Spaniels as Tracking Dogs

[Sonicdmb73]

Hi All,

I am very new to deer stalking. I will be getting a spaniel pup in the very near future. This puppy will be a beating dog that will also pick up pigeons for me (If all goes well).

My question, which I'm sure has been asked a million times before on here, is:

Is a spaniel a viable deer tracking dog? and if so, will I be confusing it too much by having it as a beating/retrieving/deer tracking dog?

At this stage, I am 50/50 between a cocker and a springer so if one would be a better option than another, I'd be interested to hear.

Spaniel's will find anything you train them to. Rabbits, Pheasant, Drugs, Money whatever you want. They will find it, some better than others but that is the case with any breed.
However I've three thing you need get sorted and stay on top of. Or you'll find working your dog harder work than it should be. Obedience, obedience, obedience. I have never really come across a "sticky" spaniel, but I have met plenty that are under less control than they should be. Mine are not as well behaved as I would like, partly due to a lack of training, it's taken years to get my wife to use the same commands and not let the dogs run in etc. But finally we're getting there, the next pup will be better as a result.
Don't get me wrong my now 14 year old Cocker and five year old Springer both retrieve, track and flush as required. They just take careful handling or leaving in the truck depending on where we are and what the quarry is.
The Cocker in her day never missed finding a fox, regardless of where it ended up. If her legs would let her I'm sure she'd still have a go now.

 

[Bowland blades]

Hi All,

I am very new to deer stalking. I will be getting a spaniel pup in the very near future. This puppy will be a beating dog that will also pick up pigeons for me (If all goes well).

My question, which I'm sure has been asked a million times before on here, is:

Is a spaniel a viable deer tracking dog? and if so, will I be confusing it too much by having it as a beating/retrieving/deer tracking dog?

At this stage, I am 50/50 between a cocker and a springer so if one would be a better option than another, I'd be interested to hear

yeah 100% , if your planning walking with it at heel while stalking i would be cautious of letting it hunt and flush . Lots of folks use them
I have been out with a few different folks who used one, your asking a lot if your taking it beating etc regular because 95% of the time on deer it will be at heel or sat waiting .

 

[georgedoubleyou]

yeah 100% , if your planning walking with it at heel while stalking i would be cautious of letting it hunt and flush . Lots of folks use them
I have been out with a few different folks who used one, your asking a lot if your taking it beating etc regular because 95% of the time on deer it will be at heel or sat waiting .

I agree, I was thinking more along the lines of tracking the shot animal as opposed to coming out stalking

 

[RCS Deer Management]

I agree, I was thinking more along the lines of tracking the shot animal as opposed to coming out stalking

My spaniel deer dog beats, picks up and stalks. They arnt stupid, it’s easy to teach them the difference between stalking and beating

 

[Devon Stalker]

He may not be a deer tracker but my Springer accompanies me on nighttime foxing trips and very quickly learned that he’s not there to thrash through the undergrowth at 100mph or quarter across the field.
He walks steadily and quietly at my left side, stops when I stop, and if I’m sitting out watching an area, he sits down next to me (or like most springers, climbs onto my lap).
When not foxing he is back into normal springer mode.

I don’t see why you couldn’t add another discipline to his repertoire, they are incredibly intelligent dogs.

My cocker is the same. She found her first deer a couple of weeks ago and it was obvious as she was busying around the spot where it lay. Spot on!

 

[tonyshooter]

I have 2 x ESS dogs ( one puppy and one 6 years old ).

My dogs have always worked well on finding shot deer.

I would guess other breeds are better suited to tracking but my ESS tick the boxes for all my shooting

 

[lillico]

Your (and my) spaniel will be working on air scent, a hound will be working on ground scent.
Do you care which method finds your deer? Some people do. Not me.
A couple of tips:
If the deer shows any sign of movement after the shot, put your dog on a lead and dispatch the deer. If your dog runs in and puts up the deer, you can be leopard crawling through Sitka spruce for 200m.
If you stalk 500 hectares of winter wheat in Norfolk from a high seat, this will mean nothing to you.

Before you release your dog from heel, (yes, heel), try to position yourself so you can watch him work his way into the scent plume.
The dogs pattern gives you a picture of what the wind is doing and watching the dog work is the 'icing on the cake' of stalking.
I won't wish you luck, as I know you rely on skill.

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Any dog will find a dead deer, how many spaniels will be effective and efficiently deal with a highly mobile leg shot deer?

 

[timbrayford]

Hi All,

I am very new to deer stalking. I will be getting a spaniel pup in the very near future. This puppy will be a beating dog that will also pick up pigeons for me (If all goes well).

