Advice on a new tracking dog

[SPEEDY]

After walking the missus bloody pug for the last few weeks I have decided I need a new mans dog.

Im looking for something to track and point pigs and maybe deer (not in vic) I dont want anything that will chase but sniff out and track down, maybe bail and also find lost game. If it could retrive game birds would be a bonus but not really required.

At the moment im thinking a Weimaraner or GSP would be good, but I dont want a big dog but a small or medium sized one from a line with good natural instincts.

[mchughcb]

Weren't you going to get a beagle a couple of years back for this type of work?

I've hunted with bloodhounds, beagles, dachshunds, gwps, gwp, labradors, jrt, fox terriers, norwegian elkhound, finnish spitz, plotthounds. I think you really need to think about what you want. Everything is a trade off. I was thinking of importing a drever from Sweden as they do exactly what you are after but a wire hair dachshund from champion stock came up so I went with that.

I've gone with the dachshunds because I only wanted a dog to track, not to get involved attacking the animal as that's my job with the gun. They are small, so easy to feed and transport. They are not as trainable as a GWP but they can track better. You have to offset that against a beagle that is far better at tracking but much harder to train to do other stuff.

I would have recommended having a look at a wirehair dachshund from the litter I just got mine, but looks like it just got sold and they are as rare as hen's teeth in Australia.

[Vaughan]

Probably bigger than you want - but hard to go past a GWP, although you would need to sit on it in the beginning so it did not chase... Terrific dogs.

[Dom]

Sounds like a Dachshund would work best, Drahthaardackel (Rauhhaar) if you can fine one. They are stubborn but a good earth dog. I have a few friends with them and am thinking of getting one someday.

[mchughcb]

Here's the father of mine, Maximum exposure

http://webs.dogs.net.au/witchwood/dog.asp?dog=47005

[SPEEDY]

Well the main things I want is to be able to track and point two game animals with as little noise and disturbance as posible and track wounded game, anything else is a bonus.

[mchughcb]

Just cause my dog doesn't lift its paw, doesn't mean its tail doesn't go up and its head points straight at the target. Dogs just react to game different ways. My dog isn't going to tackle a deer so if its got the tail up and growling you should be close enough to shoot.

[SPEEDY]

I can get a short hair dachshound from a breeder my better half knows but would I be better off trying to get one from working parents (my experience with hounds says yes)

[SPEEDY]

Damn she just sold the last pup, say do you think you could hunt a bow over a dachshund or just stick with a rifle?
I would like to hunt with the bow on the new place over a hound.

[mchughcb]

There are only three people i know using dachshunds as hunting dogs and they are all for deer, but none are from hunting lines. Yes my dog got me within 4 deer last year you could have shot with bow

[mchughcb]

But you still gotta put effort into training them for hunting.

[SPEEDY]

Same as any dog so no worries there, any diffrence between the breeds, short hair long hair mini or standard, im leaning towards the standard.
Trouble is a standard is bloody hard to find the few I can find are all bamn mini's.

[mchughcb]

My preference is wirehair, smooth, longhair, but the smooth is the lowest maintenance. Then a small standard. That means something around 10kg. No preference on the color other than someone may confuse tan with a fox. There are wirehair minis about and i wouldn't discount them. The object is the dog to get on a fresh trail and shooting range.

[SPEEDY]

What did that one of yours cost ya?

[mchughcb]

First dog cost $1000 local the other cost $1250 with flight down from byron bay.