I think the future of hunting with dogs lies in highly biddable, well trained (safe), dogs that are under the hunter's control at all times. A dog that is essentially an unleashed weapon, hunting independently, well there was a time and age for that. The problem is that a dog like that can be a liability. They might attack livestock for instance, or hunt the wrong game, which is why hunting with dogs is becoming more and more regulated. If for instance only certain numbers of a certain species are allowed for harvest, maybe I have a tag for an adult male boar. Well I need a dog that can find game, but is not chasing deer, attacking smaller animals, or if it gets on an adult female wild boar, I need to be able to call it off. This is something I've seen hunters in Australia do with their pig dogs (call off dogs, or have them catch or release on command), and I saw it most recently in the Nordics with dogs that were working moose.
Added to this are animal welfare issues. A dog that is hunting in a traditional canine hunting style that wants to make contact with game (ie bite), is more likely to be injured, especially when hunting wild boar. It's an almost accepted part of boar hunting, that dogs will get injured (or die) at some point, and I think society is becoming less and less tolerant of that. I think it will eventually become illegal. That style of hunting also causes stress, injury, and suffering to wild animals, which is also being less and less tolerated. If we are going to take an animal's life, it should be as quickly and painlessly as possible.
A pointing style dog, that is hunting under the command of the hunter, at close quarters, solves those issues. It is actually becoming quite a popular style of hunting to use dogs to track, find, and point large game like deer and boar.
While hunting with primitive breeds with thousands of years of history, in their historic environment, has been amazing, I have been thinking about the future. No matter which way you cut it, a breed that has evolved naturally with very little selection, well it's going to have some issues adapting fast enough to a constantly changing modern world.
Another nice thing about hunting with a pointing type breed is that it's a much less high octane hunt. You are proceeding very slowly, at the pace you choose. When hunting with my Kishu or Shikoku, once they make contact with a boar, it's a hard scramble to get there and finish the animal as quickly as possible. The longer you leave the situation, the more chance the prey escapes, or your dog gets injured. It's actually a rather high stress style of hunting.
I've never raised and trained a non Japanese hunting breed, and have always wanted to try it as a learning experience. And to make things more complex (because what's the fun in easy), I'm raising a Kai female, and a Pointer female that are the same age, in the same style, so that I can make comparisons. There's also some other possible uses for this Kai and Pointer, but for now I'm just training up two new hunting dogs to use as all round hunting dogs that can track, find, and point birds and large game. Here's some notes I've taken so far:
Leaving home seemed much more shocking and stressful for the Kai.
Kai is careful, thoughtful, starts slowly
Pointer is 100% go chewing the sofa, eating rocks, grabbing plastic
Kai only needs a light correction and will generally not do it again
Pointer will do it several times at least
Kai Pees at predictable intervals
Pointer pees randomly, sometimes a minute after last peeing
But, both sleep through the night, not a single accident, 9pm to 6am, in bed with me. Lucky
Pointer is enthusiastic with training, but messy.
When the Kai does it, it's sharp and clean.
The Pointer wants to do it, and is able to do far more repetitions.
The Kai, you are constantly competing against the environment, and have to maintain constant training. You must point out that NOT obeying the command is not an option.
Both learn very quickly, but the Kai seems to be a more mature thinker.
The Kai is environment and handler soft. The Pointer is environment soft, but handler hard.
The Kai is much more agile, elegant in movement, has great control of its body, with great spring. The Pointer is clumsy in comparison, but at speed its long leggy frame and movement will definitely allow it to cover more ground. I don't need a dog this big and heavy though. The Kai size is just right, and the coat is absolutely superior. I don't know which dog man thought it would be a good idea to give a working dog a short coat like this. C'mon, with all that rain in the British Isles, and you make a naked working dog? Boudica is shivering and it's 16 degrees. I feel terrible for her already and winter has not even begun.
I picked two pups that were not energizer bunnies, not overly outgoing, not vocal, not shy, the most even tempered, but reacted with contact and eye contact to strangers (me), most environmentally sound, and were very food motivated. Other than a few vet trips it hasn't been too terrible. I very much enjoy having dogs around again, and training them up together like this is a very new experience. I'm growing as a dog man and trainer. The hunting season starts in a week.
Oh, and they both point. Yes, the Pointer's is much more refined, and she tends to hold it longer, but the Kai points naturally too.
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