How to Train Your Dog to Hunt Squirrels
Introduction
Training your pup to tree a squirrel in just the right way can be quite challenging. Especially if you have very little experience in training dogs. While you could buy a dog that has been professionally trained or pay to have someone train your pup, what's the fun in that? You can start the process almost the day you bring your pup home, and the sooner you start the better.
The big thing is that puppies love to play chase, which if you get right down to it, is pretty much what treeing a squirrel is all about to your pup. No matter what age your pup is when you start training him to hunt virtually anything, you need to also make sure he has been trained to ignore the sound of gunfire up close and at a distance.
Defining Tasks
The task at hand is to train your dog to find squirrels and chase them up a tree where it will be easier for you to shoot them. There are, of course, many different methods to do so, but each has the same end result. Your pup will also need to either be learning the basic commands ('sit', 'stay', 'come', 'down') during his hunting training or have already mastered them. This is all about your pup doing what you have trained him to do while still seeing you as the alpha pack leader.
You will also need to decide on a command word you are going to use to tell your pup to hunt squirrels. The simpler the better, you could simply say "squirrel" or "hunt." It really doesn't matter what you use as long as you use the same word every time. Your pup needs to know what is expected of him when you give him this command word.
Getting Started
Depending on the age of your pup, you may be able to combine basic command training along with your hunting training or you can always do it once your pup has completed "Basic Training." Also, your pup will need to be trained not to be gun shy. Beyond this, there are a few things you will need to make the training easier. These include:
- Treats
- A leash
- A squirrel tail
- Squirrel meat
- A length of rope or string
- A gun with blanks
- A live squirrel
- A cage
The biggest things you can bring to each training session are a happy fun attitude and plenty of patience. You will also need an area with plenty of trees and squirrels as a training ground for your pup.
The Tail Dragger Method
The Tail and Cage Method
The Bonding Method
Written by PB Getz
Published: 11/24/2017, edited: 01/08/2021
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Success Stories and Training Questions
Training Questions and Answers
Buster
He is being so stubborn. He is wandering off the trail and doesn’t seem interest in the squirrel hide at all. He just wants to eat it. When he eventually gets to the tree with the squirrel he just sits there hoping it will come to him.
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Hello Charles, I recommend working on pup's off-leash training, taking pup out into the woods on a long training leash at first and redirecting pup back to the train when they stay off of it. I also recommend working on building pup's motivation for squirrels. I would actually try trapping a squirrel in a live cage trap, and exposing pup to the live squirrel in the trade, encouraging pup's enthusiasm about the live squirrel, then opening the trap to let the squirrel out and allow pup to chase it until it goes into a tree. Practicing with live squirrels often can help increase pup's interest and obsessions with squirrels. Once pup's made the association with live squirrels, then the squirrel hide can be used again during training, but I would have pup deliver it to you quickly, rewarding the delivery and not giving pup a chance to start eating it. This is similar to how duck training is done, the dog gets excited about going after the ducks, the duck is recovered from the duck before chewing starts, but something like dragging a squirrel on a flirt pole can get pup excited about chasing, just make the fun the chasing and not the chewing. You can also teach pup a Speak command, then command pup to speak while the squirrel is treed, to help pup make the connection between alerting and treeing the squirrel. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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My name is Audrey and I would love to start squirrel hunting with my dog, he is very obedient and smart. He loves to stay outside and fetch and chase the squirrels in the yard. I have been trying to get him into getting excited when a tail is in a tree but he doesn’t bark and doesn’t stay on the tree for long. I’m a little lost on how I should further his training.
1126 Dog owners recommended
Hello Audrey, Right now, he has learned that once the squirrel is in the tree the fun is over and nothing exciting will happen, so at that point he walks away - you will need to reward him for staying there and reward him for barking after giving him a "Speak!" command (which has to be taught first) to teach him to stay at the tree and to bark when he sees a squirrel. First, teach him Speak by following one of the methods from the article linked below: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-to-speak Next, I suggest following the "Bonding" method from the article you commented on: (https://wagwalking.com/training/hunt-squirrels) and using a squirrel tail (real squirrel tail) on a pole to drag the scent along the ground, then hold the tail-end of the pole against the tree out of his reach. Have an assistant let him go and help him stay on the scent trail, praising him when his nose stays to the ground and he follows the scent, and leading him back to the scent when he wanders away. When he arrives at the tree you are holding the tail against on the pole, command "Speak" and reward with a treat when he barks, wiggle the tail with the pole and when he looks up at it, also reward with another treat. Practice rewarding him for obeying your "Speak" command, for looking up at the tail, and again if he continues looking up for a couple of minutes. Practice the tracking and the looking up at the tail, and barking at it on command until he gets better at following the trail without needing to be guided, will bark before you have to tell him to when he gets to the tree, and when he keeps looking at the tail constantly. When he can do all of the above, then nail the tail to the tree and practice tracking, rewarding his barking, and rewarding him for looking up at it. Pin the tail higher and higher as he improves - continuing to reward him for barking at it and looking up at it. - At this point the tail will be still since it's not on the pole, which is a bit harder. When he will stay focused on it and bark when he finds it, then use a live trap to trap a live squirrel and put the cage in the tree and practice rewarding the same things - moving the cage carefully along the ground to the tree for him to track before putting it up in the tree. When he can track the live squirrel, bark at it when he finds it and keep watching it in the tree, then move onto real squirrels. While practicing this, reward him again when he continues to watch the squirrel, such as every one minute, then two minutes, then five minutes, then ten minutes - gradually spacing your treats further apart as he gets better at staying focused on it for longer. When he has mastered the training with the caged squirrel, then move onto wild loose squirrels. Make sure you practice all of the training in multiple locations and trees so that he will generalize the training and be able to do it in other locations too. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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