The difference was time and maturity,” he says. She hunted her first competition hunt earlier this year, the UKC Mountain Feist Association Feist Days, and finished in the top 10 against some of the best dogs in the country. This year, she has really come into her own. She relied on Squall to find the squirrels, never venturing out on her own. “Last year, my young dog, Kaos, was about a year old and she didn’t want to get out of sight of me while we hunted.
Just as often, it takes a dog a year or two for the light to go on. “Every once in a while, you get one of those magic dogs that hit the woods at 4 or 5 months old and tree squirrels like they have been doing it for years. “Just like kids, not every dog matures at the same rate,” says Tobby Oaks. Pick the one that fits your hunting style and property size. Do some research on different breeds and how they hunt before buying your dog. Norwegian elkhounds, many of the terriers, and even Finnish spitz all have their fans. Several other breeds have their fans as well. ( Check This Out: Aggressive Squirrels Attack Residents of New York City) These stockier dogs can travel much longer distances than smaller breeds and often pull double duty chasing squirrels during the day and raccoons at night. Many of these hunters go with a larger breed like one of the many cur or hound varieties. “Often it’s coon hunters who are used to larger hounds who cover large tracts of timber and like to squirrel hunt the same style in the same areas.” “Some squirrel hunters hunt big timber, and they like a dog that hunts in a straight line, wide-open style,” Reynolds says. We chose a mountain feist because many of the areas we hunt are small properties and we wanted a dog that would hunt close. “Knock that squirrel out of the tree down on them, and you have a good start.” When that first squirrel runs across the ground and up the tree in front of them, their instinct will kick in,” says Reynolds. “Get the dog in the timber as much as possible. Get in the Woodsīoth Reynolds and Oaks say there is no substitute for woods time when it comes to making a squirrel dog. Miss Ellie is well into her second season now and coming along nicely.ĭoes the thought of hunting squirrels with a dog appeal to you? Here are 10 tips that helped us: 1.
With tips from Earl and Tobby, we began our trip down this squirrel dog rabbit hole. He named her Miss Ellie, and the two bonded immediately. Potroast picked out a small female from one of Earl’s litters. They just have a particular look,” he says. “I can recognize a dog out of my line from a photo when I see them on social media or competition hunt websites. “Not all those first crosses worked,” he says, “but eventually I started to see the traits I was looking for.” Reynolds-bred dogs now show up regularly in competition hunts all across the country. ( Don't Miss: 6 Reasons Why Kids Love Squirrel Hunting with Dogs)Įarl began crossing feists to get the attributes he wanted in a dog. I want a dog that hunts with me instead of me hunting with the dog, and feists just fit that bill.” “That’s important today where properties are small and permission to cross lines is getting harder and harder to get. “They hunt closer than hounds or curs,” he says. More than 20 years ago, he settled on the mountain feist as his breed of choice. Over the years, Earl has hunted with multiple breeds, including a squirrel hunting collie when he was a kid. I guess you can say I was born into it,” says Reynolds. “I’ve been hunting with dogs for more than 74 years. We went to see Earl Reynolds, the breeder who had produced Squall, along with countless other champion squirrel dogs now living and hunting in more than 30 states across the country. Truth was, I did too.Īfter several more trips with Tobby and Squall, we decided to get a feist of our own. Potroast and I talked about squirrel dogs on our trip home and how much he wanted one. Squall worked the woods around us like a machine, showing us more squirrels than I thought possible on an unseasonably hot and windy day. What we saw over the next five hours changed the way we’ll spend our hunting seasons from now on. How much better could it be? That’s what I asked myself as my son, Potroast, and I pulled up to the designated meeting spot with Tobby Oaks and his mountain feist, Miss Squall. Besides, I’d squirrel hunted all my life in the traditional, sneak-slowly-through-the-hardwoods way. Between hunting at home and out-of-state trips, there seems to be something going on every weekend from September to February. The last thing I needed was another hunting hobby.