Training/Hunting

Silver

I'm very familiar with basic training techniques, and obedience, but I have no idea how hunting would work. I don't hunt, but my boyfriend does and so do a lot of people I know, and I thought maybe it might be fun for my little Kai girl to go out hunting with them from time to time, just for fun. I'm not sure if it is a good idea or how well it will work for them but I figure we could give it a try when she's a bit older. But I'm not sure what kind of training and practice it would require, and I'm also unsure of letting her of her lead, even with some serious recall training, especially since I wouldn't be there with her. Though she did hop out of the car one time last week before I could get her leash on and just followed my Golden to the front door and waited to be let in, which wasn't too bad. I noticed when she gets scared or nervous of something that drives by or a sound when I take her out front to go potty (on a leash) she sprints back to the door, though now she's started getting over these little spooks pretty fast, she still runs to the door (or starts to at least) but she stops and then looks around and walks back over to me like nothing happened.

So for those of you who hunt with your Kai, how do you do it? Does it just come naturally to them? Would having just one dog out with you be beneficial at all or just get in the way? I'm not even sure if it's something she would be interested in doing or not, she may not be the hunting type...she did mistakenly pounce on a bee in the grass last week and it stung her paw, and she cried and limped around, poor baby! I'm trying to figure out what I might want to do with her in the long run so I can prepare her properly as a pup. We're going to go to a few SAR training sessions this fall to check into that and see if it might be something we both want to do. And I know for sure I want to certify her with TDI since my major is Physical Therapy, so we are working towards that right now. She has her first puppy taining class today, I figure that's a good place to start...

dlroberts

I'm a novice at this and Tyson is the first dog I'm trying to raise as a hunting dog, so take this advice in context.

Truth be told, I believe it is near impossible to raise a "casual" hunting dog. All dogs have some natural hunting ability, but getting to work for the hunter takes time and a LOT of practice. An untrained dog will be out hunting for themselves, not for the hunter. The specific training you will need to do depends on the type of hunting your dog will be doing. To my knowledge, there is no do-it-all hunting breed. There are versatile hunters (most pointing breeds, setters, etc.), but they are versatile in that they point or flush upland game, retrieve downed upland game or waterfoul, and will scent track wounded fur-bearing game. They are not natural big game dogs and probably won't be easily trained to bay or catch big game. Kai are historically big game dogs, so their natural style is to track game and bay or catch it until the hunter can arrive to dispatch. Training a big game dog, as I'm quickly learning, requires a lot more than just knowledge. It requires access to land, to animals, and a lot of time for practice. Training a bird dog can be done with a lot less space, but will be going against some of the natural instincts your Kai probably possess.

Most people will tell you that hunting dogs are not pets and should be kept kenneled when not being hunted over. I think the vast majority of people that hunt with dogs treat their dogs as tools, not as family members. Honestly, can sort of see why. If you want your dog to be a hunting machine, you need their life to be about hunting. They need to have the drive to get out there and do a job, and they need to not be confused by silly things like manners or walking well on a leash. Kenneled hunting dogs know that when they come out of the kennel, it's time to go to work. House pets know that when you leave the house, any number of fun things may be happening.

Anyway, if you want to train your Kai as a hunter, there are a few things you need to work on ASAP.

1) Recall! You can't emphasize this enough. The more you dog is off leash and practicing recall, the more likely it is they won't get into trouble when in the field. I practice recall with Tyson in the yard at least once a day. I also try to take him off leash as often as possible, even if only for five minutes. On the weekends, when time and weather permit, we're out in the field where he can really stretch his legs.

2) Scenting/tracking. The quicker you get your dog used to the scent of the game you want them to hunt, the better chance you have of them getting out and looking for it in the field. If you want to train her as a big game dog, find local hunters who can give you a hide of a recent kill. Let her play with it, chase it, tug on it, sleep with it, whatever. If you want to do some bird hunting, find a local hunting preserve and buy yourself some birds. Keep them frozen and let her play with them daily. You can also get bottled scents for upland and waterfoul which you can put on toys to get her used to chasing and playing with birds.

3) Gun shyness. No dog is born immune to gun fire, although some are more sensitive than others. The nihon ken seem to be on the more sensitive side. I started by taking Ty to a local shooting range which put him WAAAAAY over his threshold. So I've backed off and began again using a cap gun during feeding time. This works a lot better if your dog is food motivated. After a few weeks or months of that, graduate to a .22 blank gun. Then eventually to larger callibers (and shotguns if you plan to bird hunt).

The path from there changes depending on the type of hunting you plan to do with your dog. Bird hunting requires retrieving and a soft mouth, big game hunting requires baying and a hard mouth. I won't go into the details of training those things here unless you are interested. But they are different sets of skills and I think it would be near impossible to teach one dog both sets.

I hope this helps! Hopefully one of the more experienced hunters on the forum will chime in with some more info too.