How do I train a squirrel dog?

expose pup to squirrels. let him chase them. if it trees pet the hair off him and tell him what a good dog he is.

dont forget to teach him manners. cmere is pretty important so is walking on a lead

I have never had a squirrel dog but I had a beagle that would tree squirrel. I could tell what she was on by her body language and how she tracked them since squirrel move different than rabbits.

why did she tree squirrel? Well becuse I shot one out of a tree when rabbit hunting with her and
it hit the ground right beside her and she got her mouth on it.. After that anytime there were trees.aroung I had to pay attention to how she moved to know if I needed to be watching the trees or ground.


My suggestion is like I did with any dog . get it as much exposure to the target as possible and encourage them when they are doing things right. Shoot a bunch over them.

don't blast off a gun over a pups head unexpected without shooting some at distance from it when something it's excited about is going on. Like throwing a ball and a shot when it's away from you chasing it with a quit gun. or making loud noise when feeding it.

Blasting a 12g off over a pups head is a good way to get a gun shy dog.

I played fetch with my bird dog. Shot caps only, no powder or shot with my muzzle loader then gave the command dead bird. He is so not gun shy now fireworks get him excited. Wants to run to them. Have to be careful on the fourth.

It's best to start with a good feist or cur, bred to hunt squirrels, but many dogs will do a decent job. If you don't have a chase cage, a cage that runs along the ground, or a rail and up a tree, going to a park or bike path, when it's empty of people, with a lot of squirrel and putting your dog on them works well, to get them started.

I had two feist type dogs, Dingle and Dangle and out of all my hunting dogs, Dingle was my favorite to hunt with. We used Dingle a lot with my friend's hawks.

Keith

My advise, keep them hungry for it while they are young you don't want them to loose any interest in it, not even a little.

Yes also train them to come when called and lead and heel.

Yeah basic commands first and foremost, till they will snap to attention on a dime. Work with em every day. Then as long as you have a dog with the natural drive/breading to hunt squirrels you're half way there but that's the easy half.

Get a squirrel caught in a cage and let them see it smell it and encourage them to bark/talk to it.
Then while they are a puppy still, tie a tail on a long stick and let them chase it but not catch it.
Then graduate to a whole dead squirrel and drag it in a straight line to a bush and then let them work the line. Don't let them watch ypu set it up.
As they advance make the line longer and eventually up a tree, untill it's up the tree but they can't see it but keep encouraging barking till you pull it down.
After that live squirrels in a controlled environment like a yard or somewhere the squirrel will tree quickly and be able to be harassed into moving.

Hunt em early don't wait 2 years I got mine out at 6 months but never shoot a squirrel they didn't alert you too. That'll ruin a dog quick, they'll figure out you can find the prize and they'll just follow you around. It's hard because a young dog misses or loses a lot of squirrels before they fully figure out the game.

After that it up to you to decide if you want to run competitions or just hunt the dog. Changes how you finish the dog.

This, we always had squirrel dogs when we were young. Wish I had a nickel now for every one we shot lol

These are 4 Facebook forums I am a member of.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/13935581289/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1638780123087391/

https://m.facebook.com/groups/349330195251592/

https://m.facebook.com/groups/728618547190205/

Sooner or later, I want to get another feist. I prefer the mountain type feist, with upright ears, a full tail and mostly white, with a little red or tan on them. That's what I had.

Keith

Last 2 dogs I've had were feist.
Both out of proven line of treeing dogs.
Not much to training for the squirrels.
They were natural treeing feist.
Both button ears dogs.
I believe Keith is right about the pricked eared .
They seem to be a superior dog when squirrels are timbering
Tree to tree .
Sound plays a big part in the accuracy of the dog.
Only thing I had to teach was the handling and commands.

My favorite training grounds were any of the three old cemetery's in my area.
Put them in the squirrels and as stated.
The more you praise the harder they try.
Good luck and enjoy your walks with them.

The best way to train any dog to hunt, is to take it hunting, a lot. That is how they learn.

