# Quetion for folks in gator country....<lizard not school>



## WiskeyJaR (Nov 15, 2014)

Was watching a "duck hunting" show on TV from southern LA the other night, they had labs in boats and blinds, never actually saw a dog in the water, but did see dogs on land with retrieving ducks.
Question is.....how do you keep your dogs out of the water? Do you even allow your dogs to get in the water? As a owner of a Boykin Spaniel who thinks she is more fish then dog, I would think it would be hard keeping dog out of the water and becoming gator bait.


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## TexasLoneStar56 (Nov 16, 2014)

WiskeyJaR said:


> Was watching a "duck hunting" show on TV from southern LA the other night, they had labs in boats and blinds, never actually saw a dog in the water, but did see dogs on land with retrieving ducks.
> Question is.....how do you keep your dogs out of the water? Do you even allow your dogs to get in the water? As a owner of a Boykin Spaniel who thinks she is more fish then dog, I would think it would be hard keeping dog out of the water and becoming gator bait.



They are taught as pups. We started ours when they were 6 weeks old. They must know "heel", "stay", "come" before they can even begin to work. We train then with fake ducks, just throwing by hand, then on to the sound of a gun. It's a process that takes diligent, patience and a lot of love. By the time they are 3 months old, they will retrieve. Not until they are about 18 mo - 2 do they really work good for you. They are out of the puppy stage by then and pay attention.

The gators? Well, when you shoot a gun off, it scares them. They will usually leave the area. A dog will not go where a gator is, usually. They can smell them. There have been times that a dog is "lunch", but it is usually a house dog, not a hunting dog.

Our dogs: Our old girl is 14 1/2 yrs. old. She does not hunt anymore. She is 1/2 red heeler and 1/2 bird dog. We've had her since she was 5 weeks old; adopted her from the shelter.
We have a set of twins that are 1/2 corgi and 1/2 black lab that are 4 yrs old. We've had them since they were born. They are our hunting dogs. All are spoiled rotten too.  

An older gentleman told me years ago, "Gentle hands make a gentle animal". I've never forgotten that.

Watch Bruce Mitchell hunt with his old dog, Tyler. (Swamp People). That dog has been in the bayous of Louisiana all his life. He knows!


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## Lowe 2070 CC (Nov 17, 2014)

I found half a dog in my pond once, don't know who's it was, but mine knows not to go in it. For the most part gators are pretty shy and don't want much to do with you. So, when people are around most of them will make themselves scarce. Couple that with cold water during duck season (not so much with teal season) and they are less active anyway.

There are times and place where these rules break down. Breeding/Nesting gators can be aggressive, and urban/neighborhood/golf course gators can get used to people and dogs, even looking at dogs as a food source. LA wildlife and fisheries took one out of bayou desiard in Monroe that had taken to attacking dogs at the park.

MS wildlife and fisheries will remove nuisance gators if they get too many reports on them.


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## WiskeyJaR (Nov 17, 2014)

@ TexasLoneStar56


> An older gentleman told me years ago, "Gentle hands make a gentle animal". I've never forgotten that.



I agree with this very much. I would much rather have me dog work WITH me then FOR me. It makes for a "funnier"hunt and the dog seems to put more heart into the hunt.

AS far as training dog as a pup about the dangers of gators would be no different then us local folks training dogs against rattlers. I would tend to think rattlers might give a warning more so then gators?

Our dogs, a Boykin Spaniel and a Corgi, both upland hunters, know the basics and hand signs. Both been trained as pups to ignore sticks that move, <snakes> and yes they do smell them quicker then I see them.


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## KMixson (Nov 17, 2014)

Gators that do occasionally take a dog get the biggest percentage of them from yards that are on the lake. Most if not all of those dogs are just family pets that are not raised to be as wary as a hunting dog and are out in the yard by themselves. Gators are an ambush predator. They ease up to the bank and rush out to attack an unsuspecting dog. There are usually no people close by when this happens. If you are close by the gator would rather leave the area in most cases. If you are hunting you are on your guard to the slightest change in the happenings around you. The hunting dog is also paying very close attention to its surroundings waiting for some action. After saying that let me tell you that not all gators will run away from you. Some are very inquisitive on what is happening around them. I have even had them rub up against the boat. Those are the ones I keep a close eye on. A little story, I was out fishing one night and when I shined my light across the water to bank about fifty feet away there must have been a hundred or more baby gators eyes shining back at me. I was wondering how many mamas were in the vicinity. I had never seen so many in one spot.


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## TexasLoneStar56 (Nov 18, 2014)

@ K Mixson



> A little story, I was out fishing one night and when I shined my light across the water to bank about fifty feet away there must have been a hundred or more baby gators eyes shining back at me. I was wondering how many mamas were in the vicinity. I had never seen so many in one spot.



:lol: I couldn't help but laugh at your short story. 20 or so years ago, we took a boat ride up on the north end of our lake. It gets really narrow and has lily pads and grass everywhere. Had the trolling motor, being very quiet, or we thought we were. The Mrs. heard something and turned on the spot light. All we could see was red eyes, everywhere! :shock: We backed out, slowly, until we could turn around. [-o< Never been that far up the lake again, and you can rest assured the Mrs. will never go up there again!

@Lowe 2070 CC

So very true. Our game wardens have taken out a few (with a deer rifle) from the lake that have been up around the public beach area. The meat was processed and donated to a shelter.


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## TexasLoneStar56 (Nov 18, 2014)

@WiskeyJar



> AS far as training dog as a pup about the dangers of gators would be no different then us local folks training dogs against rattlers. I would tend to think rattlers might give a warning more so then gators.



Rattle snakes? Goodness sakes! Where are you, Abilene,Amarillo, Oklahoma :?: There's lots of rattle snakes off up there! _LOTS!_

You are right about training a dog to know it's environment. And still yet, some get bit by copper heads around here. I guess they just have to get too close and smell it. :roll: Won't kill 'em (usually) but it will sure make 'em sick.


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## WiskeyJaR (Nov 19, 2014)

> Rattle snakes? Goodness sakes! Where are you, Abilene,Amarillo, Oklahoma :?: There's lots of rattle snakes off up there! LOTS!



Central and Eastern Oregon has western rattlers. When the dogs are running on chukars, they have been know to run over top of said rattler, not usually with good results.


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## TexasLoneStar56 (Nov 21, 2014)

WiskeyJaR said:


> > Rattle snakes? Goodness sakes! Where are you, Abilene,Amarillo, Oklahoma :?: There's lots of rattle snakes off up there! LOTS!
> 
> 
> 
> Central and Eastern Oregon has western rattlers. When the dogs are running on chukars, they have been know to run over top of said rattler, not usually with good results.



I know there are different kinds of rattle snakes, all over. Diamond backs are in West Texas and the Panhandle. E Texas has Timber rattlers. I've only seen one, in 20 years. They are protected here. Our friends told us they are having an explosion of them about 10 miles from here, in a gated community. :shock: I'll have to tell ya, protected or not, if one is on my front porch, it's a goner. :evil: I heard the parks and wildlife are looking very close at that community to see about the "protection" being lifted. They need to! The gators too! (just my opinion)


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## KRS62 (Nov 21, 2014)

I would only take my dog out in knee deep water. I have had gators take my ducks before. No fun.


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