"Wanted:Dog爱的人,尤其是孩子。一定很喜欢taking neighborhood walks and playing catch in the yard; flushing game from the forest and driving deer are OK."
The qualities desired in this classified ad don't exactly mesh, but these are what you could expect if you chose ahunting dogfor your family pet. Of course, this begs this question "Why would you choose a hunting dog for your family?"
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Well, the characteristics of a good hunting dog often match those that families look for in pets. These dogs tend to be obedient, easily trained, loyal and healthy, as well as good with people and other animals since they often run in packs. So, whether you handle a rifle or not, there are some hunting breeds that might make great dogs for your family.
Dogs have long helped hunters, stalk and find prey, whether it was to fulfill basic needs or just for sport. There are several different categories of hunting dogs:
- Houndsandtrackersuse their noses, trailing scents from all types of game.
- Pointersandsettersidentify prey with their body language, pointing or "setting" by their quarry.
- Retrieversrecover the shot animals.
- Spanielsdo it all -- flushing out the prey and then retrieving it for their hunters.
[sources: The Hunting Dog,Hawkins].
All of these can potentially make great family dogs. Let's take a closer look at five of these fine canines.