It’s hunting season, and all of us are looking forward to exploring the wilderness and hunting game outdoors.
The crisp, cold air makes for a tangible atmosphere for hunting. You can set out into the woods, rifle on your shoulder, and look around for some prey in the trees.
But wait, we are missing one crucial element. What is the one aspect of hunting that we are forgetting?
Companionship, of course. We need a faithful and trustworthy companion on our adventures. And who else would better fit that bill but a canine compadre?
When it comes to coyotes, everyone will agree that their actions need to be controlled. That is because coyotes are wily and incredibly difficult to track down.
While they do not attack or harm humans, coyotes kill livestock and cattle relatively frequently. To take coyote behavior down a notch, you need an expert canine partner.
So, here we go! We will look at a selection of dog breeds that will aid you in coyote hunting. We will analyze the assets of each dog breed and explain why they can make great hunting companions.
We will also look at a few tricks of the trade and a handful of instructions that can aid you in carrying out your tasks better.
Contents
Dog breeds for coyote hunting
There are hundreds of dog breeds in the world. The perfect hunting dog breed produces sharp, smart, and easy-to-train dogs.
But there are only a handful of breeds that can successfully assist humans in hunting. So, which ones are they?
American Staghound
The two most essential needs of any hunting trip are vital eyesight and the stamina to keep up work for a long time. The American Staghound is a perfect beast, explicitly created for hunting parties.
The breed only makes animals that have fantastic eyesight and can keep up the hunt all day. The American Staghound is truly the Steve Rogers of the canine world – they can do this all day.
The American Staghound was developed by mixing Scottish Greyhound and a few other breeds. It was specifically created to counter the actions of predators like coyotes, foxes, and wolves. It is a ‘made to order’ hunting dog.
They have all the physical capabilities a dog would need to track and catch hold of coyotes. The American Staghound’s legs are long and powerful, allowing it to hunt coyotes easily. Their most important asset is that they are astoundingly easy to train and fiercely loyal.
They form deeply rooted bonds with their owners and tend to adapt to hunting parties quickly. Their only drawback – American Staghounds do not make good house pets, especially with other pets in the house. Moreover, they are also less adept at being guard dogs.
Plott Hound
The Plott Hound is a dog that looks like a museum masterpiece. Its rustic fur shades remind you of the woods and forests where you would eventually hunt. It has remarkable floppy ears, resembling those of a Labrador or a Dalmatian.
The Plott Hound also has a fascinating historical backstory. The breed is named after Johannes Plott, who introduced it to the US in 1750. Fun fact – Johannes Plott and his brother engineered the species for boar hunting. Today, thanks to that engineering, the Plott Hound can sniff out most animals during a hunting session.
Today, the Plott Hound is the official state dog of North Carolina in the USA. The breed is well-known for being fierce and courageous. They can traverse any landscape with ease and have fantastic eyesight and olfactory senses. They can smell a needle in a haystack (coyote in a forest), which is the task of a hunter dog.
They will also not hesitate to venture towards traces of the prey, eventually leading to a kill. Being very loyal, the Plott Hound is less likely to lose track of its owner during a long, tedious hunt.
Greyhound
Who is the fastest dog in the world, you ask? Other than the fictional dog named “Bolt,” we can guarantee that it is a Greyhound. Greyhounds are indeed the Usain Bolts of the canine world. They have a body designed for speed.
They are lean and carry eyesight as sharp as an eagle’s. The fastest Greyhound was clocked running at 43 mph, faster than any coyote ever. All these factors have given Greyhounds the mantle of the swiftest hunting dog.
The “lean n’ mean” nature of greyhounds projects immense strength and speed in their physique. However, what sets a Greyhound apart from other hunting dogs is its ability to become a docile and warm pet. It is also not the most courageous of hunting dogs.
There is a minute drawback to the docile nature of the Greyhound. It is commonly a timid creature, i.e., there is significantly less probability of it going for the kill. The dog will chase after the target with inhuman speed but won’t take it down.
Hunters often have to pair an attack dog with a Greyhound to ensure a kill. It is also a considerably large dog breed. Therefore, you need to give it an ample enclosed space to run and play.
However, the area should be fenced because the Greyhound tends to wander off. Despite these attributes, the Greyhound’s physique stands out and makes it one of the most commonly used hunting dogs globally.
Mountain View Cur
The Mountain View Cur is a mixed or hybrid breed of dogs. It is a mix between the Mountain Cur and other species. The pedigree has a relatively recent origin. It was developed in 1987 in New York. The breed’s hybrid nature makes it devoid of any genetic issues with the original species.
Additionally, its genes ensure a very long lifespan of approximately 14 years. Mountain View Curs are known to be brilliant brilliant dogs. They are well-known for their self-control. Both these abilities make them fantastic hunting dogs.
Mountain View Curs make great hunting companions because they are agile and can traverse treacherous territory. They make great hunters thanks to their ability to plan out an attack and obey every command they hear. While they can hunt coyotes, their prey also includes pheasants, boars, wildcats, and raccoons.
