I would like to know. What is hands down the best breed and gender for a trapping dog. Would like to get one. Thank you

Mountain cur, Airedale, jagdterrier, Black mouth cur, catahoula, any of these or crosses of these breeds should work for ya. Male or female just get em on plenty of fur. Terriers a little more hard headed when it comes to porcupines, skunks etc..

That question is kind of like asking what kind of car is best

It’s seems I have always had a dog along when running traps, as I have gotten older and more experienced those dogs have gotten better as well

In my opinion trapline dogs are made not by some certain breed but by training and aptitude, some will pick up the skills so quick it’s scary and some not so much, but few will be untrainable, most will be passing fair and a very few will completely fail except as a companion and some will even fail as that

So pick a breed that you like and has traits you like and start training them to do what you want them to do, doesn’t even have to be a pure breed, some of the best I have worked with were pure mutts of such mixed ancestry as to be untraceable as to family tree

So pick a puppy and start from there, I bet dollars to doughnuts you end up with a trapline partner you will be more then happy with

Start as soon as you get him/her home, o not with long lessons but with short simple basic things such as house training and what is and is not allowed and slowly advance lessons as they mature, introducing trapline skills you want them to have as you do, don’t forget to train for NO and STOP by which I mean STOP moving not stop doing whatever there doing which is no, or whatever word you want to us as a command

Dogs are amazing animals and can learn to do amazing things if you work at it and in my experience the earlier they start learning the more and easier they pick things up as well as faster, just don’t overload them before their ready when their pups keep it shot and simple, as pups their attention span is short in fact very short so keep it short as well, then as their attention and focus grows lengthen and add more complex skills, and you will find you can teach them to do just about anything, Heck after a while they will start teaching you

Trapline dog? Here is something I know nothing about!

Nightlife, can you please explain what trapline skills you can teach a dog?

Forever a beginner when its comes to trapping. I thought the smell of a dog would be bad around traps?

I went with a Lacy

Depends on what you want it to do

Not to get in traps or snares, I had one that was so good at that he could and would find other traps even when I could not see where they were set, he always knew and would sit and give a low moan

Trailing up traps on drags

Not attacking trapped game

Indicating when traps have animals in them even when you can’t yet see them

Indicating where animals have marked, or traveled even when they left little or no sign, generally comes naturally but you can teach them to show when they encounter such spots, taught mine to sit when they did

If you have trouble locating sign a good dog will locate more possible set locations then you have time to set

To other animals a dog is just another predator, competition to be driven from their territory or ignored or if something like rats or beaver maybe hidden from when present, but have you noticed how rats will check out pocket or other sets baited with mink musk or glands, same holds for dog scent in my experience

Lab's work too.

Remi goes crazy for anything in a trap, she got interdosed to a big beaver
the other day

By the way if you have a spot or area that is heavily used and don’t want or just can’t set everywhere a dog will quickly narrow down where you want to set

nightlife is spot on and would also like to add that they make great company while your checking traps. Always great to be able to share an experience with someone, even if it's a dog.

Thanks for explaining.

This really brings a lot more to trapping, especially using a dog for indicating marks or signs of animals. Why didnt I think of that?

I actually prefer to share trapline experiences with my dogs. No one enjoys them more !!!!

Your right about that!!

I bring my french brit pointing dog with me, shes good company and pees on coyote turds so everybody wins. I think she really enjoys setting day as she runs all over til its time to move locations. Doesnt talk much, but barks like heck out the window when we catch one. I have more fun when she is with me. Might take her beaver trapping this year if she can keep her wits.

on set day my dog is guaranteed to be on the line with me. as others have said they will find more sign than you could ever set in one day. plus the company they provide is great i talk to my pup all day. if im off work my dog is with me. annoys the wife some when she(my dog) goes everywhere with me. she has a running joke with anyone that meets the dog she says im the wife thats his girlfriend. wife said that to one of her new friends that hadnt met me yet and the lady asked jokingly which one i like better and i didnt miss a beat and with a serious face said (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) the dog all day she dont ever talk back.

What's that saying... lock your dog and your wife in the trunk for a couple hours and see which one is happier to see you when you open the trunk lol

ive heard that as well sneaky and wife agrees...........her saying is lock me in a trunk with your dog for a couple hours it aint gonna matter weather that dog is happy to see you cause you'll be dead! we have a great marriage and can jack with each other and neither of us gets mad........well at least i dont lol certain topics i tend to stay away from so i don't jeopardize my health

Yep pay attention to your dog if it goes back to the same spot more then once you really want to set there

Currently breaking in a new dog now having lost my old guy over the summer, and still working on trapline basics such as no and stop, but we are getting there and we will see how she does

Also working on trap avoidance training but being she’s still largely a pup yet her enthusiasm still get the better of her now and then, and while I am sure she knows that there is a trap guarding that enticing smell she sometimes feels it worth it to get a better whiff knowing I will make it all better, so my current plan is for her make the negative feedback a bit more painful

sorry about your ol dog nightlife. new one will come around it took a few 550s before mine gets only so close to the smell and realizes thats close enough. shes been on the line 4 years now. i cant let her outta the truck at coon or opossum catches cause all she has on her mind is a mouth full of fur. she does great around the house too predation on my chickens and ducks is at an all time low since she runs around killing feral cats opossum and unfortunately skunks heck she even got a big buck mink one time dont know why he was around never had a mink around my place all my life.

I have a 10 month old Australian Shepherd that I am going to start trapping with this fall. He is very smart,but very excitable, it should make for a “fun” time. I am really looking forward to having dome company 0n the line and maybe a few more totes because of it.

Loki is a 2 year old Jadg/English Shepard cross. He's aggressive towards most critters except coyotes, maybe because he thinks they are other dogs but that doesn't stop him from letting me know if we have something in the trap.