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When is it safe to hunt your pup? (Gator Related)
Posted on 11/6/17 at 2:39 pm
Posted on 11/6/17 at 2:39 pm
More specifically, around the Reggio/Delacroix/Caernarvon area.
I've worked hard to get my boy started and am looking forward to having some fun this season & years to come, however, I don't want to push the issue until our reptilian friends are safely into their wintertime patterns.
Perhaps I am overthinking this as it is my first time introducing a dog into my hunting environment. Anyone have a word of forewarning/advice/alleviation?
Pics of said pup:
I've worked hard to get my boy started and am looking forward to having some fun this season & years to come, however, I don't want to push the issue until our reptilian friends are safely into their wintertime patterns.
Perhaps I am overthinking this as it is my first time introducing a dog into my hunting environment. Anyone have a word of forewarning/advice/alleviation?
Pics of said pup:
This post was edited on 11/6/17 at 2:45 pm
Posted on 11/6/17 at 2:46 pm to MrJudgeSmails
FWIW I've always heard the magic water temp is 60 degrees for them to go docile... they'll still be around but won't be feeding.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 3:02 pm to MrJudgeSmails
quote:
Perhaps I am overthinking this
Actually you are not. If you hunt in water where your dog will swim, he could be a target for a gator. We usually wait till at least a good front or 2 to hunt ponds where the dog is going to swim in.
Preferably we like at least a good freeze but getting a string of 40 degree nights where we don't get the heat wave that follows is ideal.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 3:24 pm to MWP
quote:
getting a string of 40 degree nights where we don't get the heat wave that follows is ideal.
so, in S. La, never?
Posted on 11/6/17 at 3:28 pm to DirtyMikeandtheBoys
quote:
so, in S. La, never?
Basically.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 3:30 pm to DirtyMikeandtheBoys
they will not feed when water temps are below 62.
Ive been doing this for many years and know many dog folks.....
I am aware of a bout 8 duck dog gator encounters......during hunting season witnessed 2.
I am aware of about 20 labs damn near dying from boat props and nutria....
everything is a risk..... and feeding and biting should not be confused... a resting gator bumped by a dog.. will bite unless it is damned near frozen...
far more of our canine friends go down to cars, accidental poisonings than they do from reptiles....
Ive been doing this for many years and know many dog folks.....
I am aware of a bout 8 duck dog gator encounters......during hunting season witnessed 2.
I am aware of about 20 labs damn near dying from boat props and nutria....
everything is a risk..... and feeding and biting should not be confused... a resting gator bumped by a dog.. will bite unless it is damned near frozen...
far more of our canine friends go down to cars, accidental poisonings than they do from reptiles....
Posted on 11/6/17 at 3:31 pm to DuckSausage
quote:62..... even with farm gators.. metabolism shuts down can't digest food... won't eat.
When is it safe to hunt your pup? (Gator Related)
FWIW I've always heard the magic water temp is 60 degrees for them to go docile... they'll still be around but won't be feeding.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 3:38 pm to MrJudgeSmails
good on you for your concern.
as others have noted is water temp, not air temp to watch.
but on a sunny winter day you can find them up on the bank catching rays, and they will strike if disturbed
we quit using dogs down at the wax...they never seem to go dormant even dead of winter and theres so many young adults who have to be aggressive to survive
as others have noted is water temp, not air temp to watch.
but on a sunny winter day you can find them up on the bank catching rays, and they will strike if disturbed
we quit using dogs down at the wax...they never seem to go dormant even dead of winter and theres so many young adults who have to be aggressive to survive
Posted on 11/6/17 at 3:38 pm to choupiquesushi
quote:
a resting gator bumped by a dog.. will bite unless it is damned near frozen...
That's why even if you are not hunting water where the dog has to swim, you really need to be aware of where your dog is on long marks where they might be chasing a cripple. We might be hunting shallow marsh were the dog never swims but cripples typically swim to banks to escape and those banks are very good spots for gators to sun. Even if lethargic, a dog that just stumbles up on a resting gator chasing a duck could get bit and although probably not fatal, could be career ending.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 4:05 pm to MrJudgeSmails
uhhhh..... He looks spoiled rotten! Lol....... Not that my dogs aren't.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 4:15 pm to choupiquesushi
quote:
far more of our canine friends go down to cars, accidental poisonings than they do from reptiles....
far more people die in car accidents than by handguns. doesn't mean you can be careless with a handgun.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 4:16 pm to Cajunate
Thanks all for the pointers, I'll just continue living with mild anxiety until we get a few hunts under our belt.
