# Pit-bull all around hunting dog ??????



## kchill101

Hello
I posted a more detailed post in the small game hunting before i seen this one anyway. My 16 year old and myself was in Chelsea ( washtnaw county)
Today on a piece of state land and seen a pit bull running with a couple beagles. I ended up talking to the owners about 50 min after first seeing them. The owner states that its his second pit bull he has trained on small game.He stated he has hunted all different kinds of dogs in the past 27 years and by far the two pits have cought,killed,treed more game than any other three dogs combined that he has previously owned. He said the hardest part off training was dealing with other hunters. With all that said i have a lot of experience with all kinds off dogs including the pit bulls they are not the mean crazy dog most people see them to be. But a all around hunting dog ??????? I do know they are a very GAME dog. Watcha think??


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## Rudi's Dad

kchill101 said:


> Today on a piece of state land and seen a pit bull running with a couple beagles. I ended up talking to the owners about 50 min after first seeing them. The owner states he has hunted all different kinds of dogs in the past 27 years and by far the *two pits have cought,killed,treed more game *than any other three dogs combined that he has previously owned.


I butchered your quote but cut it to the chase.

I didnt think dogs killing or catching game was part of the program for ethical sportsmen. Is it just me or


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## dogwhistle

Rudi's Dad said:


> I butchered your quote but cut it to the chase.
> 
> I didnt think dogs killing or catching game was part of the program for ethical sportsmen. Is it just me or


good point.


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## predatordave

yep rudis dad hit the nail on the head. it is not so much the desire to kill that makes a hunting dog. it is the desire to hunt. now dont get me wrong my hounds love a little treat at the end of a race but if they dont get it they dont mind. the question you should of asked the guy is why did he have to run beagles along side the pit? it would have answered every question you had. there is a reason the hog hunters use a pit or bull dogs as catch dogs and not so much as track dogs. they were not bred for nose and scenting. and for running rabbits would a pit actually stick on a track and run that rabbit for an hour. and i am pretty sure a pit would not bark on track. as an all around hunting dog it would be one tough job to make a pit one. they are more of a specific catch type dog in my opinion. i have a bluetick female in the house now that didnt cut it as a hunting dog. she fought numerous ***** and treed great and fought some hogs and a couple bear bay ups. i had very high hopes for her. but she just did not want to stick on a track and keep hunting hunting. she is a great watch dog now and good puppy trainer on the cage and tree but she doesnt ever see the woods anymore. 
the big question is what do you want to hunt the most. if it is **** or squirrels and if you like the looks and coloring of pits check out some of the cur dogs out there or plotts. they can run the track and tree too. 
i am not saying there are not pits out there that can be an all around hunting dog but do you want to spend 27 years finding the ones that will do it?

good luck, dave


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## Lucky Dog

Rudi's Dad said:


> I butchered your quote but cut it to the chase.
> 
> I didnt think dogs killing or catching game was part of the program for ethical sportsmen. Is it just me or


In the hound game "kill" dogs are quite common, so are "catch" dogs. Pitts or pitt cross's are quite common.

Your ethics may not apply to others or the sports they enjoy. 

I spoke to one old hound man once who thought it was quite un ethical for me to use a dog to find quail so I could just "cut em down" with a shot gun. 

In my opinion, rather than pass judgment on other hunters methods, we as a group should take a look at why and how each other enjoys their chosen sport. A person might be surprised at how much they can learn from others. 

At a minimum, we as out door enthusiasts should at least try to to not segment ourselves from each other. As a group we carry a pretty big club, but as small factions, we will be ripe for the picking by the anti's.


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## dogwhistle

i cant imagine pit bulls would make it as waterfowl or upland game dogs.


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## kchill101

I see everyone's point. As for my dogs i would never try to train for in the woods.I would be to afraid that someone would see a pit bull in the woods and just shoot it.


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## FieldWalker

dogwhistle said:


> i cant imagine pit bulls would make it as waterfowl or upland game dogs.


You don't believe you'd find more birds with a dog of any breed working in a 40 yd proximity?

Both of my dogs are "kill dogs" if a crippled bird hits the ground... 

I'm with Dennis (LuckyDog) on this one.


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## Lucky Dog

dogwhistle said:


> i cant imagine pit bulls would make it as waterfowl or upland game dogs.


Not sure what your point is? 
But, turn about being fair play, I can't imagine your field bred setters making very good hog, bear or lion dogs either. There are a lot of other game dogs out there besides "bird dogs".


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## jackbob42

The way I figure it , somebody has probably already tried it.
And , if they were all that , everybody would have one.
Whether it be using a hound for birds , bird dogs for bear , or pitts for squirrels.

