Gwp for fox

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ksb

ksb

Well-Known Member
Just wondering if any one uses a Gwp for following up and retrieving foxes. Most of my shooting is cf for foxes and I take along my 2yr Gwp bitch everytime I go out. I want to use her to find foxes that have been shot at night. So far she won't show any interest in the foxes if they are dead. The one time she came across a fox in the final throws of death she did show interest and shook the fox.

I believe this breed can be slow to mature and maybe she is not mentally switched on to foxes yet. This doesn't help much as I need her to at least locate shot foxes ideally retrieve them.

Thanks in advance for your experiences with this breed

Keith
 
I sold a GWP pup from a litter I had in 2003 to a chap from the North of England. he told me that his old one retrieved every fox that was shot in the lamp. he sat in the back of the pick-up and was sent from there after the shot. he could apparently clear gates easily whilst carrying them too. I was told by the owner of the stud I used that part of German field trials/tests require them to carry a fox back and clear an obstacle. Don't ask me what kind of tests this is used in but the obvious thing is that they are more than capable.
 
I have a GWP who when he was younger was quite capable of dealing with foxes, he seemed to have a natural hatred of them. I read that when the breed was being developed pups were delibrately set against foxes and cats (feral cats being a nuisance in Germany) and any dog who showed fear wasn't bred from. I don't know how true this is but most owners of GWP's have tales to tell of their dogs and of cats that crossed their paths at some time.
I must stress that I have never encouraged this trait in my dog and have done my best to discourage it.
 
I have used my Trudvang bred bitch when foxing, she hates foxes, if they were not dead after the shot when she got to them they soon would be. She has been trained to leave cats alone but I am very conscious that this is learned behaviour and I am sure left to her own devises her instinct would be to kill everyone she could.

Despite this hatred of foxes, she is completely sociable with other dogs.

I would give him another year yet before he is fully mature.

ATB

Tahr
 
Any pet cat which strays 200 m from the boundary of villages, towns etc in Germany is defined in law as vermin.

fuchsdickung (2).webp
All dogs used for hunting must retrieve a dead fox over an obstacle in their
"finished " dog test, the VGP. This includes pointers and setters as well as HPR's and retrieving breeds.
 
they sure will do the job and very nicely, my bitch is 3 and a half now and has been out lamping pretty much since I've had her. Only let her start finding properly dead ones at 6 months and playing a little with them and have taken it from there. She absolutely loves foxes and though a follow up on an injured one is pretty rare as long as they have a reasonable hit she will find them. Also very useful in stubble if you've taken the lamp off a fox and can't find it. Retrieves them nicely funnily enough she also had a cat phobia as well and I have to be very careful with her in my village as I could do without being known as the owner of the cat killer :doh: here is a quick pic of one she is begging to run again. The best advice though if you are going to use on foxes is to make sure they are on Stronghold for flea treatment as it will sort out most parasites foxes carry

40390_478112482785_766677785_6803707_1622254_n.jpg
 
GWP's are THE fox dog

Here's the sire to my current litter of GWP's

I have 2 bitches and they are both mustard on bazil brush!!! they certainly don’t last long if they have any puff left in them.

Just like a terrier with a rat. Awesome
 
Very cool!

Sadly, in Alaska all foxes (arctic and red and red color morphs) are considered "fur-bearers", and as such, to even have a dog with you when you call them is a violation of the law. I'd LOVE to be able to use a dog when I hunt fox. I have a Scottie that always 'gets after' any that I bring home whole. He clearly doesn't like them. If any come around the house, he 'lights up' like a Christmas tree. While I'm sure Scotties are small for the task, does anyone there use them for retrieving foxes?

Regards,
Paul
 
Benc said:
Mine is pretty good on foxes and will indicate on unshot ones:

foxdog.jpg
Click to expand...

If I hadn't already decided that a GWP was to be my next dog, that photo of a fetched fox would probably have done it. Fabulous pic Benc.

Paul, if I've read right, you aren't allowed to dog fur bearers and you're not supposed to shoot them, does that mean trapping is the only legitimate take?

Homestead protection must surely allow a gun to be used though, yes? :norty:

Incidentally, I'm always happy to meet interesting folk and you certainly qualify.
 
Thanks for the replies, one question I have is what average age did your dogs start to work on foxes. In the past I have been aware of different lines within breeds that mature later than others but Gwp are a new breed to me. I believe some mature as late as 3yrs.

