Hunting Dogs

Jason Jordan
Blog Entry
NRES 320
November 3, 2011

I had just spent the better part of the morning grouse hunting near my hometown. I was now in my tree stand waiting for any sign of deer movement. This allowed me to reflect on this morning’s successes (in this case lack of success). I was thinking about how I used to hunt with my German Shorthaired Pointer named Sadie. Sadie had died a few years back and my successful grouse hunts have dramatically dropped since her passing. Being a fulltime student, I feel I wouldn’t have enough time to properly train a new dog, so for now I am hunting alone.
Anyways, that is beside the point. Thinking about Sadie had evoked a memory about a segment I had seen on television. This segment was about hunters that used dogs to hunt bears, grouse and other various prey. These hunters were complaining about dog loses due to wolf encounters; rightfully so. But what bothered me was the fact that they wanted to be compensated for their loss by the state agencies such as the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The hunters felt entitled to compensation because the DNR did not have a legal hunt on wolves and they believe that the populations, of wolves, are too high in Wisconsin. So in their mind if the populations are great and there is no hunt than we deserve the compensation for lost dogs.
I am a dog lover and have hunted many years beside my dog. Dogs become a beloved family member. That being said I still believe that no compensation should be awarded. I understand that a lot of time, money and effort go into training these dogs but the owner must accept that there is a factor of uncertainty when using dogs. I for one would be devastated to find my dog ripped up by pack of wolves but when I took Sadie out hunting, I accepted the level of risk that was involved. Well, what about compensation of livestock deaths? That is a whole different realm in my opinion. Farmers with livestock are relying on that for their livelihood. The majority of hunters running dogs to aid with a hunt are not depending on that hunt for survival. Yes, some are training dogs for other people and have a business based around that but then they should think about insuring those dogs because then they could be possibly considered commercial property.
I do believe that a dog owner should be allowed protect the dog from predators. Now whether this is legal or not is a different matter. Hunters that are using dogs to hunt need to understand that there is the risk of a dog being attacked. It is their responsibility to protect that animal and if they are willing to fight for compensation well then they should be fighting for the protection of their dog to begin with. The dogs are the responsibility of the owner and not the Department of Natural Resources.