Figure out what you want to hunt , and then go get a dog that has been bred for it.


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## dogwhistle

Lucky Dog said:


> Not sure what your point is?
> But, turn about being fair play, I can't imagine your field bred setters making very good hog, bear or lion dogs either. There are a lot of other game dogs out there besides "bird dogs".


you are corrrect, they wouldnt be good at that at all. but i'm not claiming they are "all around dogs".

i believe in specialists. they are excellent on grouse and woodcock aand thats all i expect. i dont want them to kill birds, i want them soft mouthed. i can easily dispatch a wounded bird.

how good would pit bulls be on fur if they didnt have hounds to track it down. arent they just catch dogs?


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## WestCoastHunter

If memory serves, the word terrier is usually associated with Pit Bulls. 

Most terriers aren't bred to just chase.


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## dogwhistle

i believe terrriers are mostly bred to kill animals, game in the field or animals in competetion in pits.


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## WeimsRus

dogwhistle said:


> i believe terrriers are mostly bred to kill animals, game in the field or animals in competetion in pits.


Terriers are a group of breeds all by themselves. Most were bred to get rid of small fuzzy, guard their owner's, or fight. I have had PBT mixes that have had a good nose and would track a little, even have a English Bull Terrier that will stalk and point birds but she does not track them she has to see them. Don't ask me how that happened because after watching me work with Bella, my Weim, she just started doing this to birds in the yard. :lol: I am not saying it is impossible but it would take some training from a pup to get a PBT to do this. Now chasing small fuzzy through the woods would be easier, but they will tend to be more like sight hounds and not use their nose to track. This is the reason they are ran with beagles.


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## John Barkowski

I am going to have to agree with any dog is a "kill dog". Anytime your hunting with a dog and you wound a bird or small game then the dogs instinct to kill will kick in. Any dog can be a good hunting dog, I saw a guy hunting pheasants with a jack russel. My family has a chihuaha and she enjoys chasing birds, rabbits basically anything in the book. She is a BA.


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## dogwhistle

john,, i expect my birddogs to be soft mouthed and not maul wounded gamebirds

my son has a jack russell, great killer of small animals. she will spend hours trying to dig into my pigeon pen.

at any rate there are versatile dogs but no all arround dogs.


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## Fred Bear

I have heard that pit bulls make good bear dogs, but a rabbit dog? There ears, eyes, and nose are too small. Plus there legs are too long.


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## AireHunter

dogwhistle said:


> i cant imagine pit bulls would make it as waterfowl or upland game dogs.


This video is of a friend of mines pit bull. Great water entry and enthusiam. The dog even holds the dummy while it shakes the water off before given the command to drop. A little work and he would be fun to have in the duck blind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl8kuXKr1KI


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## dogwhistle

that was a surprise


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## kchill101

Hello
Im the guy that started this thread. And thank everyone for responding.
I love my pit bull to death but a hunting dog i think not. So that decision has lead my family and i to look at a two year old GSP this evening at about 9.
So any advice. this is a quick rundown. My wife and i have 3 children,one dog (pit bull) and a cat,12 acres 5 fenced in. the GSP is two never hunted but has had guns fired around him and he is ok with that, He was raised with a child and a cat. Just wondering if he will adjust ok. All im going on is the AKC website on temperment and such .they sound like great dogs thanks


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## OSXer

AireHunter said:


> This video is of a friend of mines pit bull. Great water entry and enthusiam. The dog even holds the dummy while it shakes the water off before given the command to drop. A little work and he would be fun to have in the duck blind.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl8kuXKr1KI


Maybe it's just a single instance, but the dog didn't wait for a command to drop the dummy in the video. The "stay" that was a 10' butt scoot was interesting too. Not great evidence for this thread IMO. Many other-non hunting breeds will chase and retrieve items too. The qualities of a good, all around hunting dog go well beyond this IMO.

I'll give credit that they make good catch dogs. Aside from that the sporting use is limited and along the lines of many other non-sporting breeds that might have individuals that tow the line of being suitable in the field.


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## GSH-Dave

I have a German Wirehair pointer and my girlfriend has a pitbull mix (it is actually the one in the video above I had to have my friend post cuz I'm under the 15 post limit to post links). Anyways, we do not have a cat, but the two of them get along great. They are really the odd couple as the pit bull is very laid back and quite content to just lay around all day while the GWP is bouncy as hell. They play very well together. I have a 5 year-old that hangs all over the both of them constantly and have had no issues with that at all. 