Another good attribute of the Mountain View Cur is that it can make a great house pet. You can have it around children in your home. The breed is known to be protective of its “hoomans,” it is family.
Black Mouth Cur
Another canine breed developed by cross-breeding, the Black Mouth Cur, shares a story similar to the Mountain View Cur. It is a very commonly seen dog and is a helpful and faithful companion on a hunt.
The Black Mouth Cur is used most widely on a game hunt or a raccoon hunt. However, it is also capable of chasing coyotes. The most striking attribute of the breed is its black snout. It gets its name from there.
The Black Mouth Cur is famously an ingenious dog. It also has minor health issues and a very long lifespan, thanks to its unique genetic build. It can live anywhere from 12-18 years. It is also relatively easy to train.
There is one thing that a Black Mouth Cur dog needs – the outdoors. They have very high stamina, and they need to get tired. Therefore, they end up spending a lot of time outdoors.
Coyote hunting with Greyhounds
As we mentioned above, Greyhounds are the most popular choice among hunters. Let’s find out the reason behind that.
Why are Greyhounds good at hunting coyotes?
Call us dramatic, but we would argue that hunting is a Greyhound’s destiny. Every dog in the Greyhound breed is born to hunt. The dogs are trained from birth. They might be gentle and playful at home, but their natural space is the wilderness.
The wild is where they thrive and show themselves as efficient hunters. Most farmers, especially across the Midwestern USA, train Greyhounds to hunt coyotes. The battle between Greyhounds and Coyotes goes a long way back.
Coyotes were always the villains who killed livestock and cattle. Consequently, Greyhounds became the heroes who sought revenge. Once local hounds hunted down a few packs of coyotes, the coyotes would not dare venture into that locality for quite some time.
For many, using Greyhounds to hunt coyotes is a natural process. So, why is the Greyhound so good at getting the job done? Well, it has the body for it. It is one of the most substantial breeds on the planet.
That’s to its robust nature; the Greyhound can generate lightning-fast speeds on the ground. Since they can outrun any coyote, they often hunt it. Their speed makes it easy for them to trap the prey in a tight spot relatively quickly.
Is using Greyhounds to hunt coyotes fair?
Yes, and no. Hunting any animal is not something we should be proud of.
So one can argue that using specialized, trained hounds for the same is not fair. However, the crux of the fairness argument lies in the idea that coyotes kill or steal livestock. A farmer’s livelihood depends on their cattle strength.
If coyotes are taking away the most important aspect of somebody’s job, then protection of cattle and livestock is absolutely necessary.
Some legal organizations have argued that hounds hunting coyotes can amount to “dogfighting,” but such claims are a little too far-fetched to take enough action.
How should I train a Greyhound to hunt?
Dogs learn with experience. You can train most dog breeds to understand and obey your commands.
An incentive or reward-based system can do you wonders. The critical factor in the Greyhound breed is its speed. So, utilizing that speed to its full potential is crucial.
If your Greyhound can run faster than everyone in that coyote camp, you can be sure of a kill. If you look at a Greyhound, its body is perfectly streamlined to rip through the air.
Techniques to train any dog to hunt coyotes
Use a collar
A collar is instrumental in taming a beast. A dog can go wild and get lost on the hunting trail. To prevent that, a collar is the best solution. You can have your contact details written on that collar itself.
That way, your dog can be delivered back home safely once found. A collar is also the difference between most strays and domesticated dogs. So, do not hesitate to put a collar on your canine companion.
Associate signal to mean recall
Dogs are explorative creatures. When they join on a hunt, they are bound to venture far and wide into the trees and bushes. In such times, it proves important to have a recall sign already taught to your pet.
However, the dog has to go through training for the recall to work. You can either associate a sound, hand gesture, or a striking pose to mean recalls. Obeying such commands also adds loyalty to the minds of dogs.
Come up with distractions
A dog’s snout, busy sniffing the trail for hints of the prey, is an incredible sight. However, if the trail is dry that day, your dog will find nothing. A dog is a very sensitive beast.
We can look at the 9/11 rescue dogs who needed a break from locating dead bodies. Similarly, if a hunting dog does not find prey, it can change its mood and stop the hunt then, and there’s. We have to keep distracting the dogs so that they pay active attention to the entire process.
Introduce the coyote and practice on a decoy
Practice is the most crucial element of practice. A dog cannot hunt without being trained to do so.
The most important aspect of the actual hunt is that the dog should know what they are looking for – you should always allow the Greyhounds to smell the coyotes before they run away to hunt in different locations.
Moreover, the market is full of prey decoys, including coyotes, boards, pheasants, etc. Make sure your dog does recognize a coyote just from how they look. That way, your dog gets to define some strategies, if possible, about the hunting activities.
Conclusion
There are quite a few breeds that can be used to hunt coyotes.
However, the most prominently used ones are the Greyhounds. They are easy to train and incredibly fast.