Never had feist but had a number of mountain curs and a couple Elkhound crosses. Of any hunting dogs I've been around I would have to say the curs are the least reliant on training of any hunting dog I've been around. Most either have it or they don't. Basic commands are obviously important but my mom still has a cur that is 11 now who's training was basically quit cold turkey when I moved away when he was about 8 months old. My younger brother and sister had become attached so he stayed. He will still tree coon and squirrels in the yard that is a half mile from any timber a couple times a year and will not leave until it is either shot out to him or the critter decides to come out of the tree and he kills it. He has a couple litter mates that were trained properly, access to running pens and the works. They were C- hunting dogs on their best day.

I got a mountain cur pup with very good bloodline and I moved a squirrel hide on the ground and up a tree and she went nuts for it! I am hoping to get a real squirrel though

I have Feist squirrel dogs. I teach them the basic commands. Let them see squirrels, play with tails. But far as hunting I am not sure you can teach them anything. If they have it, they will hunt. Give them time in the woods to polish their skills. My best one just turned 2, all I have done to train him is take him to the woods.

Get your pup used to you and spend time with it from a young age. Teach it basic commands and starting at about 4 months old or so start taking it to the woods for walks. The pup will probably stick close at first, but with time will start to drift away searching and exploring. This is the time your pup will learn about the woods, water, etc.

Somewhere around 4 to 6 months old live trap a squirrel and let your pup bark at it. After a bit let the squirrel out of the trap and let your pup chase it. This usually fires them up. Don't overdo it though. I recommend one time with the live squirrel, that's it.

After that start taking to the woods on hunting trips. The more the better. In other words, keep him in the woods. Only shoot out squirrels he has treed. And be patient. It may take time, but if he has it in him he'll come around.

I also recommend tone breaking your pup. It is great to have a dog that will come right back once you hit the tone button. Feists and Curs normally handle pretty well but having them tone broke is like icing on the cake.

There are many great squirrel dog groups on Facebook. I'm a member of several. I recommend you search some out. Plenty of great hunters and information over there.

I can't stress enough the be patient part. Too many people out there see someone boasting on Facebook about their 7 month old wonder pup with a tailgate full of squirrels and then get disappointed when theirs isn't doing the same thing at that age. Many of these same people get frustrated and more or less give up on their pup. These dogs are all individuals, some start much earlier than others. Just like people mature at different stages, so do dogs. Just keep them in the woods and realize not everything is going to be text-book perfect. Be patient and enjoy the time afield.

As far as breeds go, good and bad out there. For purely squirrels a Feist is pretty darn good. Many are very gamey and love to hunt. I think way too much is made about the ears on these things though. Look at all the social media grumbling about ears. There's good ones with (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) ears, and good one's with more of the flop style ear. I could care less as long as he trees squirrels. I personally have a registered Treeing Feist that trees plenty of squirrels and his ears are down most of the time, but stand up when he's excited. I guess the best of both worlds lol.

Don't overlook the Curs though. Those longer legs can help push them out a bit in thin squirrels and having a little more size can help if you decide to run them on coon as well. They tend to have a bit more nose power than your average Feist as well.

That being said some of these Feist guys have introduced a little Cur into their lines, and vice versa. I know at least one prominent Feist breeder that admits they have bred in some Mountain Cur over the years to get a little more nose and range into their line of Feists. On the flip side some of the Original Mountain Curs today are fairly small and have a kind of Feist look to them. Looks like they probably got a little Feist in the mix. Who really knows what's flowing through the veins of these dogs.

My advice. Find a breed you like and research the bloodlines behind them. Find a pup and see what the parents are like. Go from there.

Best of luck.

Much like Beagle training, You can't teach them HOW to run Rabbits, you can only take them out and LET them run the Rabbits. They will, or they won't.

I trained my feist by picking up fresh roadkill squirrels and tying a rope to their tall and dragging them all o er the yard and then I'd hang the road over a limb and after making sure the squirrel slid up the trunk, I'd pull the rope tight and the squirrel all the way to the branch.

He learned to track with his nose also sight tree cause he's always scanning the tree branches for squirrel.
I trained him when Jerry was in wyoming and he's one heck of a squirrel dog. I started training him at 8 weeks.


He was smart as heck and at 4 months he was barking treed on his own.

Alot of people think you can start them.to.toung..I think you can start them too late.

It's hard to break bad habits once they've developed them.

He trees the limit and then some.when we take him out.

He doesn't fight other dogs at the tree? Usually
Lol