Spoiled is an understatement, this fool eats/drinks/sleeps 10X better than I do!
Spoiled is an understatement, this fool eats/drinks/sleeps 10X better than I do!
Posted on 11/6/17 at 5:12 pm to MrJudgeSmails
Fyi, rode today and saw more gators out and about than I did all summer. Was in Pointe a la hache. Close to your area. Sucks to not hunt him, as someone who has to pick up all his birds, I realize how bad this would and will suck.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 5:29 pm to MrJudgeSmails
quote:
I'll just continue living with mild anxiety until we get a few hunts under our belt.
This was how I was when I first started hunting with beagles. There will always be some anxiety and nervousness when hunting with a dog.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 6:35 pm to ZacAttack
IF the voice in your head says don’t take him don’t. It’s just not worth it.
IMO this weekend is out unless the impending front is MUCH stronger than anticipated. Doesn’t mean you can’t hunt them but if there is a 50-50 chance why risk it with your buddy?
I can tell you I am bringing my dogs to the camp but likeley not hunting them. I am sure I am in the minority but why risk it? We owe it to our dogs to keep them out of harms way even if it means not doing what they love for a few hunts u til it gets colder.
IMO this weekend is out unless the impending front is MUCH stronger than anticipated. Doesn’t mean you can’t hunt them but if there is a 50-50 chance why risk it with your buddy?
I can tell you I am bringing my dogs to the camp but likeley not hunting them. I am sure I am in the minority but why risk it? We owe it to our dogs to keep them out of harms way even if it means not doing what they love for a few hunts u til it gets colder.
Posted on 11/6/17 at 6:48 pm to Da Hammer
Well said, 100% agree. I don’t guess i’ll tote him out there until they’ve had a solid front or two to get into brumation.
Posted on 11/7/17 at 9:28 am to MWP
quote:
That's why even if you are not hunting water where the dog has to swim, you really need to be aware of where your dog is on long marks where they might be chasing a cripple. We might be hunting shallow marsh were the dog never swims but cripples typically swim to banks to escape and those banks are very good spots for gators to sun. Even if lethargic, a dog that just stumbles up on a resting gator chasing a duck could get bit and although probably not fatal, could be career ending.
pretty sure this is what happened to us with grizzly in january 2014
Posted on 11/7/17 at 9:29 am to tigerinthebueche
quote:
far more of our canine friends go down to cars, accidental poisonings than they do from reptiles....
far more people die in car accidents than by handguns. doesn't mean you can be careless with a handgun.
I never said don't use caution...... point was to put it in perspective of the actual risk.
Posted on 11/7/17 at 12:22 pm to choupiquesushi
Good looking hound, congrats.
You might still bring him and just take a teal season approach with him. Kept close to you, leashed if you have to. Use him and his NOSE to find birds fallen in the marsh grass but take him there yourself. Mine hunts teal season on these rules unless I'm hunting something ankle deep or lower, always kept close, never just sent. Don't think the camp walls would contain my dog if I walk out without him this Saturday.
There's still some good to be done for the dog and you to enjoy without having him swimming out into the pond for each bird. Getting a hunt in with all the sounds, sights and smells would be good experience for a young one.
You might still bring him and just take a teal season approach with him. Kept close to you, leashed if you have to. Use him and his NOSE to find birds fallen in the marsh grass but take him there yourself. Mine hunts teal season on these rules unless I'm hunting something ankle deep or lower, always kept close, never just sent. Don't think the camp walls would contain my dog if I walk out without him this Saturday.
There's still some good to be done for the dog and you to enjoy without having him swimming out into the pond for each bird. Getting a hunt in with all the sounds, sights and smells would be good experience for a young one.
Posted on 11/7/17 at 12:41 pm to Tigah D
Definitely as said above. You can still take him and do short retrieves and to get dead birds. Just don't do a long retrieve on a cripple or any situation that is not an easy retrieve. I know that's easier said than done, but still.
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