Gray squirrels
are common prey for squirrel hunters.
Squirrel hunting is an activity where a hunter goes into the woods and brings down squirrels, whether it is with a bow or with a gun. Dogs make the activity significantly easier, as they lend their sharp skills to detecting and treeing squirrels. Squirrel hunting with dogs is an activity that requires a rapport between the hunter and his dog.
Types
There are two types of dogs commonly used for squirrel hunting. The feist dog breed features a dog that stands between 10 and 18 inches at the shoulder and weighs less than 30 pounds. It is an energetic dog with a keen sense of smell. The cur dog breed stands between 17 and 24 inches at the shoulder and weighs between 40 and 60 pounds. It is an intelligent dog, though it can be more stubborn than the feist.
History
According to ESPN, squirrel hunting was once the dominant type of sport hunting east of the Mississippi. Squirrels were the most prevalent game animal, but in 1960, with the popularization of deer hunting and turkey hunting, it fell out of favor. Today, squirrel hunting with dogs is regaining some of its old popularity, and the dog breeds that were carefully preserved even after squirrel hunting became less popular are making a comeback.
The Hunt
The squirrel hunting dog will search the wood ahead of the hunter, pausing occasionally to look up and locate game by sight. It uses its keen sense of smell and hearing to detect squirrels both in the tree boughs and on the ground. Once a squirrel has been found, the dog chases the squirrel to its tree, keeping it there until the hunter arrives. The squirrel can escape through jumping to other trees or through hiding in the leaves.
Prey
The two types of squirrels that are commonly hunted by squirrel-hunting dogs are fox squirrels and gray squirrels. While gray squirrels are more tender when cooked, they are more difficult to hunt than fox squirrels. Gray squirrels prefer hilly terrain, while fox squirrels are found near farmland. Fox squirrels live in leafy nests high in trees, where in many states it is illegal to disturb.
Features
According to Outdoor Alabama, the two primary attributes that a squirrel-hunting dog will use to find squirrels are its eyes and its ears. It will move forward and often stop on top of logs or other vantage points to listen for the gnawing or rustling of squirrels and to try to sight them in the branches. The dog will seek to track the squirrel's scent only if it cannot hear or see the squirrels.
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