Sports similar to hunting?

Crispy

As far as I'm aware, hunting with dogs is not allowed in my state and restricted in the surrounding states... so I'd like to find a sport that similar to hunting to keep in mind. From what I've seen of herding, the instinct seems very similar, but it's lacking and Tracking/Nose-work doesn't seem as fast-paced and motion-oriented (read: a bit boring for a high-energy dog). Agility seems fast-paced, but I'm not sure how good it would be to keep the instincts sharp. Has anyone tried Lure Coursing or does anyone have anything to contribute on the sports above?

Really, my big question is this: does anyone have any suggestions on sports that are similar to hunting or sports that a dog that hunts would enjoy? Something that would demand the same/a similar function or instinct to keep those things strong?




P.S.: if someone could help me find the actual laws in New England - RI, MA, CT, VT, NH, ME and even as far as NY - I'd be very appreciative... I did my best and largely failed without knowing where to look.

dlroberts

http://www.sheddogtrainer.com/

shishiinu

Yes shed hunting is what I was also thinking. I would check the game laws in those states by checking the department websites. I think new York allows hunting with dogs from what I have heard. Raccoon hunting is popular and most of it is with dogs so that's also some thing you could do.

kumachan

You can access NYS hunting laws and regulations through the DEC website: http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/hunting.html

WrylyBrindle

VT
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/lawsdigest.cfm

lindsayt

My Shibas love herding. They also like lure sport, but herding burns the most energy and taps into the hunt drive the most.

shishiinu

Not sure if herding might be a good thing for the kishu since they have a tendency to bite and hold their prey.

Calia

What about Treibball? It's like herding but without the potential of killing something (other than a ball): http://www.americantreibballassociation.org/

Calia

NY hunting rules:

Small game:

Dogs may be used to hunt small game, except:

* You may not use dogs to hunt wild turkey in the spring.
* In the Northern Zone, if you are hunting with a dog, or accompanied by a dog, you may not possess a rifle larger than .22 caliber rim-fire or possess a shotgun loaded with slug, ball or buckshot unless you are coyote hunting with a dog.

Training - You may train dogs on raccoon, fox, coyote, and bobcat from July 1 through April 15. You may train dogs on other small game only from August 15 through April 15.

You may train dogs at any time on lands you own, lease, or have written permission to use, if you are not training on wildgame. You may only use blank ammunition when training dogs, except during an open season.

Control - Hunting dogs should remain under control of the hunter or trainer, especially on lands inhabited by deer. Do not shoot at dogs; report stray dogs to a local Environmental Conservation Officer or your local animal control officer.


Apparently you can get a permit to track and tree black bears so long as it's for training purposes only: http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/25006.html

lindsayt

Speaking of biting, Farrah is horrible about biting the sheep and holding their flanks when she decides to chase them instead of move them. It's something the owners don't want to encourage, but she is small and doesn't cause harm. I can forsee Kishu having a real problem controlling that, but all the same, I'm sure they would really have fun doing it. The sheep, not so much.

sukoshi_mom

@Crispy-- Keep in mind that raccoon hunting may be more hazardous than it would appear. Raccoons have been known to "pack on dogs" and attack them. We have raccoons in our area and a full-grown male raccoon is nothing to sneeze at. My mother had one show up in her garage. When he stood up on his hind legs, he was about 24-30 inches tall and his incisors were easily 1.5 -2 in. long.

Crispy

Thank you, everyone who's posted, for all your suggestions! I really like the shed hunting and the herding and I'm more and more interested in -actually- hunting with dogs. Special thank you for those who posted the hunting laws. I really want to get Russell into hunting, but I didn't know where to start when I was looking for the laws on dogs.

@sukoshismom I'm pretty terrified of what a raccoon could do to my dog. I've seen one stand up to London when we went walking at the park late at night. I've never had problems with anything else (aside a coyote that ran away when it got too close), but that raccoon scared me stupid.

ayk

For what it's worth, my friend's old 35 lb Jindo was able to kill a huge raccoon before she was able to switch on the floodlights. It can be that quick. Funny thing is the only animal that ever left a mark on the Jindo was a rabbit. :-p

renae

Here in CA I here all kinds of stories at my vet about raccoons killing dogs. They are really smart. Most of the stories, the raccoons draw the dogs in the water and then they would gang up on the dog and drown them. I always keep an eye on Kiyo when I let her out in the backyard at night by herself or when we go camping because of the raccoons. They aren't scared of much around here. That scares me....

