What is the best bushcrafting dog?

[NikDarkwood]

Has to be a lurcher. Lets face it most of us are weekend bushcrafters and lurchers will laze arround doing nothing all day during the week.

Beagles 'sound' too much and you can hear them miles away. Rottys, Ridgebacks , and cattle dogs make one look hardcore etc need 5 tonnes of food a week and are pretty useless at anything other than scaring people. Collies are so inteligent they're a pain in the a**e. Who wants to be playing bridge with a dog at 2 in the morning?
Terriers are ok but can be a bit wearing if they get bored.
Huskeys, Spitz etc are great if your covering 30k a day in sub zero conditions but go stir crazy in the average urban house, which is were most of us live is'nt it?

JRT Poodle Beddlington Patterdale etc X Whippet or small greyhound would be my choice.

 

[Robbi]

here'a s standard poodle whippet cross

before a trim

after a trim

 

[DavidJT]

Currently trying to find a suitable Spanish Water Dog...

 

[Robbi]

sounds expensive ! nice looking dog though

 

[DavidJT]

sounds expensive ! nice looking dog though

Yes quite unfortunately, but how much value do you get out of a dog over the years?
Great all round working dog, easily train for gun, hearding, rescue, search etc apparently. Can swim down and retrieve up to 10m if you believe the blurb! Might try and train it to hunt truffles...

http://www.lagotto.net/addestramento2.htm

 

[harrisp]

Rottys, Ridgebacks , and cattle dogs make one look hardcore etc need 5 tonnes of food a week and are pretty useless at anything other than scaring people. Collies are so inteligent they're a pain in the a**e. Who wants to be playing bridge with a dog at 2 in the morning?

For the food comment, get them a dog pack and make them carry their own food and water

I know what you mean about collies, my collie is fair to intelligent for his own good, but it does make them quick learners/trainers.

 

[AndyE]

Has to be a Staffy

Good guard dog

Sea Dog

Back up paddler

Attentive

Hammock friendly

Fearless when confronted by stuffed animals

[video=youtube;f8zoctHjx2w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8zoctHjx2w[/video]


Good at knots

[video=youtube;HhEci67poNQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhEci67poNQ&NR=1[/video]

Firewood and kindling

[video=youtube;B_IPnKdybvI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_IPnKdybvI[/video]


All in all the perfect bushcraft dog


Andy

 

[DavidJT]

Or maybe a member of a certain Navy Seal team...

 

[Air Pirate]

I'm a proud purebred mutt owner. I'll never own another purebreed again.

Ruby is a collie, chihuahua, sharpei, beagle mix. She never gets out of sight of me when we hike. One time the kids even got lost without their whistles. It took the wife and I almost an hour to find them. When we did, Ruby was right there with them and had never left their side. I feel like she would have put herself between anything or anyone that came at them.

Love that dog.

 

[Robbi]

I'm a proud purebred mutt owner. I'll never own another purebreed again.

Ruby is a collie, chihuahua, sharpei, beagle mix. She never gets out of sight of me when we hike. One time the kids even got lost without their whistles. It took the wife and I almost an hour to find them. When we did, Ruby was right there with them and had never left their side. I feel like she would have put herself between anything or anyone that came at them.

Love that dog.

need a photo of her mate

 

[FlyingHaggis]

I use to have a wee Yorkie until I was made homeless at the start of the year . It broke my heart giving him away to the dog and cat home ( but I know he is happily re-homed ) my wee dog never left my side in the 4 years I had him so if I decide to get another dog I would want a diffrent breed something a bit bigger ( mid sized ) and one that would be able to carry their ow backpack , as I say if I was to get another dog it might be Golden retriever or a Labrador a clever but gentle dog ( I also like a staff and Alsatians and boxers ) lol I like dogs full stop haha

Great thread guys and galls it brought back allot of good memories for me thanks

FH

 

[tobes01]

Here's the latest bushcraft mutt-to-be. And there are seven more identical ones currently dozing in their bed in my kitchen...

[WARNING: The following image may cause a grown man to say 'Aaah']

 

[DavidJT]

Here's the latest bushcraft mutt-to-be. And there are seven more identical ones currently dozing in their bed in my kitchen...

[WARNING: The following image may cause a grown man to say 'Aaah']

View attachment 7306

Aaah! Really.

