Guys,
Just wondering how many here use their regular hunting buddies on Sambar? Very interested in how you work your dog on Sambar, ie on lead or off.
I'm relatively new to it so I've tried the Brittany on lead (we both got badly tangled, too many trees ), off lead and ranging (dog loves it ... but its relatively noisy), now we're training for a relatively relaxed "heel" within 2m of me, but the urge to wander wider is great.
What are you experiences? Also anyone specifically trained their dogs to track for follow-ups?
Cheers...
Con

Con, First of all, make sure that your dog breed is 'an approved companion breed'. Otherwise DSE or Parks Vic will have all sorts of fun at your expense. I'm pretty sure that Brittanys are on the list, but I would check it out, if I were you.
Since the foxhound ban went into effect, things are a bit crazy, but it is starting to settle down out in the scrub.
As for tracking, if it doesn't fly, my Large Munsterlander doesn't care about it. Managed to bag a nice Fallow on a mates farm. While he drove me (Argo all wheel drive amphibian, ya gotta love it!) over to where the deer was lying, the dog was running following the scent from where I had seen the deer leave the scrubline until well into the paddock where it had been shot (and hadn't moved!). Dog races up to it, a quick sniff, then straight on after the quail.
Not much of a deer hound. Great companion dog, good on the birds, but that's about it.

Cheers, Dave.

I still have my old staghound bitch in the backyard,she`s 12 now and well past it and of course is an "illegal breed" now.
She found her first two deer (they had been shot) at five months of age and found many other deer wether wounded and travelled or simply ones that folded in heavy cover or across gullies for me. Ahem she bailed a few unwounded ones in water also.I broke her in to be very steady and to stay with me(in front) so i could observe her actions or to stay put while i went ahead for a shot.
It is imperative that you have TOTAL control over your dog to hunt sambar.

Serves you right for getting a Munsterlander and not a Brittany . The Brits are a recognised breed, besides where I hunt the Parks Vic bloke most likely to stop me has one himself . My older bloke is more fur orientated, the youngster seems to be the opposite ... time will tell as the youngster will be given a run on Sambar next year once the wriggle sticks go away.
Cheers...
Con

gryphon,
Sounds like you got that dog to where I want to get mine. Mines under control but pushes the boundaries off-lead, particularly where there is scent ... which is to say he's really not under 100% control! At that point I need a voice command or growl to get him back in.
Cheers...
Con

quote:

Originally posted by Con:
gryphon,
Sounds like you got that dog to where I want to get mine. Mines under control but pushes the boundaries off-lead, particularly where there is scent ... which is to say he's really not under 100% control! At that point I need a voice command or growl to get him back in.
Cheers...
Con

Con try and convert your growls /voice commands to hand signals, they are almost essential for sneaking in on deer with a dog or at least until the dog knows you so well from your actions that it instinctively knows what to do,..

What gryphon1 said. Plus it works better on the swamps or the quail paddocks. As for the Large Munsterlander, she chose us (or rather, she chose my daughter) so it would seem we are stuck with each other. I don't mind her not being interested in deer, as long as she goes into the cold water after the ducks.

Merry Christmas.

Cheers, Dave.