NotoriousScrat

Sheesh. We were always careful about leaving our cats out when I was a kid because of the raccoons but we never would have thought twice about leaving a large enough (probably 20-25lbs and over) dog out. This really gives me a new perspective on one of the cats I had. She got into a fight with a raccoon once and she managed to hold her own with it. She got a few scratches but overall she was just fine. And this was a cat who'd had her front paws declawed too. She wasn't a big cat either.

dlroberts

@ayk - That's hilarious about the rabbit! I have a Monte Python image in my head right now. lol.

@Crispy - Most states have a hunting mentorship program that is run via the DNR. That is probably a great place to get in touch with someone who can help you learn about local laws and regulations, as well as help you get started in hunting.

Calia

I am more concerned about raccoons with dogs than with cats. I have seen my sisters' cats (outdoor only) eating their meals next to raccoons and used to have to carry a broom outside because it would be right by the front door. The big thing is is that Raccoons (near me at least) are more known for carrying Distemper than they are for rabies, and the variety they carry can only affect dogs.

BradA1878

@ayk @dlroberts - It must have been one of these rabbits...



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shishiinu

I used to hunt raccoons with liki all the time. The only serious injury he has ever had was from a bobcat. I don't know of too many raccoons that would want to hang around with a large dog chasing them. Most of the time they run up a tree and a hunter kills it with a .22.

You guys must have some really big raccoons with no fear of any thing.

dlroberts

OMG IT'S POSSESSED BUNNY!

sukoshi_mom

OK, another raccoon story from a couple of weeks ago. Late one night I let Sukoshi out into the dog run to do her thing. Her covered kennel is to the right of the dog run. My ranch wire fence and my neighbor's fencing (which has "roof" sections w/ decorative shake -- kind of a Japanese feeling to them) abut each other. As she heads down the dog run, I hear a "thump" on the neighbor's fence section behind Sukoshi's kennel. So I turn on the outside garage light and look. A small baby raccoon is sitting on the top fence railing between the neighbor's fence and the kennel wire. The little guy sees me and doesn't move. We watch each other for about another minute and I hear another "thump". Then the mother raccoon appears over the neighbor's fence. At first she doesn't notice me, but then suddenly does. She rears up and hisses at me. At that point, I'm very glad that I'm several feet from her and that the kennel wire is between us. I turn off the outside garage light in hopes that the raccoons will leave if it's dark. I wait a bit. Meanwhile, Sukoshi has been in the dog run doing her thing and I've been worried that the mother raccoon might possibly encounter her (if she comes into the dog run). I turn the garage light on and both raccoons have left. I tell Sukoshi to come inside.

Losech

The coons around here seem to want to avoid dogs, and mine have yet to scrap with one.
Regardless of that, the other night Conker and Juneau were going ballistic outside and I figured it was a cat so I go out there to scare it off and lo and behold, a giant coon is staring me down on top of the wooden fence!
Juneau could almost reach it. It was only about a foot higher than the tip of her nose when standing on her hind legs and Conker appeared to have turned into a pogo stick trying to get at it. The thing was bigger than Conker, and he's 25 pounds of lean muscle, so that was the biggest coon I've seen so far.
Anyways, I gave the fence a good kick and the coon toppled over (the other side, thankfully) and ran off. I'm glad Conker didn't happen upon that coon on the ground and without Juneau, even though I'm sure he'd be the one to kill a coon rather than her but you never really know with those things.

Conker is pretty good at treeing things but I'd probably use a bigger dog for coons just in case one decided to fight instead of climb. But since you can hunt small game with dogs, I might go with one of those, or do the antler hunting thing. Or lure coursing, even if you don't have a sighthound.

jujee

@brada1878 - that is one scary looking bunny lol

Saya

On dogster forum Yoshi the shiba has killed racoons and opossums before not on purpose the owner let them out at night for potty before bed and by the time the owner gets out to stop the coon has ran off or dead.

I'd wouldn't want Saya to tango with a raccoon though ones here seem pretty big we also go badgers in the woods.

Good luck with your research.

shibamistress

I've seen some big racoons in Michigan, and they didn't appear to have much fear of dogs. In fact, the opposite: they seemed quite willing to go after small dogs, and sometimes, esp. if there were more than one and they were big, they'd do the hissing/growling, standing up on their hind legs things to people walking with dogs (as in that happened to me walking my GSD--we decided we could take a detour at that point!) I also knew someone in Michigan who had a doggie door and one day discovered a raccoon had come in through the doggie door, was eating the cat food, and getting into other things, and decided that it had no desire to leave the house, even when the came home and tried to get it out. I don't remember now how they DID get it out, but their dogs were giving it a wide berth! They kept the doggie door latched at night after that.