My question, which I'm sure has been asked a million times before on here, is:

Is a spaniel a viable deer tracking dog? and if so, will I be confusing it too much by having it as a beating/retrieving/deer tracking dog?

At this stage, I am 50/50 between a cocker and a springer so if one would be a better option than another, I'd be interested to hear.

Older springers are great, gives them a second career once beating is starting to tire them

 

[Jagare]

Wachtel, are a German hunting spaniel that can be trained to a high standard for tracking wounded deer. Springers and cocker will find dead shot deer but so will about any dog with half a brain. Get the obedience training into a Spaniel and as long as it's not one of those busy type spaniel that many seem to be then I suppose you'll end up with a stalking companion.

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Wachtel, are a German hunting spaniel that can be trained to a high standard for tracking wounded deer. Springers and cocker will find dead shot deer but so will about any dog with half a brain. Get the obedience training into a Spaniel and as long as it's not one of those busy type spaniel that many seem to be then I suppose you'll end up with a stalking companion.

The Wachtel is a very efficient tracking dog seen some excellent dogs on the drive hunts in Germany

 

[GunDogGuru]

Hi All,

I am very new to deer stalking. I will be getting a spaniel pup in the very near future. This puppy will be a beating dog that will also pick up pigeons for me (If all goes well).

My question, which I'm sure has been asked a million times before on here, is:

Is a spaniel a viable deer tracking dog? and if so, will I be confusing it too much by having it as a beating/retrieving/deer tracking dog?

At this stage, I am 50/50 between a cocker and a springer so if one would be a better option than another, I'd be interested to hear.

Think it's personal preference, I have springers... you couldn't give me a cocker for free they to scatty and head strong. I do beating and picking up with my springers. They sit at bottom of high seat or stalk to heel I just don't let them run in after the shot I make them heel to the rough area of where I think the deer went down then cast them off (steadily).

Springers in my opinion are steadier, more biddable, they actually use their brain and just better all round dog. (My opinion only) there are some very good cockers out there just not my cuppa tea they very hit and miss.

Whether you got cocker or springer don't think it matters... it's just time and effort, must do a lot of steadiness work with them

 

[georgedoubleyou]

Think it's personal preference, I have springers... you couldn't give me a cocker for free they to scatty and head strong. I do beating and picking up with my springers. They sit at bottom of high seat or stalk to heel I just don't let them run in after the shot I make them heel to the rough area of where I think the deer went down then cast them off (steadily).

Springers in my opinion are steadier, more biddable, they actually use their brain and just better all round dog. (My opinion only) there are some very good cockers out there just not my cuppa tea they very hit and miss.

Whether you got cocker or springer don't think it matters... it's just time and effort, must do a lot of steadiness work with them

Funnily enough, I had been told/read similar opinions several times. I ended up taking this advice onboard and got myself a springer! he's 14 weeks old now and doing great!

 

[GunDogGuru]

Funnily enough, I had been told/read similar opinions several times. I ended up taking this advice onboard and got myself a springer! he's 14 weeks old now and doing great!

Nice!.. enjoy your springer pup they fantastic. Just keep on top of the steadiness work, you will end up with a calm, steady and reliable boy in all situations. Best of luck

 

[tackb]

best dog i ever had was a sprocker

 

[RCS Deer Management]

Any dog will find a dead deer, how many spaniels will be effective and efficiently deal with a highly mobile leg shot deer?

Mine is, will kill roe and muntjac, pull a sika pricket (he struggles on sika and fallow prickets but will pull them down) and bay up big fallow bucks or stags. Iv seen big pointers struggle with wounded deer, it’s what the dog has in its head rather than body size

 

[Overlay]

I use my teckles firstly as deer trackers for shot and ran times, they also come with me on leisure or work on fox and rabbits for the same job they excel at it all

The way people seem to write it up, is it’s all doomed, when it’s far from it

Shooting people can be worse than the tree huggers sometimes, I’ve just a guy on the phone saying his foreman said ( a shooting person) to call me ( the site contracted pest controller) to shoot all the seagulls on the roof because of the noise

40 mins later he had been far bettered advised

 

[reiver]

Mine is, will kill roe and muntjac, pull a sika pricket (he struggles on sika and fallow prickets but will pull them down) and bay up big fallow bucks or stags. Iv seen big pointers struggle with wounded deer, it’s what the dog has in its head rather than body size

Mine will put a Roe down no problem. Never tried him on anything else .
He is quite a big spanner though