Nothing makes a hunting outfitter’s eyes roll quicker than when a customer asks if he or she can bring their own dog on a guided hunt. That’s because most, if not all, outfitters and guides will tell you stories about guest dogs that have ruined a day in the field.
Guides have their own dogs and routines. A new dog, even a good one, upsets the order of things and can make the host’s job more difficult. Now, throw an inexperienced or disobedient dog into the mix and you’ve got a recipe for a really bad outing.
I’m not saying it’s always a bad idea to take your retriever on a new adventure. After all, that’s part of the enjoyment of owning a dog, and it’s the excitement of traveling to new destinations that keeps all of us spending precious time and money to build our bird-hunting companions. So, it’s natural for you to want your dog to go along when you travel.
Even if you strip away all the question marks about having your dog join a professionally guided hunt, the fact remains that you’re paying for a service—sometimes paying a lot—and you should expect an enjoyable experience. If that means you want your dog to be part of that enjoyment, well, you’re the customer.
Let’s unpack the variables and see where these considerations leave you in your decision-making.
Ask Your Hunting Guide First Talk to your guide and establish your expectations prior to your hunt. (Photo courtesy of Jeffery Karls) The first question to ask yourself: What is my objective in taking my own dog on this hunt? If your goal is to get your young retriever into lots of birds, that’s actually a pretty good reason. If you want to take your dog because you’re confident it will be the star of the show, that could be a good reason too... assuming your dog is actually as great as you think it is.
On the other hand, if your reason for the trip is really about experiencing a new adventure for yourself, and your dog is secondary to that experience, you might want to reconsider. One example would be if you’re a Midwesterner who wants to try Western chukar hunting. That will be a hunt unlike anything you’d find at home, and you might enjoy it more if you let your guide and their seasoned dogs do the heavy lifting so you can enjoy learning how to hunt in the new and challenging terrain.
So, get on a call with the guide or outfitter and explain your situation. Depending on what kind of hunt you’ve bought into, maybe there’s an opportunity for you and your dog to hunt on your own. Sometimes a guide is skeptical about wanting a new dog in the mix because of the way it might affect the enjoyment and success of the rest of the group (for example, on a South Dakota pheasant hunt where you’re hunting with a large group of strangers), all of whom, like you, are paying with the expectation of a quality experience.
Travel Considerations with Gun Dogs Having a dog that travels well increases the likelihood you can take it on hunting trips. (Photo courtesy of Jeffery Karls) Taking a step back, I should point out that the pros and cons of taking your dog on the hunt become irrelevant if your dog isn’t a good citizen when you travel . You need to find out ahead of time what the lodging arrangements will be. For example, if your dog sleeps indoors every night but the accommodations are such that visiting dogs must be kenneled, that could be a problem.
Answer these questions honestly. Will my dog:
Ride quietly in its travel crate? Bark all night because it’s in a strange environment? Accept riding in an unfamiliar truck or dog trailer? Relax and get a good night’s rest if it’s in a strange kennel? Get along with other dogs both at your destination and in the field or blind? If any of those questions or scenarios create doubt or anxiety, you might want to reconsider the whole idea. On the other hand, if your No. 1 hunting partner is a seasoned, experienced traveler and hunter, then you’ve already conquered any number of potential travel disasters.
What to Bring When Traveling with Gun Dogs Traveling with a dog creates a unique set of gear needs that dogless hunters never have to think about. The list of stuff I carry in my truck and in my hunting vest changes with the seasons. The many conversations I have with other hunters and dog owners I meet at seminars and events often spur new ideas for gear that makes your life easier or even save your dog’s life. This has evolved into a non-negotiable “don’t leave home without it” list.
We always carry more water in the truck than we think we’ll need for ourselves and the dogs. Keep plenty of water bottles on board so you never have to wonder if you’ve remembered them. Tucking two of them in your vest before you head afield is mandatory. Make your hunting partners carry extra water too. Finally, make sure you’ve taught your dog to drink directly from a squirt bottle, so you don’t need to carry a dish. You need a well-stocked first aid kit in your truck, and then a smaller one that rides in your vest for field emergencies. I won’t go into the contents here because that’s a whole topic unto itself. But one item that isn’t optional is a skin stapler. This simple item provides a temporary fix until you can get to the vet, whether a cut or puncture wound is from barbed wire, a sharp stick, hidden fencepost, or the hundred other things that can ruin a dog’s day. Related to first-aid, keep some gauze, veterinary pre-wrap, athletic tape, duct tape, and a couple of lightweight dog boots in your vest or blind bag. In the event of a cut pad, you can doctor up some temporary protection until you get to the vet. Tip: Put dog boots on your dog ahead of the season. Some dogs get so weirded out by the boots the first time that they won’t move. Fur-trapping season coincides with mid- and late-hunting seasons. If you’re hunting where there’s even a one percent chance of encountering a snare, you need to carry cable cutters. Look online to make sure that your cutters have the size and strength to clip snares all the way up to the type used for coyote trapping. If you rely heavily on a remote collar to control your dog, you’re going to be in a bad situation if that collar goes down or gets lost. Keep a backup in your truck at all times, and don’t forget to stash one or two spare chargers as well. Always keep a couple of 6-foot leads on board. No matter how well-behaved your dog might be, don’t take chances when you stop at a gas station or wayside for a break and exercise. Leash your dog when it’s out of the truck. Always. And a final travel tip: Your dog is the last thing you take out of the truck when it’s time to hunt and it’s the first thing in the truck when you return. Safety first. Handling a Guided Hunt with Your Dog Know your dog's abilities, and be respectful of the expectations others in your hunting group have. (Photo courtesy of Jeffery Karls) Let’s say you’ve established that the guide is cool with your dog joining the hunt, and you’re confident that it’s a calm, well-behaved traveler. He might suggest that you run your dog in the first couple of fields or covers on the first day so he can assess its performance and effect on the quality of the hunt. Maybe he’ll be wowed by your dog’s capabilities, and he’ll welcome you to keep running your dog throughout the rest of the day or days of your trip.
On the flip side, if your dog is mucking up the work and creating problems, you need to be honest with yourself and volunteer to kennel your dog and focus on enjoying the experience you’re paying for. Violations that you might sometimes overlook could very well be major irritants for your hunting partners. Even if you’re hunting with friends, if your dog is costing them opportunities to bag birds, things are going to get ugly.
So, take a hard line if your dog breaks out of the blind when ducks are circling the decoys. Same goes for a dog that flushes pheasants out of range or tries to steal retrieves from the other dogs. Use common sense and be considerate of the time and money that the other hunters in your group have invested in the trip.
As I mentioned, hunting on your own might be an option depending on the amount of ground the guide has access to, the type of terrain you’re in, and whatever liability arrangement you’re working with. The conversation about that option tends to go smoothest when you’re the one who broaches the subject. If your dog is screwing up, recognize it, accept it, and don’t put the guide or someone else in the group in the awkward position of asking you to kindly take your so-and-so hell-raiser elsewhere.
We all love our dogs and it’s natural to want to spend as many days as possible in the field with them. Isn’t that the whole point? Of course. Just the same, I’ll remind you one more time: Be honest about your dog’s experience, behavior, and abilities. If you can do that, you’ll make the right decision about taking your retriever on a guided hunt.
