting breeds such as a Labrador, who can pick up scent.

Pig hunting dogs also need to begin their training at a very young age, which depends on the type of dog used, as soon as they can maneuver the rugged country they need to begin the training. Two levels of pig hunting dogs are used: the bailing dogs are those that find the big and keep it at bay while barking. Meanwhile, the hunter shoots the pig without injuring the dog. If the trained dogs, instead of barking at the pigs, are the type to grab onto the ears and hold on, then this type of dog is referred to as the holders. Whichever type of dog you own, training the dog is the most important part of pig hunting.

Training Hunting Dogs Assures Readiness

?Everywhere you look, someone has a dog-training book out about training hunting dogs, and, of course, their method is always the best one for everyone to use.

Many people purchase a hunting dog already started, as they personally lack the knowledge to train properly, they do not have the time or energy, or it is too overwhelming. A good trained hunting dog is not cheap due to the hours spent on training it correctly, but it is money well spent if it is done by a professional that knows what they are doing. So before purchasing a hunting dog, decide if training hunting dogs is something you want to do and have the dedication to last it out, as it will be a lot less expensive and the quality of the communication for a better one-on-one between the two of you will be well established and something to enjoy in the future.

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Before beginning any of the many methods for training hunting dogs, make sure they know the basic commands like the back of their paw. This particular type of breed will need to be trained on a level-by-level of command training before they can ever enter the field. They need to know their name, know who you are as their owner and master, while being able to make excellent eye contact with you without fear or hesitation. Then slowly begin their basic commands in obedience. Obedience Classes are important no matter how much you know, as the dog will also socialize while there.

The games and fish departments have gathered together some of the top training hunting dogs methods that are "tried and true." At the head of their list was exercise, to gradually extend the dog's exercise duration as long as the dog's stamina increases and he is having fun all year round. They highly recommended swimming as it is excellent for conditioning the dog's muscle groups, and also increases their cardio-vascular fitness. Of course, cooling off during hot seasons or after long exercise periods may not be part of the training hunting dogs' regime, but it sure feels good.

Many owners of hunting dogs keep them penned up most of the year, only to take them out during hunting season for exercise or hunting, and expect them to be instantaneously up to par and full of stamina, keeping "up with the hunt" or training hunting dogs sporadically. This will not work, as a routine regime is important to properly train the dog until it is well aware of what it is supposed to do.

Fun With Free Online Bear Hunting Games

?There are many free online bear hunting games. Use your favorite search engine and use those keywords.

Many sites offer downloadable games. These games are occasionally demonstrations of the full versions. Read everything about the download before proceeding. When you find free online bear hunting games that you like, you can save them in your favorites in your internet browser program. Also, ensure that you know the site well enough to trust it to download anything. Occasionally, if you are downloading from an untrustworthy, unknown site, you might get a virus. Ensure you have virus protection on your computer that is up-to-date and has all its virus definitions.

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Free online bear hunting games are enjoyable. They do not improve your hunting skills, but they might improve your eye-hand coordination slightly. It will teach you to have a steady hand when shooting, and provide a distraction to every day stresses. As you improve in these skills, they will prove helpful while hunting bear.

Free online bear hunting games are always available to play. Keep in mind that they are games only, and not designed to improve your aim or hunting skills. Your hunting skills will only be improved with practice. If you want to improve your aim, go to a gun club and practice in the shooting range. As you improve your aim, your eye-hand coordination, which you have been using the in the free online bear hunting games, will become sharper and quicker. This will help you out on the hunting range when hunting bear.

There is no "best" free online bear hunting games. Choose the one that appeals to you most, that has all the features you are looking for, and is fun and enjoyable. Remember, games are entertainment. Hunting is serious business that involves weapons. Games are fun and safe, and not meant to be taken seriously. Hunting is dangerous, unless you take it seriously.

Bear hunting games are cheaper than an actual bear hunting trip, of course. Use the games to get yourself focused for your upcoming trip. The games can help you focus on the best place to bring down a bear.

If you can choose the terrain in the game, choose ones that you are most likely to encounter while bear hunting. Knowing that polar bears are generally on ice flows and that Grizzlies are near the water in the spring, can make choosing the terrain that much easier. In addition, once you get used to the terrain in your line of vision in the game, you can be used to that type of terrain when you go bear hunting in Alaska or Arctic Canada.

Origins Of The Hunting Dogs

?The history of the hunting dogs began 20,000 years ago when the Mesolithic man used early dogs to hunt for food, along with animal pelts for shelter and clothing. At a later date, approximately 9,000 years ago when livestock became a domesticated animal for mankind, the dog changed roles and became known as a protector and guard.

During the Bronze Age, about 6,500 years ago, there were five types of dogs in existence: pointing dogs, shepherding dogs, mastiffs, greyhounds, and wolf-type dogs. Early cave paintings during this time demonstrate that dogs worked alongside of hunters. The cave's visual demonstration of these early hunting dogs showed that they were bred to work with people as hunting dogs the majority of the time—as hunters of animals, fish, and birds.

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The hunting dogs bred from that time on were bred for a specific environment and climate, eventually developing into a wide variety of hunting dogs that were bred to hunt their own particular game while using their individual skills, to achieve this goal for the hunter and friend alongside them. The changing attributes of these early hunting dogs were dictated entirely by the needs and changing lifestyles of the humans, with the development of the dog linked entirely to the evolution of humanity.

Hunting dogs consisted of bird dogs that flushed birds or some form of fowl, but some were developed to flush bird out of water environments while some were bred to flush the bird on land. Also, some hunting dogs treed coons while some would hunt rodents of some kind. But either way, the dog was developed to assist man in his hunt for food, clothing, or shelter.

As modern times developed with more advanced agricultural methods, manufacturing, or new weapons and ways to hunt, the dog became more of a friend or a hunting dog for pleasure, becoming more developed for pleasure than need. And since the definition of the hunting dog refers to a dog that assists a person to hunt, the expression hunting dogs has also had to change.

Today, the most popular hunting dogs are the hounds, terriers, gun dogs, and the curs. After that, more sub-categories can be made in regard to the particular hunting skills of each breed. Some examples are the hounds that have the sub-categories of sight hounds and scent hounds. Gun dogs have the sub-categories of retrievers, setters, spaniels, water dogs, and pointers. Terriers have the sub-categories of Lakeland Terriers, and Curs. But they all have one thing in common, the love of hunting with their owner.