Other Sporting Dogs

Dogs help man in so many ways!

Dogs are man’s best friend and can help in so many utilitarian ways. While they are, of course, great hunting companions, they also help us with transportation and in sport, with finding precious treasures in the woods, and on the farm.

 

Other Sporting Dog Breeds

Shed Hunting Dogs

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You can train a dog to do anything! When hunters aren’t out chasing game, they can still be found in the field! During off-season lots of hunters love to go looking for antler sheds. In the spring, hikers and people looking for a fun activity to do with their dogs can look for antlers dropped by rutting bucks.

Many breeds of dogs can find sheds in the brush but ones with especially good noses and retrieving skills are best! To be expected, many hunting dog breeds make good shed hunting breeds as well.

  • Labrador Retriever

  • Golden Retriever

  • German Shorthair Pointer

  • Pudelpointer

  • Weimaraner

  • Hounds

Stock Dogs

Herding dog breeds make a farm or ranch function smoothly! Ask any cattleman how he wrangles hundreds of cows from pasture to pasture and he will give much credit to his dogs. Stock dogs are typically out of the AKC’s Herding Group. To see a well-trained stock dog’s internal instincts take over when their working cattle, sheep, or goats is a beautiful thing.

  • English Sheepdog

  • Australian Shepherd

  • Australian Cattle Dog

  • Border Collie

  • German Shepherds

  • Belgian Malinois

  • Rough Collie

 

Sled Dogs

A sled dog is trained to pull a sled with a harness with other dogs. Traditionally used in the Arctic as the only means of transportation on the frozen tundra, there are many breeds that make for great sled dogs (and mutts, too!).

The Samoyed, Siberian Husky, and Alaskan Malamute are the most recognizable sled dog breeds and are known for their incredible endurance, thick coats, and intelligence. While sled dogs are still used for transportation in the northern hemisphere, they are now prized for sled mushing competitions. These races are incredible feats of performance and, like hunters, a mushers dog team is like family.