Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Anyone use German shepherds?

I’m finally getting a puppy(always adopted older Germans). Lost my last one three years ago. My puppy was born last night. So I’m 8 weeks he will be ready to come home. I’m hoping to train him to track deer. But I’d also like to train him to actually be out in the field hunting deer with me. Anyone do this? And does anyone use Germans for this? This puppy comes from a good bloodline(German working line) parents both do ipo competition and his father is apparently really good at tracking, while mom excels in the obedience area. I’m hoping to start training pretty young, this year I will save as much deer blood as I can for tracking training. Anyone else have some books or training advise for getting dogs use to gun shots and getting them well behaved in the field?

I know some states allow the use of tracking dogs on big game but that would get your ass in a crack here in south dakota. Better check your own state rules

Rules here are a bit grey. Tracking shot deer is 100% legal. As is have a tracking dog with while hunting. Even though there is technically a law again using dogs to chase deer(gotta love the broadness on this law). I did talk with a conservation officer. He stated while hunting with a dog is perfectly legal, he said technically if an officer thinks your using the dog to chase/herd deer. They can press charges. But this seems like a hard law too enforce. And I don’t plan of letting him chase deer. More point me in the direction they are. Which would technically be legal. However I don’t know if I’ll even be able to successfully train the dog to do this. So he may end up only helping track shot deer, really comes down to how obedient this particular dog will be.

A lot of states require tracking dogs to be leashed. Would probable be a good cya in your case. Hard to say you are herding anything with a leashed dog. As for training should not be a problem. Seen all types of dogs used for tracking. Very common even if not legal to just let fido off the couch go find the deer.Seems to be a very natural interest for blood trailing in most dogs. Typically tracking a deer is dealing with very fresh scent so most any dog can physically do it. Just the mental side of it. As for hunting with you simple obedience is all you need. Teach him to sit stay and shutup. Once he learns that he will probable just sleep next to you.

Do some looking you might have a tracking dog club or facebook group in you area. In wisconsin there is small but fairly connected group of trackers. They are very passionate about training and are very helpful. I would assume you should be able to find like minded folks in your area that would be willing to help.

I would work a lot on socializing the pup. Get him around lots of people. If get a good tracking dog others may want your service. I have never had a german shepard. But of any dog breed they are the ones I have the most unpleasant encounters with. A lot of them just seem to have a switch easily flipped when they are around people outside their normal group.

My wife was involved in Schutzhund competion when I met her. She trained tracking much as I did- using hot dogs. I followed the method outlined in North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association's (NAVHDA) "Green Book" while my wife used a different soure but followed the same lines. I've used my wirehairs to blood track and they were not put down on deer or bear blood before that first time.

Using blood of the critter being hunted is unnecessary and becomes rather odiferous as blood does not keep well. When I tested my VVD dogs I used beef blood occasionally which did not pose any problems that I noticed. "Blood is blood" to a certain extent and whatever is available seems to work well enough.

Obedience training is no different whether in the house or in the field. The dog needs to listen and obey immediately without fuss or yelling. Training for hand signals would be a help but the dog would still need the obedience basics down solidly.

One should look at the state's definition of "hunting" also. In several states I've hunted the definition of "hunting" included locating game so one could be in violation if a dog is used to help locate big game animals in any way prior to shooting. Such actions may be difficult to prosecute but the hassle to defend one's self if so accused is not worth the risk to me. Other reasons I wouldn't bring the dog with would be added movement, noise, and scent to deal with; less attention to my surroundings as some attention will be directed on the dog no matter how well trained; scrutiny from authorities and other hunters as some will have prejudices and biases towards the presence of a dog in the field while big game hunting. Most importantly, there are enough yahoos out there who might take a potshot at the dog claiming they thought it was a coyote, wolf, or chasing deer. That is the reason many states have a leash use included in the rules regarding tracking dogs.

I have had several tracking dogs over the years and the best that I have owned were Great Pyrenees. I have seen some good labs too, but never owned one. I currently use a rescue dog that looks like a miniature great Pyrenees. Weighs about 25 pounds. Anyway, I trained mine by putting them on a fresh deer trail. I hunt my own property, and when I shoot a deer, or the fellow that hunts with me does, we never go to the deer until the dog is let follow the trail. Might be a hundred yards or a few feet, but the dog always gets the first go at it. If it falls right there the dog is brought from the side and down wind so that it all of a sudden gets into the scent cone. Just a few times and most dogs are hooked. We must have them on a leash in Arkansas, to track deer. I hunt from elevated stands, and all have a chain attached. The Great Pyrenees would go to the stand with me, get chained and promptly go to sleep. I have seen them watch deer that approach close and never move or bark at them. They catch on quickly. I figure a German Shepard will do well, with a small amount of training. miles

So very awesome! I think my PP would be too fired up by all the birds/squirrels/etc to begin to do that. I really need to get him on a track this year and see what he does.

I had to head for work before addressing acclimating the dog to gunfire.

What I do is start off with 22 blanks when the pup is obedient enough to let roam off the leash to about the 20-30 yard point. When it is out that far and intent on something besides you, fire ONE round behind your back to help muffle noise and continue walking as if nothing happened. Whatever you do, do not praise, chastise, cajole, look at, or otherwise communicate with the dog. Just keep walking. I generally do not fire a second shot during that walk but I will fire a round during a later walk. I'll do this for up to a week or until I determine the dog is ready for more. Then I may fire a second time sometime during the walk.

Eventually, you will end up with a larger/louder gun. I fecommnd a shotgun as the reorganization is not nearly as sharp as a rifle. Start with the dog out a ways from you and when interested in something else. Continue as described above. If you have access to a dog that is correctly broken to gunfire you can run your pup with the other dog which may help shorten the process. In any event, don't bother taking the dog to a range as the amount of gunfire may overwhelm the dog and cause difficult problems to correct in the future.

Rattling pans and other such recommendations are mostly drivel regarding gunfire. There are drastic differences between noise and gunfire which even people pick up on. That is not to say such antics are worthless as a whole but they are in regards to acclimating the dog to the sound of guns. The value of this method is the potential to cause the dog less concern when it hears other loud noises. I don't bother with this method these days as the 5 dogs and cat I currently have produce enough unexpected loud noises all by themselves.

Best of times for you and your pup when it comes home.

GSD would work great at tracking, and no need to train the IPO way with hot dogs, in fact is easier for the dog if you don't.That teaches foot step tracking only, there's soooo much more to the scent trail the dog can be using... Training to gunfire is also quite easy with a GSD. Start from a distance , pair the sound with something positive, and incrementally decrease the distance, increase the noise, and ramp up the positives.

I knew a guy who used to coon hunt with a german shepherd. He'd drive the back roads with the windows down and when the dog barked he'd let him out and he'd tree a coon shortly.

My Shepard comes along on my predator hunts and sits next to me. I do not use him as a trolling dog but just as a companion, however he does get "excited" when a coyote is coming in. He was just a pup when this was taken, he has since grown into his ears and feet.