Hunting Dog Confidential

In this episode, we explore two very different types of hunting dogs, both of which defy any attempt to fit neatly within a single category. Dachshunds, also known as Teckels or Dackels, are incredibly versatile hunting dogs that excel at hunting birds or tracking wounded game. Feist, on the other hand, are a category of dogs that represent the varied needs and preferences of squirrel hunters throughout North America. Both dogs are relatively unknown as hunting dogs outside of their circles, but within their community lies a fiercely devoted and passionate group of enthusiasts.

The Dachshund, or Teckel, originated in Germany and soon became a popular companion and hunting dog. War caused international interest in this German symbol to wane, leading to a short-lived attempt at renaming the breed “Liberty Hound.” The resilient little dog soon rebounded, though, and was once again popular around the world with hunters looking for a capable, driven dog with an expertise in tracking game as well as both bird dog and terrier-like skills.

Feist are a uniquely North American creation, bred to accompany squirrel hunters throughout Appalachia. They locate small game and tree it, keeping the animal in position until the hunter arrives to take the shot. While only two breeds of Feist are currently recognized by external registries, the category as a whole encompasses a huge array of local varieties and specialties.

As always, we explore some etymology in this episode. We explore the origin of the name “Teckel” and why the German word “Dachshund” isn’t often used within German to refer to this breed. We look into the meaning of “Feist” and how these dogs carry the name of an antique slang term. Finally, we start to build a dictionary of jaegersprache, or hunter’s language. The first entry in this list is “backing,” a term important in pointing dog culture but likely not understood outside of that world.

Tune in to learn more about Teckels and Feist! You’re nearly guaranteed to learn something new in this episode. We thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to reach out with your comments, questions, and ideas. We can be reached at [email protected].

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Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food and supported by Dakota 283.

This episode kicks off a new mini-series on other types of gun dogs: flushing spaniels, retrievers, terriers, scent hounds, and sight hounds. This broader look at hunting dogs will explore the history of each type of dog and how it fits into the overall timeline of hunting dogs as they developed alongside their human partners. We’ll also look at where these dogs are today and how they are being used in the field.

Like always, we dive into some linguistics to better understand the cultural origins of the dogs. To an English speaker, a spaniel is a spaniel is a spaniel. But to a French speaker, there’s a significant difference between l’épagneul and le spaniel. Perhaps most curiously, what do spaniels even have to do with Spain, anyway?

Spaniels were developed before pointing dogs but after hounds had found favor with humans as hunting companions. The more cooperative nature of hunting and retrieving birds – but not injuring the hunter’s falcon – required a much more cooperative dog. The earliest spaniels were selected for their strong bond with humans, their ease of training, and their overall cooperativeness. This was the first time that man and dog were truly working together and sharing game captured in the field.

Modern spaniels are set apart from other hunting dogs by their small size, their close working style to stay within gun range, and the way in which they quarter in front of the hunter in a windshield-wiper pattern. Their energy and enthusiasm are unmatched.

Starting with water spaniels, we discuss the Irish water spaniel, the American water spaniel, and the Boykin spaniel. These three breeds can [likely] trace their origins back along the same path, having been adapted to meet the specific size and temperament needs of their human companions. The English water spaniel, although now extinct, also played an important role in the foundation of today’s spaniels.

On land, there are no spaniel breeds more popular than the cocker and the springer spaniels. Believe it or not, these were originally a single breed, differentiated only by their size. A single litter could contain both smaller “woodcocker” spaniels as well as larger “springer” spaniels better suited for working heavier cover and larger birds. Eventually the breed split, followed by the later split between the English and American cocker spaniels. We also discuss lesser-known spaniels such as the Field spaniel, the Sussex, and the Clumber spaniels.

Not all spaniels were developed in the United Kingdom and Ireland, either. The Germans developed their own “quail dog”, the Wachtelhund. This dog has exceptional intensity in the field and, like its German versatile cousins, is renowned for its tracking and game-driving abilities. Across the border in the Netherlands, the Kooikerhondje was developed for the unusual task of luring ducks into a trap. Rather than flushing birds, the Kooikerhondje playfully piques the curiosity of nearby ducks, who swim closer to investigate playing dog and end up funneling into a trap. This behavior eventually led to the development of the Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, which we will discuss next time in our episode about retrievers.

Tune in to learn more about your favorite spaniel breeds or perhaps discover a lesser-known breed. As always, we thank you for listening and hope you’ll continue to share the great feedback about this series.

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Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance

We wrap up our survey of hunting dogs with a look at working terriers. Terriers developed to fill a need where humans needed to get to game in a situation where we were ill-equipped to do so. Just like sight hounds were developed to be faster than us to catch running game, retrievers were developed to swim better than us to get game out of the water, and scenting dogs were developed with better noses than us to find otherwise-camouflaged game... terriers were developed to be able to locate and access game below ground in tunnels and dens.

Hunt terriers were valuable members of a hunting party because they could get the fox or rabbit out of a hole. The foxhounds and hunters relied on the terrier whenever the game “went to ground” so that the hunt could continue on with the chase and pursuit.

In order to pursue game underground, the terrier needs to have a small circumference, a huge amount of courage, and the tenacity to keep after the badger or fox to prevent it from digging deeper. This may involve nipping at the animal to keep its attention, or maneuvering around the animal in order to push it toward the burrow’s entrance. Either way, the terrier is adept at working in small, confined spaces with hostile game in its own den.

