Hunting Dogs

Hunting dogs are a large group of dog breeds that are often used to help humans in hunting. The tasks of hunting dogs require specific skills. For this reason, many types of hunting dogs have been developed and skill-trained in order to fulfill these tasks.

Hunting dogs are divided into major categories, including gun dogs, curs type dogs, terriers, and hounds. Each of these categories is further divided into several divisions, often based on the particular skill set that the dog possesses.

Read on for an overview of each category of hunting dogs.

Gun Dogs

Gun dogs are also known as bird dogs. They are hunting dogs that are specifically developed to help hunters find and retrieve game, usually birds. This group of hunting dogs is further divided into three classes: Retrievers, Flushing Spaniels, and Pointers.

Among the more popular breeds that fall under this category are English Pointer, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, English Setter, English Cocker Spaniel, and Standard Poodle. Although these hunting dogs are primarily classified according to how they perform their tasks, some breeds are smart enough to learn skills that extend beyond the tasks outlined for them.

Curs

Developed in the United States as hunting dogs, curs are usually not recognized as show dogs. They were developed solely for their hunting ability. Perhaps due to this, many cur types of dogs are recognized as types rather than breeds. This means that a cur may be categorized as a certain type of hunting dogs but its appearance can be highly varied, making it nearly impossible to classify as a distinct breed. There are, however, certain breed registries, such as the American Kennel Club, that recognize a few cur breeds.

Some examples of this type of hunting dogs are Black Mouth Cur, Blue Lacy, Catahoula Leopard Dog, Leopard Cur, Mountain Cur, Mountain View Cur, Stephens Cur, and Treeing Cur. The cur type of hunting dogs often hunt large games, such as boars, raccoon, cougars, and other large mammals.

Terriers

A group of hunting dogs that were initially bred for hunting and killing vermin, terriers have a wide skill set that make them excellent dogs to keep, especially if you like to hunt. For dogs of their size, terriers are quite tough and extremely courageous. They also have a lively, energetic disposition that borders on hyperactive.

Today, these hunting dogs are used to hunt fox, otter, badger, and rat both over and under the ground. Hence, its name, which is derived from the Middle French terrier, which itself was taken from the Latin "terra," meaning earth.

Hounds

Hounds are large hunting dogs that go after their prey using either of two senses: sight and scent. In fact, hounds are divided into these subgroups: sighthounds and scenthounds.