# For those who hunt multiple dogs...



## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

I am considering picking up another puppy in perhaps the near future. I don't have a particular schedule. My current dog turned two in October, and I expect that after this hunting season i'll finish her retrieve and get her to steady to fall without much issue. 

I am considering adding another dog to the mix. I understand the added layers associated with a second dog in the house, and the individual training requirements, but I am curious as to the dynamics of hunting with two dogs (of your own). I hunt with my friends dogs along aside of mine and they have all worked great together ( 2 GPS, a Pudlepointer, and Springer Spaniel), but I am also only watching/worrying about my dog and as opposed to two. 

So I guess my questions are, does anyone have any words of wisdom or guidance when to add another mix. Do you usually prefer to have a dog finished before adding another?

In my mind I would like to picture two V's hunting as a team, honoring each other's points etc etc.... just want to make sure I go about it the right way. Part of the deal with my wife (affectionately none as the boss), is that I can disappear hunting for the better part of the day as long as i take the dog(s) and bring them back exhausted....

I will say I would rather hunt both dogs at the same time, but recognize initially that may not always be the case in the initial phases...

Any insights would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,
Nate


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Running multiple dogs you really need a Garmin, if you expect to know where each dog is at any given time. 
Beyond that you will be training one, and hunting the other for the most part for the first year.


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## v-john (Jan 27, 2013)

You will need to hunt the younger one alone, for part of the time. That way the younger one simply doesn't depend on following the older, and can learn to find birds on it's own. 

Teach them to back.

It's interesting you hunt a bunch of pointing dogs with a springer...


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Nate,

Read a pointer training book a few years back where the author highly suggested. "One Hunter - One Dog."

Watching the documentary "Happy People", about hunters in the Siberian wilderness it is also always: "One Hunter - One Dog." 

But I do know a friend who is 82 years old who has three Vizslas. All three have Master Hunter Advanced titles and they hunt together and are incredible to watch. He does demonstrations at our Vizsla Fun Field Days and he has those dogs tuned up to a fantastic level.

Of course he spends every other day 52 weeks a year in the hunting (training) fields with his dogs and the other days at home working on their skills.

Just my thoughts. I can't imagine trying to keep track of two large running dogs in high grass cover unless like TexasRed said, you have a Garmin tracker on them. 

Just don't see the advantage for hunting upland birds. If you are going out for days it could help to hunt one dog, let the other rest, hunt the other, and trade off. But I usually run out of gas before my dog.

My thoughts.

RBD


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## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

TexasRed said:


> Running multiple dogs you really need a Garmin, if you expect to know where each dog is at any given time.
> Beyond that you will be training one, and hunting the other for the most part for the first year.


Thanks T-Red - I do have an Alpha already with a spare collar as I planned on getting another dog in the future at some point. 

To your point, that's kinda of what I was wondering about...does it become chaotic running two of your own dogs, as you are constantly trying to keep track and looking at the alpha to see who went on point and where..etc...I imagine at first it'll be a little crazy until the training advances to the point it needs to be...

I just wanted to be cautious and not get sucked into the 1 is good, but 2 is better if that's not the case... 

I also wasn't sure if people liked to get a dog finished prior to starting a new dog, or if it even matters...

I also get that for some time, i'll be running one dog, and training the other, but my long term goal would be to run both at the same time and have it be really enjoyable.

I don't have an issue putting in the time and effort into the training - i enjoy it a lot and find it very rewarding.


Nate


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## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

V-John said:


> It's interesting you hunt a bunch of pointing dogs with a springer...


Vjohn - to clarify - we don't hunt them all at once, but we have hunted the springer with the pointer(s) but we have yet to encounter issues with doing so as these dogs hunt so far apart from each other that we have never had to worry about the springer coming in to bust a pointing dogs bird. We are aware of that concern running a flusher with a pointer.... Obviously if that started to happen, we would have to address that issue and possibly hunt them separately. 

In this particular case, the springer likes to hunt more for himself than for his handler so it is 99% off on its own. (it isn't a "trained" dog). The dogs we hunt with all tend to hunt away from other dogs.

We also rarely find pheasants (all pen raised here in NY), that won't run and flush on their own. My dog points the ones that hold, but a large percentage of them around here kick up on their own as soon as they feel slightly pressured or get to the edge of a field or hedge row. So in most instances, the birds fly up before another dog (pointer or flusher) even have the chance to get close let alone steal the bird.


Nate


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## SuperV (Oct 18, 2011)

redbirddog said:


> But I usually run out of gas before my dog.
> 
> My thoughts.
> 
> RBD


LOL - i know exactly what you mean - so thats why I wanted to put the question out there, as I couldn't imagine having two dogs to tire out if it meant from here forward I would be hunting them separately all the time. I would be exhausted!!!

Nate


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Having ran/owning multiple dogs , it did take some getting used to at first. Once you get to the point where they all handle very well in the field its good. Up to that point its a whole lot of work.
I always worked them separately, but ran/exercised them together. I would just put the pup up and ran the older dog longer. Pups will over do it trying to keep up with the older one.


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Congrats..........

The only thing better than 1 V is 2  

Hobbsy


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## hobbsy1010 (Jun 4, 2011)

Nate,

I hunt with two other seasoned V owners both owning a bitch and dog a piece.

The first handler has both pups within a year of each other in age and he works both dogs together and they honour each other regarding points, quite a spectacle to watch!

The second handler has a dog and bitch also but more seasoned in age.
He hunts AM with one pup and PM with other just the way he prefers to do it.

So I guess it's horses for courses and what you feel comfortable with and how they are with each other.

Hobbsy


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

I always hunt with two. But don't listen to me, I trained them at the same time, never separated them. Despite this, they both find, point, retrieve and track game from birds to Sambar Deer brilliantly. 

One is better cutting up a quail paddock, the other is brilliant with deer. But both do it all.


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## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://www.bracoslaserrota.es/actualidad.html

A wonderful breeder in Spain does a blog (above) that I really enjoy. They follow many blogs around the world and post pictures and videos of wonderful Vizslas and many hunting.

Just thought I'd share.

RBD


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