Terriers also proved their worth as effective vermin control, especially with rats and other rodents around the farm. This eventually gave way to the blood sport known as rat pitting, where terriers were placed in a pit with a number of rats and bets were placed on how quickly they could kill all of the rats. This was a popular entertainment event in pubs and, while not exactly hunting, is evidence of the terrier’s hunting origins and sheer tenacity.

We talk about a couple of popular working terrier breeds: the Jack Russell, the Fell Terrier, and the Jagdterrier, which was Germany’s versatile answer to the British terrier breeds. All of these dogs continue to enjoy strong working lines today.

In wrapping up the survey of hunting dogs, we wrap up season one of the Hunting Dog Confidential Podcast. In season two, we will host some guest interviews and invite listener questions and input. Would you like to have your question featured on an upcoming episode? Record a voice memo of your question, include your name and location, and email it to us at [email protected] . We look forward to hearing the voices of our listeners, answering your questions, and hearing your stories!

We thank you for listening and look forward to launching season two shortly.

Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.

Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share this podcast.

Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food and supported by Dakota 283.

Co-hosts Craig Koshyk and Jennifer Wapenski launch Hunting Dog Confidential by diving into the origins of pointing dogs. This first episode will kick off a mini-series exploring the origins of pointing dog breeds across continental Europe, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

So what’s actually happening when a bird dog goes on point? Did you know that you are likely an experienced pointer? If you’ve ever paused just before swatting at a fly, then you have exhibited this same behavior that makes pointing dogs such effective hunting companions.

Discover fascinating stories about early bird hunting and how certain dogs who happened to “pause” before pouncing became an asset to the hunters of the day. Learn about “bird-batting” and “low-belling”, archaic bird hunting techniques where hunters went out at night to find roosted flocks of birds to flush and actually bat to the ground. Early accounts tell tales of skilled dogs that could locate the birds in the dark and point toward the roosts – perhaps the earliest accounts of hunting over pointing dogs.

As our hunting styles evolved, our preference in dogs also changed as we developed new styles of dogs to match the new methods. The introduction of firearms was a major game-changer for bird hunting; during the transition period to reliable firearms, long-haired and short-haired pointing breeds entered the scene once an extended search and prolonged point became useful to the hunter.

“By the time we get to the 1700s you’ve got light enough guns, and by that time the pointer starts coming out of Spain and starts moving into England. That is the dawn of the golden age of pointing dogs. That’s when the true bird dog - the gun dog, the pointing dog that we know today - came to exist in about 1700.”

Finally, Craig and Jennifer wrap up the discussion with some commentary on the current Coronavirus pandemic, how that affects the bird dog community, and what we can learn from history about reacting to a global crisis.

READ: The Great Pause – World Crisis, History, and the Hunting Dog World

Tune in to hear the stories, uncover the myths, and discover the history of the dogs that we know and love today.

Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.

Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe and share this podcast.

Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food

We are deep into talking about the origins of pointing dogs; we’ve been looking back through history and discussing how dogs were developing alongside the hunting culture. In this episode, we focus on the development of hunting dogs east of the Rhine river: primarily in Germany, but also Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Unlike what was going on across the river in France, these breeds owe their development to a qualification system of hunt tests, rather than competition through field trials.

Up until the early 1800s, this region was a collection of independent municipalities, each with their own wealthy lords and dukes. Hunting game was an exercise in excess; killing animals was done for sport without any thought of conservation or ethics. As the journey began to become a unified Germany, considerable effort was put into developing a system for an ethical and responsible approach to hunting game animals. As a result, there was a tremendous focus on using versatile dogs as conservation tools: the new dogs were to be used for tracking, recovering, and retrieving any shot game.

That focus on work “after the shot” has continued today. German breeds are particularly strong trackers and retrievers of both furred and feathered game, owing to this early focus on game recovery. In fact, Germany now places legal obligations on the hunter to ensure that their dog is properly tested and qualified to participate in the hunt. The idea of qualifying a hunting dog through a comprehensive testing system continues to this day, even making the jump to North America as NAVHDA.

Hunting in Germany looks a little different from hunting in North America, with more regulations and procedures to learn. Additionally, boar and deer are commonly targeted, usually through a method known as “Independent Forest Search”. Dogs are released into the forest to find game and drive it back toward the line of hunters. Special emphasis is placed on dogs that bark at the sight or scent of game, which alerts the hunters to the incoming animal.

Finally, we turn to the history of specific breeds from this region and share anecdotes from their development. How did the mantra “form follows function” lead to the development of the German Wirehaired Pointer? Why did the German Shorthaired Pointer practically overtake the North American versatile dog scene? How did a difference in color preference lead to the German Longhaired Pointer and the Large Munsterlander? Does the Small Munsterlander have a bit of a secret French accent? Why is it so difficult to find a Weimaraner from good hunting lines? Is the Pudelpointer the original designer dog? And finally, we step outside of Germany briefly to talk about the Vizsla: how do the Wirehaired and Hungarian Vizslas reflect the Hungarian people themselves?

Tune in to hear the stories, uncover the myths, and discover the history of the dogs that we know and love today.

Share | Comment, review and discuss this episode of the podcast in our Project Upland Community Facebook group.

Enjoy the show and don’t forget to rate, review, subscribe and share this podcast.

Hunting Dog Confidential is presented by Eukanuba Premium Performance Dog Food