How to Train Your Dog to Hunt Squirrels

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How to Train Your Dog to Hunt Squirrels

Hard

3-6 Months

Work

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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

Effective

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Step

Tie the tail

Tie a length of string to the squirrel tail and drag it through the woods, creating a scent trail for your pup to follow.

Step

Scent training

Using the same tail, let your dog play around with it and get used to the scent.

Step

Follow the leader

Let your pup find the trail you made and follow him as he follows the trail to the tree where you stopped. Give him a treat and lots of praise.

Step

Nail that tail

Once your pup has mastered following the trail to the tree, nail the tail just above where he can reach. Let him find the tail, and if he starts barking at the tail, praise him and give him a treat.

Step

To amazing heights

Slowly move the tail further and further up the tree rewarding him each time he "trees" the squirrel and barks to let you know. Move it up until he can't see it but can still smell it. Finally, stop using the tail altogether. Be sure to keep up the rewards to ensure he matches the action with a reward.

Step

Live training

Finally, its time to take your pup out for a little live training. If your all of your hard work has paid off, your pup should have no problem treeing live squirrels. Just remember, you only get to shoot the squirrels that your pup barks at, this will continually reinforce his training.

The Tail and Cage Method

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Step

Fun first

Give your pup a squirrel tail to play with so that he has plenty of time to become very familiar with it.

Step

Make trails

Take the same tail, tie it on the end of a long string, and drag it through the woods creating a trail that ends at one specific tree.

Step

Let your dog track

Let your dog find the beginning of your trail while he is on his leash. Make him sit, release him from his leash, and give him your hunt command. Let him start tracking the trail you made earlier.

Step

When he finds the tree

As soon as your pup finds the end of the trail at the tree, be sure to give him a treat and plenty of praise. Practice this for several weeks until your pup has fully mastered this skill.

Step

Catch a live squirrel

For this step, you need to trap a live squirrel that can be put in a cage. Use the caged squirrel to create the scent trail and then suspend the cage up the tree where your pup can't reach it.

Step

Up and out of sight

Slowly increase the height of the cage off the ground until it is completely out of sight. This makes your dog use his sense of smell to find the squirrel. Remember, you should only reward him when he barks to let you know the squirrel has been treed. The rest is all about spending as much time as you can training your pup, until he masters this simple skill.

The Bonding Method

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Step

Start with the basics

In the early days after you first bring your dog home, let him go everywhere with you while you teach him the basic commands, but this time add in the 'speak' command. You can do this by holding a treat out in front of him while he is sitting. Encourage him to speak by using the command and waving the treat around until he barks. When he does, give him the treat and praise him. He will learn to associate the 'speak' command with barking.

Step

Tail on a pole

Tie a squirrel tail on a long pole and hold it out where your pup can smell it. Walk down the trail with your pup, following the tail on the pole to create the trail. This teaches your pup to track by scent and sight as he will be keeping his eyes on the tail the whole time.

Step

Tie the tail up

Tail the tail up in the tree and when your dog comes to the base of the tree, give him the 'speak' command. When he barks, give him a treat and lots of praise.

Step

This pursuit is now live

Choose a spot in your local woods where the trees are short, and the squirrels are plentiful. Take your pup out there and let him run around until he finds an active trail to follow. When he trees a squirrel and barks at you, shoot the squirrel and give him a nice treat and plenty of praise.

Step

And in the end

The rest is all about repetition. Frequent short training sessions are far more effective than long ones on a casual basis. This training can take months or even years to master, but you and your pup can certainly have a lot of fun the whole time.

How to Train Your Dog to Hunt Squirrels

Introduction

Defining Tasks

Getting Started

Success Stories and Training Questions