That said, who knows how your two particular dogs will get along. I am merely passing along my experience. You won't really know until you get the two together.


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## OSXer

AireHunter said:


> This video is of a friend of mines pit bull. Great water entry and enthusiam. The dog even holds the dummy while it shakes the water off before given the command to drop. A little work and he would be fun to have in the duck blind.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl8kuXKr1KI


Maybe it's just a single instance, but the dog didn't wait for a command to drop the dummy in the video. The "stay" that was a 10' butt scoot was interesting too. Not great evidence for this thread IMO. Many other-non hunting breeds will chase and retrieve items too. The qualities of a good, all around hunting dog go well beyond this IMO.

I'll give credit that they make good catch dogs. Aside from that the sporting use is limited and along the lines of many other non-sporting breeds that might have individuals that tow the line of being suitable in the field.


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## pitbull birddog

i just wanted to post this about the pitbull!the pitbull is very misunderstood!the problem with this dog is its drive to make its owner happy so the dog will do what every makes u the owner happy when these dogs get into the wrong hands it gives the breed a bad name because of there lolaty to there owner.lets face it a dog is just a dog!i have two pitbull terriers one of which i trained on pheasant i socialized her with lots of dogs and people as a puppy and trained her nose on pheasant with a dumby and some pheasant scent she will keep her nose to the ground and track by sent i would put her up against any flushing dog people have she is that good!I believe any breed of dog can be trained to do anything with time and persistence!she always carrys the pheasants to me by the head never hurting the meat when she sees the bell and collar come out she knows we are going to look for birdys and loves it.by far my best bird dog ever pitbulls are high energy and need a job to do!so what ever u train them to do they will do with pride and to perfection weather it be killing other dogs or kicking up birds that is the problem these dogs most of the time end up in the wrong hands blame the owner not the dog!remember a dog is a dog no matter what the breed


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## pitbull birddog

all dogs have great noses u just have to get them interested and they will hunt


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## Ohio_92

pitbull birddog said:


> i just wanted to post this about the pitbull!the pitbull is very misunderstood!the problem with this dog is its drive to make its owner happy so the dog will do what every makes u the owner happy when these dogs get into the wrong hands it gives the breed a bad name because of there lolaty to there owner.lets face it a dog is just a dog!i have two pitbull terriers one of which i trained on pheasant i socialized her with lots of dogs and people as a puppy and trained her nose on pheasant with a dumby and some pheasant scent she will keep her nose to the ground and track by sent i would put her up against any flushing dog people have she is that good!I believe any breed of dog can be trained to do anything with time and persistence!she always carrys the pheasants to me by the head never hurting the meat when she sees the bell and collar come out she knows we are going to look for birdys and loves it.by far my best bird dog ever pitbulls are high energy and need a job to do!so what ever u train them to do they will do with pride and to perfection weather it be killing other dogs or kicking up birds that is the problem these dogs most of the time end up in the wrong hands blame the owner not the dog!remember a dog is a dog no matter what the breed





pitbull birddog said:


> all dogs have great noses u just have to get them interested and they will hunt


 
Ok Then:coolgleam


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## Socks

kchill101 said:


> Hello
> Im the guy that started this thread. And thank everyone for responding.
> I love my pit bull to death but a hunting dog i think not. So that decision has lead my family and i to look at a two year old GSP this evening at about 9.
> So any advice. this is a quick rundown. My wife and i have 3 children,one dog (pit bull) and a cat,12 acres 5 fenced in. the GSP is two never hunted but has had guns fired around him and he is ok with that, He was raised with a child and a cat. Just wondering if he will adjust ok. All im going on is the AKC website on temperment and such .they sound like great dogs thanks


I looked at the GSP to compare to a lab. I went with a lab because that's the breed for me, but GSP's are very popular and from what I've heard good with kids and good hunters. What little I know is this: GSP's need a job and need a lot of exercise, but any sporting breed needs exercise. I'd put them slightly above a field bred lab and below a english pointer(the highest) in energy; are considered a watch dog(will bark at people and things in their territory); and are good with kids. Arguably(sp?) one good thing about the GSP is that they haven't been as popular and bred as much as the lab has and so getting a GSP with some drive will probably be easier.

I used to think training a pointer was more difficult than a retriever, but I know more now and I'm not so sure. A GSP can do both point and retrieve if enough time and effort is applied. They can also be used for fur/small game. You have to decide what you want and to what level you want to get to.

If you like the dog I don't think you'd go wrong by taking the dog as long as there weren't any underlying problems. Just give 'em a couple of weeks to get to know you and trust you. Good luck and have fun!


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