Ruining your hunting dog by keeping it inside??

[iceman2010]

What are your guys' thoughts on this, facty or fiction, can you ruin your hunting dog by keeping it inside, and or letting it sleep next to you. I have heard both sides through conversation so this morning i looked it up online and i got a mixture of both yet again. Just wondering what your thoughts are on this.

[PurpleFloyd]

Absolutely false. My dogs spend almost all of their time in the house right there with me and there is nothing that happens that hurts their ability to hunt. If anything they grow a stronger bond with the owner and learn to work as more of a team than a dog you only spend a few minutes a day with when you let it out of the kennel for a run.

[duckbuster]

Not a chance!!!!!! My dogs always sleep right on the bed with me and they are just fine in the field.

One thing that always stood out for me is that when you read what the the owner of a National Champion will say after they have won. I swear 90% of them will mention their dog is with them at the office, their dog sleeps beside their bed and so on and so forth..

Don't give it a 2nd thought about leaving him/her inside. I wouldn't have it any other way.

[duckbuster]

Absolutely false. My dogs spend almost all of their time in the house right there with me and there is nothing that happens that hurts their ability to hunt. If anything they grow a stronger bond with the owner and learn to work as more of a team than a dog you only spend a few minutes a day with when you let it out of the kennel for a run.

I think the "bond" portion of this quote is spot on.

[Farmboy1]

Positives:

1. Stong bond with owner

2. I train every minute with my dog, when cooking dinner we do come heel, etc. Increases training time

Negatives:

1. Dirty dog in house after hunts/yard, etc

2. Dog does not grow strong undercoat for late season hunts from being in colder weather and cannot tollerate temps as well.

3. Not as much human contact, bonding, training

IMHO it does not matter what each person chooses to do. Personal preference and I don't see how any thing outweighs the others. I choose to have my dog in a kennel in a heated garage, with a door to the exterior run kennel they can go outside during the day. When I am home, she is in the house, all other times she is in the kennel.

Works for me, but may not work for everyone.

[Rick]

The dogs are fine inside as long as you are consistant with how you interact with them.

My Spaniel is 3 points shy of her AFC title and not yet 3 years old. She's an inside dog and sleeps in my daughters bedroom.

[CJH]

Positives:

1. Stong bond with owner

2. I train every minute with my dog, when cooking dinner we do come heel, etc. Increases training time

Negatives:

1. Dirty dog in house after hunts/yard, etc

2. Dog does not grow strong undercoat for late season hunts from being in colder weather and cannot tollerate temps as well.

3. Not as much human contact, bonding, training

IMHO it does not matter what each person chooses to do. Personal preference and I don't see how any thing outweighs the others.

I agree with most of this (other than #3 - Not sure how that is any different than being locked in a kennel all day with no contact). I think the bond between dog and owner is the most important thing. I would say you definitely do need to watch your dog in cold/wet conditions if they haven't developed their undercoat.

[NyQuiLlama]

In a word: fiction

In two words: maddening misconception

[LMITOUT]

I would say fiction.

My GSP is a 100% house dog but that has no impact to her field performance. When it comes time to hunt the switch goes on and nothing else matters....pheasants or bust.

[duckbuster]

Screw the undercoat. What happens when you go running outside in December? Answer: you warm up. No different than your dog when it is chasing Grouse or Rooster in the snow. As far as late season ducks go, you watch your dog and the amount of time she is out of the water between retrieves. I never consider whether my dog is cold or not when I'm hunting Grouse on the deer opener.

All that undercoat does is leave lots and lots of hair on your floor to sweep up.

As an earlier poster mentioned, it's all about personal preference and what you do. It does not matter one bit as far as performance in the field.

[caseymcq]

This dog...

... did this...

... and this...

... so IMO, keeping you hunting dog inside doesn't ruin them.

[rymcneil]

totally false! Caseymcq that's a cute pic of your lab on the couch. Just had to say that

[Acemac]

what about feet? I hear lots of post come hunting season on here about thier dogs paws bleeding. that can be almost eliminated by keeping a dog out side most of the time.

[nofishfisherman]

There are a lot of insanely simple ways to protect a dogs feet. No need to keep it outside all the time just to toughen up the feet for hunting season.

Just keeping your dog active will most likely solve that problem. Many dogs get lazy in the off season and don't stay as active. Come hunting season they can be soft and out of shape. A house dog can be kept in great shape given proper exercise.

[Jaspernuts]

If your dogs pads are bleeding you are not walking it enough. Regular walking does plenty to toughen up the pads.

[caseymcq]

totally false! Caseymcq that's a cute pic of your lab on the couch. Just had to say that

Thanks... she wasn't spoiled...

[Jmnhunter]

do you mean keeping the dog outside for much of his life, like staying out there during the night?

My plan is to keep mine in the kennel during the day but when i'm home he comes out and stays with us in the house. at night hes in his crate, granted hes only 4.5 months; as he matures he'll be able to sleep next to the bed.

I have to agree with the undercoat comment though about creating a thicker coat; the comment about "screw the undercoat he'll warm up when hes walking" must not be a duck hunter

[duckbuster]

do you mean keeping the dog outside for much of his life, like staying out there during the night?

My plan is to keep mine in the kennel during the day but when i'm home he comes out and stays with us in the house. at night hes in his crate, granted hes only 4.5 months; as he matures he'll be able to sleep next to the bed.

I have to agree with the undercoat comment though about creating a thicker coat; the comment about "screw the undercoat he'll warm up when hes walking" must not be a duck hunter

No, I'm a huge waterfowler. We just look at things differently is all. You might want to re-read what I said when it came to the duck hunting portion of the post.