 

[harrisp]

Well my 7 month old collie has just caught himself a wood pigeon at our stables, perfect survival dog (if he had brought it back in one piece)

 

[Bushwhacker]

Has to be a lurcher. Lets face it most of us are weekend bushcrafters and lurchers will laze arround doing nothing all day during the week.

Beagles 'sound' too much and you can hear them miles away. Rottys, Ridgebacks , and cattle dogs make one look hardcore etc need 5 tonnes of food a week and are pretty useless at anything other than scaring people. Collies are so inteligent they're a pain in the a**e. Who wants to be playing bridge with a dog at 2 in the morning?
Terriers are ok but can be a bit wearing if they get bored.
Huskeys, Spitz etc are great if your covering 30k a day in sub zero conditions but go stir crazy in the average urban house, which is were most of us live is'nt it?

JRT Poodle Beddlington Patterdale etc X Whippet or small greyhound would be my choice.

+1 for the 40mph couch potatoes!

 

[Ape_Ogre]

We have a rescued Bedlington Terrier, fantastic little dog (called Monty). Happy to laze around all day or belt about like a mad bugger, quite high prey drive though so not sure about being the perfect bushcraft dog...

 

[Deaner666]

The best dog to have is my 9 month old black lab. But you can't have her ;-)

 

[freddybamboo]

I have two deerhound x. 1/4 Greyhound as I didnt want a purebred. Great company, bit of a lack of stamina and they dont enjoy the warmer months. However at night or through the autumn/winter they are great hounds. I made a bit of a problem for myself by limiting theyre jumping trianing. As pups I didnt want them figuring out that they could jump 5-6ft. So whenever I come up against a fairly high barbed wire fence I need to humph them over.

Other than that, good for rabbits, however they are very keen on deer and fox(which I would never let them loose on).

They dont eat loads, quiet when I need them to be, good fun and can bring in some grub too.

One is thin skinned though and cuts pretty easily. However is an unbelievable climber for his size/build.

 

[Reddo]

We have a German Shepherd (Zeus) and a Rottweiler cross (Shanti). With these two we have the best of both worlds really - obviously if you have a small car - there size would be an issue.

Zeus is a brilliantly loyal dog - incredibly clever dog, stupidly easy to train, no doubt he does a great job at keeping us warm, he stays close by with no lead and can be trusted to wonder in the dark also, he always stays close. He can be quiet most times and can be told to 'wait' and he will freeze completly and not move and inch. Also abit of training I have done with him has proven to come in handy out in the woods - 'drop' a simple strong word that he responds to no matter the distance between us - he just drops to the floor in a laying position (sheep dog style). Zeus doesn't quite have the stamina that shanti does - but he gives it his best! Zeus is definatly a stick dog - brilliant fire wood collector

Shanti can be left off the lead but because he has such a high hunting drive we tend to keep him leashed.(we don't let him chase whatever he wants) He is definatly the hunter of the two and can catch a rabbit no problem - easily has the speed of a lurcher and is very smart. Hes the protective one of the two and tends to let out the odd bark if he hears other people in the woods at a distance. He is definatly an outdoor dog (although he lives indoors) he spends most of the time in the woods at work with my partner. Hes very independant and has no problem wondering off to investigate everything! And probably the funniest thing about Shanti - we are pretty sure he thinks hes a mountain goat - He loves to climb!

The two of them together are perfect - they keep each other company - one goes to work in the woods all day and the other stays at home, one likes chasing, one likes staying close by. Shanti has been known to do a runner on occasions - Me and my partner had gone for a walk around with gun and closed the dogs in the barn (it was cooler) - we came bk to find zeus sat outside the barn waiting for us and could hear shanti's collar jingling somewere off in the distance between the trees - obviously chasing something!

They sure do keep us entertained, and love to come out camping or spend time in the woods with us.

 

[Reddo]

Some more photos of the dogs doing what they do best -

Shanti showing off his speed

Zeus collecting wood

Zeus attempting to catch up with Shanti - unfortunatly his 40 kilos of weight sets him back a bit!

Shanti looking rather proud of himself for stealing Zeus's stick

Another at the beach

Zeus seems to be an incredibly talented jumper!

And Shanti being a mountain goat