With all the gators in your swamps, do you still run retriever dogs?
Is it easily established which waterbodies have gators and which don't?

I don't shoot ducks so I'll leave the dog part to those that do. But the answer to the gator question is simple, yes. All waters below a certain line it is safe to assume gators are present. Doesn't mean they are or those that are are big but keep your eyes open. Just common sense.

As for other dogs such as deer dogs and coonhounds, they get run and occasionally one comes up missing it's the chance you take. Knew a guy that lost a young hound on Alabama river that had just qualified for the world hunt in Kentucky. The tracking collar pinged on a ten footer. Let's just say the guy was at able to retrieve his collar.

Extreme North Canadian sled dog mushers dumb?


With all the grizzlies in your north woods, do you still mush sled dogs?

Is it easily established which woods have grizzlies and which don't?

(This word is unacceptable on Trapperman), Lol

I warned you that it was a dumb question 🤣
And actually you could make a fairly educated guess whether grizzly are present in a given area.
I wasn't asking because I opposed the idea, I was genuinely curious if the folks who live that reality had a work around.
I would say there's also a big difference between running a sled team and sending a retrievers to the water...

Lol, I'm just messing with you slydogx , carry on.

It is an educated guess and you do try to not turn out dogs in areas they could get hurt but dogs can't read maps.

Ky_coyote...no offense taken, I always assume (on this site) that people's responses are intended to be humorous

I’m just a dumb Wisconsin duck hunter but I would assume the gators slow down by the time duck season gets rolling.That’s about the time snappers get lock jaw around here.But that early teal season would have me worried.

When you say extreme south waterfowlers, Phill Robertson comes to mind. He is not dumb by any means.Yall have any duck commanders up in canada? As far as dogs and gators go, I would imagine all the noise and commotion from boats and splashing around setting decoys and such would run off a gator.if not he may wind up in the bag too!

I think he meant, maybe a dumb question--not that anyone is dumb.

Exactly Blaine County, thanks.
I've honestly never seen or heard the issue addressed before except as a joke. Just idle curiosity

They do to some degree but it's not uncommon to have winter days that approach 70 some years especially the further south you go. You learn to keep your eyes open. I've seen snakes out and about in January.

I didn't think it was a dumb question, by the way.

My daughter's crew team is rowing at Nationals in Florida this week. Occasionally boats flip and those Okie girls are scared to death of it happening there because of the alligators.

I told my girl to just swim faster than the rest of them.

There are some youtube vids of duck hunters losing downed birds to gators. I'd pass.

I thought this thread was about the bad shooting from the “professional” waterfowlers on YouTube. Sounds like popcorn when they shoot and 2 or 3 geese fall.

Gators in every body of water here...from big lakes and rivers to small cypress swamps and farm ponds. Large (8 feet or more) gators are a tad more reclusive, but not always. Commotion in the water ATTRACTS gators.....it does not spook them away.

Gators not much of a threat on cold, icy mornings. But, on warmer days...gators are a concern. Some deer and bear hounds and hog dogs are lost annually, but it is not common. Ive only heard of one duck dog (lab) being gator killed in 30 years.

A nuisance/threatening gator was killed here in Florida a while back. A necropsy was performed and found five different hunting dog collar name tags in the stomach, some from dogs that were lost years ago. Several of my friends and many others down here have lost hog dogs to gators during hunts. Very sad to lose a good dog. Its never the sorry dogs that gets taken.

Here is what can and does happen to some hunting dogs and other wild critters of all kinds. Notice that the noise and commotion attracts unwanted attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTnlRCQ8fBA

Dave

I know you were kidding, but on a serious note I think moose are a much bigger concern for folks dog sledding than grizzly bears....

I understand wolves have killed their share of hounds as well.

We would never take dogs until a couple days of below freezing or certain the pond/hole/swamp was gator free. I hunted Seminole for umpteen years with a dog and never had an issue. Once the water gets to a certain temp the gators shut down so to speak. I’ve walked up on many during duck hunts early in the season and have had them steal a splashing teal. During those times you don’t use dogs. But that’s early Teal and Goose season in September.
There’s certain ponds we’ll wade and shoot that are slam full of gators, but during duck season you’ll never see them. We run dogs in those once the water temps drop.