You don’t know too much about his life before, you just know you’re ready to give your rescue dog a warm and welcoming home. You don’t just want him to mess around and cuddle with, though. You want to train him up to be a hunting dog. You regularly go out hunting and you’re in need of a trusty canine companion to help you. It will require discipline and self-control, things he’s lacking somewhat at the moment. For now, you can barely get him to ‘sit’ and ‘wait’. If he’s going to be an effective hunting dog that is all going to have to change.
Succeed with this training and you’ll have more than a hunting dog. You’ll have a well-behaved dog who follows your instructions. This means teaching him any number of other commands will be easier too.
Training a rescue dog to hunt isn’t going to be straightforward. They require serious discipline and if they haven’t had it before then you have an uphill battle. Fortunately, it is a battle you can win. You’ll need to start with basic obedience commands. Then you’ll need to get him familiar with a hunting environment and the prey you’ll be after. You can use both food and toys to motivate him and keep him on task during training.
If he’s a young rescue dog he should be a fast learner and you could see results in just a few weeks. If he’s older and stuck in his ways then you may need several months. Get this training right and you’ll never need to hunt alone again. You’ll hunt faster and smarter in a team. It will also be fantastic bonding time for you both!
You’ll need to collect several things before you can start training. You’ll need a generous supply of treats or his favorite food. You’ll also need decoys to get him used to his new prey.
The main component you need will be time. You need to set aside 15 minutes every day if possible. The more consistently you train the quicker you’ll see results. You can train in the yard and out on walks.
Apart from all that you just need patience and a proactive attitude, then your work can begin!