# Hunting Training for the non-hunting dog



## Wild Bill Cody (Oct 24, 2013)

New to the forum, Hello all!

I am not a hunter, but I would like to let Cody use his primal instincts to track and hunt. Cody is 16 weeks and has a ton of energy (duh...). I would like to be able to take him out somewhere and "hunt" in the woods nearby. 

Does anyone have any ideas/tips/games we can start practicing? 

Also, here's a picture of Cody in the car.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Welcome, Wild Bill Cody!! Your little guy, Cody, is absolutely adorable! OMG!! What a sweet face!! ;D ;D ;D I don't think I could ever get enough of looking at Vizsla puppies.

I don't "hunt" with my boy, Willie, either. He's still a hunting dog, through and through. I hope you will get good advice from other members, but what I have found is this: Hunting is in their blood, and they will hunt. If you're not planning on hunting with a gun, I don't think too much training will be required. You just have to find a good and safe place where he can express his instincts. The two things that really matter are a good recall (come when called) and an understanding of the command "leave it". Also, depending on where you live, you might need to invest in rattlesnake aversion training. Hoping others will chime in, too! ;D ;D ;D


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## v-john (Jan 27, 2013)

mswhipple said:


> Welcome, Wild Bill Cody!! Your little guy, Cody, is absolutely adorable! OMG!! What a sweet face!! ;D ;D ;D


x2.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Welcome! Cody is adorable. 

One of my favorite games to play is "Find it." I start off with small pieces of treats or food and hide them in obvious spots around a room. I give the Find it command and let the puppy sniff around and eat the treats as s/he finds them. Food is good to start with because it is self-rewarding and encourages them to keep at the game. It doesn't take long for them to pick up the command and then you can increase the difficulty by hiding them better, increasing the hiding area to multiple rooms, or using other objects and integrating retrieving. 5 minutes ago I played with a quail wing attached to a paint roller. It's great for practicing stay and retrieving commands and really works their brains. 

Eventually you could do this outside in the woods. Search the forum or google nosework and shed hunting for more ideas.


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

WBC - dead bird drills with pheasent wings - bumper drills - hide N seek - whoa boards - at heel everytime in or out of the house - the list is endless - if U work your V - it will work 4 U !!!!!!


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Great looking pup WBC.........

Got to love those ears......... 

Do yourself a favour and get reading........ 

Versatile Vizsla (Coffman) and The Hungarian Vizsla (Gay Gottlieb).

Above reads, bibles to most but great foundation/reference for you and your pup. They also look great in your library!! 

Welcome to the forum both, will follow your exploit's with great interest ;D 

Hobbsy


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