I was wondering if you British use dogs when hunting deer, other than for tracking ? Here in Scandinavia we have centuries long tradition for using running dogs a lot, especially when roe deer hunting. Roe deer and moose are the species where dogs running loose are very effective. It is nothing like your fox hunting with dogs, where a pack of dogs chase the prey, but a single dog is used. And it has to be a short legged dog. Dachs are most popular, but drevers and beagles are also used. We have laws regulating how longlegged a dog can be to be allowed used for roe deer hunting, but even if any dog could be used, using a fast longlegged dog would be counterproductive as they simply would chase the deer away. We will release the dog in the woods, and it will start to scan the ground for scents and when it finds one that is fresh enough to be exciting , it will follow that until he spots the roe deer and spook it. When that happens the dog will start baying, alerting the hunters, and it will continue baying while following the scent of that running deer. But the thing is that the roe deer, while when spooked will take off, will always stop and investigate after a few hundred meters. And when he sees the dog with those ridicules short legs, the deer will know that he can run in circles around the dog. He will know that the dog doesn't present a danger for him. It's no way that dog can catch up with him. So the roe deer will not leave the area, but move around. It will "tour" as we call it. Of course that dog is annoying, and when the dog gets near enough the deer will take off and run to keep the distance. The danger for the deer is the hunters, that can hear the constant baying and knows that the deer will be a couple of hundred meters ahead of the baying. The best dogs are when they start to get a bit old, and aren't that fast anymore. A too eager and powerful male Dachs can make the roe deer decide that he is dangerous after all, and than it will be in the next county in a couple of minutes. On moose too, free running dogs are used. But they react quite different from the roe deer. They will want to kill that annoying baying rat, and do its best to achieve that goal. A short legged dog like a dachs or drever would not stand a chance, so more powerful and smarter dogs are used. Moose hounds are used. I saw a YouTube clip a while back where two German Shepards on the loose was baying against a moose cow and here calf. The moose massacred those two dogs, so it's not enough to be powerful, the dog must be smart. The red deer is another matter. They dont behave like the roe deer, a reed deer will run off and disappear by the first bark. The trick here is to anticipate where it will take off, in valleys they will always head straight up the mountains. So to wait for them up there is only way. Its hard work for those going up there, and its years since I did it, but its makes for exciting hunting. I have no dogs of my own, but luckily have friends with dogs. Using dogs gives the hunt another dimension.
