Many hunters entertain the idea that their prized hunting dog will never be a good hunting dog if he is allowed to step foot in the house. This notion is absurd. Modern hunters of today often miss out on the true companionship that their hunting dog can give to them in the other areas of their life and perhaps in the end, they suffer as much as the dog does from the lack of socialization with their hunting dog who can also be their companion and friend.
It took thousands of years for mankind and canines to develop a partnership. That partnership included the mutual ability to give each other aid and affection. It also built upon the canine's natural watchdog and guarding capabilities and afforded both the human and the dog a sense of companionship and mutual trust. That togetherness also allowed for the dog to learn more and for the human to train the dog more.
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Certainly in the early days of the settling of America the settlers who were lucky enough to have a dog did not dream of sticking him into a pen and leaving him there...the dog was a valuable part of their survival because it could do a great deal to protect the homestead besides being a warm body next to the fireside and helping the hunter to bring home the next meal.
Perhaps the basis of keeping the dog penned except during the hunt came from the traditions established by the nobility of Europe and England when large kennels were the norm for the landowner. Of course it was unfeasible to keep hundreds of dogs in the house. But there was never a time when the Lord of the Manor did not keep his favored hounds in his home with him. The large kennels did a great deal to establish good hunting lines and different breeds, for selective breeding could be more easily accomplished when there were large numbers to choose from for the matings. But the average hunter is not selectively breeding. He has no need at all to keep the dog penned up except during the hunting season.
Apparently there are hunters who believe that allowing a hunting dog to have the run of the house will ruin his nose, deflate his natural hunting instincts, make him fat and lazy and make him become somehow badly mannered and disobedient. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Firstly, the power of the dog's nose to scent comes with it when it is born. The idea that letting him be in the house will help to destroy his scenting ability is ridiculous. Actually the ability to scent well and to discriminate scents is an inborn ability and increases exponentially as the dog learns to distinguish more and more scents, often many of them having nothing at all to do with hunting. It would seem that the more exposure the dog has to a myriad of scents of all kinds would be better than less exposure. Surely when indoor living is also combined with outdoor living there would be more scents involved!
Then there is the idea that living indoors will allow the dog to grow fat and lazy. Here again, the exact opposite is true. A do who is with his humans will get up and follow his master, will roam the grounds with his master, will investigate his household environment and be more stimulated to activity than a dog who is penned in a 10 by 12 foot area day after endless day with no stimulation to make him want to get up and move. Furthermore if a dog happens to have the good fortune to live with someone who is even minimally healthy and likes to walk and get outside, there is just naturally more of a willingness for the human to take the dog along when he is right there by his side and not stuck in a pen out in the back forty. Also the question of his weight has to do with how much he is fed regardless of where he is living. The wise owner will regulate the dog's consumption of calories, giving him more during the hunting season and less when he is not hunting.
But the single most important reason, which I have not yet touched upon, for the dog to live with his hunting companion and master in the house, has to do with the dog's capability to learn more effectively when it is coupled with the desire to please his master. A dog who is bonded to his master is a dog that will try harder and accomplish more than a dog who is not motivated to learn, is not trustful of his human companion, is distracted by the joy of being out of the pen more than he is wants to be trained. In short, a dog who is allowed to be a pet is a dog that is much more ready to be trained and has much more opportunity to learn than a dog who is shunted away into a pen and forgotten about between hunting seasons.
Hunting Dog or House Dog?
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Dog Training
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