Mine has shown an interest in one fox that wasn't 100% dead but normally with the 223 it is either dead or missed. I have also brought along a working weaton to see if it showing an interest in the dead fox would spark her interest but no luck on that front. I am almost certain if she encounters a wounded fox that she will show an interest but so far no luck,

Keith
 
Paul, if I've read right, you aren't allowed to dog fur bearers and you're not supposed to shoot them, does that mean trapping is the only legitimate take?
Click to expand...
Sort of. :???: How's that for a vague answer?

Unfortunately, the answer is vague because the law is not uniform.

The simple part is: No dogs.

The complicated part is: some fur-bearers you can trap and some you can't.

Technically, you can't "hunt" ANY fur-bearers, (that means take on a hunting license), but some of them you CAN shoot with a gun (take) as long as you have a trapping license. Shooting a furbearer while you have a valid trapping license on your person is legally considered "trapping" (as long as it was one of the few fur-bearers that can legally be shot on a trapping license:???:). To add to the confusion, there are some animals, like lynx, wolf, and wolverine that are both legally fur-bearers, AND legally 'big game'.:???: Each one of them has a different trapping and hunting season, and each has different legal method-and-means, and each has a different bag limit. For example, in some Game Management Units (GMU), you can only "hunt" (take on a hunting license), one wolf. However, in that same GMU, if you have a trapping license, you can take 30, AND you could shoot all 30 of them if you so chose.

But you couldn't have a dog with you when you did it.:doh:

Homestead protection must surely allow a gun to be used though, yes?
Click to expand...
No... In fact, it's much worse than that. If you leave anything in your "yard" that "attracts" an animal, (including a bitch in heat), and the "attracted" wild animal has to be destroyed as a "nuisance animal" or "in defense of life or property" (AKA "DLP"), you SHALL be issued a citation that WILL include a VERY stiff fine. This is of course not a regulation in The Bush (off the road system). Nonetheless, there are places in The Bush where it is illegal to protect your belongings - house, pets, and other property - from grizzly bears. In those areas, most people operate under the "Three Ss Rule" - Shoot - Shovel - Shut up.

The fish and game management laws in Alaska are a lawyer's wet-dream. We have the natives that are "managed" (not) by the Federal Gov't, ("management" is no closed seasons, no bag limits, no rules - NO KIDDING), the life-long non-native Alaskans, the yahoos that have come here from "Outside" that want to make Alaska like California, or Colorado, or Connecticut, or WHEREVER they have come from, AND the *&^%*&^%^ing "environmentalists" - none of which LIVE HERE but insist on making Alaska their personal playground. Each of the above groups has some political entity that is "on their side". Unfortunately, the politicians "on the side" of non-native Alaskans (AKA "reality," for the most part) is pretty damn small. Consequently, fish and game management in Alaska is 100% a political football, and has NO semblance of rational thought behind it.

I'll climb down off that hobby-horse now...:mad::(:cry:

Maybe we'll be able to meet some day, Tamus. I too am always happy to meet "interesting" people...;)

Regards
Paul
 
my 7 month gwp bitch has followed up several foxes and has made mince meat of all of them with next to no encouragement, and the other morning pulled down and pinned a fallow doe which was injured, they defenetly have it in them, trick is switching them on!
 
I am a little confused here, are you bothered that the dog will not retrieve the fox or are you worried that it will not hunt down and 'take' a wounded fox?

If it is the former then the dog must first retrieve, some are very natural, others are not. In continental Europe most if not all HPRs are 'force trained' to retrieve as a basic part of their training. Such a dog will retrieve anything it is physically capable of carrying and should not put it down until given a command to release. If the animal is too large to retrieve (ie most deer) then the dog is trained to retrieve a surrogate 'the bringsel'.

On the second point, this must come from the heart and good breeding, though training the dog to retrieve foxes (and follow drags) will go a long way to help. As for GWPs being slow to mature to such work I couldn't possibly comment. Mine are all working fox drags and retrieving foxes between 10 months and 1 year. Prior to this it is bettter to train with either half grown cubs, or light fox dummies as the weight of carrying an adult fox may damage your still growing pup.
 
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I too am convinced that a GWP will be my next shooting companion. I will have to have a read up on GWP bloodlines as I know sweet FA about them. I was brought up with father owning springers, I have had labs so far, but I can feel a GWP coming on.

Any info sites to look at, or books I ought to read?

ft
 
Bryanscroft, Trudvang. Kennel kragborg(you can translate with google)

All very good lines.
 
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i have a Trudvang pup off Chris Gray, it is about 9 mnths old and it will rag a dead fox around the garden, i havn't tried it on a wick one yet but not long, i'm more that confident he'll do the buisness!!
 
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