THE BEST HUNTING PARTNER EVER
BY SEAN RENFRO
WHAT REALLY MAKES A GREAT HUNTING PARTNER? RELIABILITY WOULD DEFINITELY HAVE TO BE AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. SOMEONE YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON TO COME ALONG, AND TO DO THE RIGHT THING. AND PERHAPS IT IS BRAVERY, SOMEONE WHO WONT FALTER UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES. AND HOW ABOUT GOOD OLD FASHIONED EXPERIENCE? SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE, AND DONE THAT. YOU KNOW, A HUNTER WHO KNOWS THE ROPES, AND KNOWS THEIR ROLE IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS. WELL I CAN THINK OF A HUNTING PARTNER WHO HAS ALL OF THOSE QUALITIES AND MORE. I AM SPEAKING OF YOUR GRITTY, TRIED AND TRUE, TESTED AND PROVEN HUNTING DOG.
I HAVE SUCH ADMIRATION FOR THESE ANIMALS. AND WHY WOULDNT I? THEY ARE FEARLESS, HAVE GREAT INSTINCTS,
HIGHTENED SENSES, AND AN UNMATCHED SENSE OF LOYALTY IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. IN OTHER WORDS, THEY ARE THE PERFECT HUNTING PARTNERS.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DOG AND MAN GOES BACK FARTHER THAN RECORDED HISTORY. AND DOGS HAVE HELPED MAN HUNT GAME JUST ABOUT AS LONG. YES, WE TEND THINK OF OURSELVES AS PIONEERS OF SPORT HUNTING WITH DOGS. THE TRUTH THOUGH, IS THAT IT'S AS MUCH A PART OF OUR HUNTING HISTORY AS THE BOW, THE GUN, OR THE KNIFE. AND WHY WOULDNT IT BE? DOGS NOT ONLY IMPROVE OUR HUNTING. THEY MAKE US BETTER HUNTERS. THEY ALLOW US TO HUNT IN WAYS THAT WOULD NOT OTHERWISE BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THEM. THEY MAKE US BRAVER. AND LETS FACE FACTS; IT IS SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH THEM DO WHAT THEY DO BEST.
THERE WILL ALWAYS BE THOSE WHO SAY THAT THEY ARE FORCED TO BECOME OUR PARTNERS IN THE HUNT. THOSE PEOPLE HAVE NEVER SEEN A DOG ON THE MORNING OF A NEW HUNT. THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN THE ABSOLUTE JOY A DOG DISPLAYS WHEN IT IS LOOSED UPON THE TRAIL AFTER WHATEVER GAME THEY MAY BE CHASING. THERE IS NO HESITATION IN A GOOD HUNTING DOG. THIS IS WHAT THEIR SPECIES WAS BORN TO DO. THEY ARE NATURAL PREDATORS. JUST AS WE ARE, NO MATTER HOW CIVILIZEDWE MAY TELL OURSELVES WE HAVE BECOME IN THE PAST CENTURY.
THIS IS WHAT LINKS US TO THESE FINE BEASTS. IN THE END WE ARE JUST IMPROVED VERSIONS OF THE HUNTERS OF LONG PAST. THE DOG THOUGH, HE NEEDS NO IMPROVING. HE WAS THE PERFECT PREDATOR TO BEGIN WITH; FAST, CUNNING, ABLE TO GAGE THE SITUATION ON THE FLY AND ACT ACCORDINGLY. WHO AMONG US HAS NOT HUNTED WITH A DOG FOR YEARS AND AT SOME POINT NOT JUST MARVELED AT ITS ABILITIES?
IT DOESNT REALLY MATTER IF YOU USE A DOG TO CATCH HOGS, TREE RACOONS, RETRIEVE FOWL, OR CHASE DOWN DEER(NOT HERE IN TEXAS OF COURSE). YOU JUST CANT HELP BUT ADMIRE THE WAY THEY GO ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS. THEY ARE TRULY THE BEST HUNTING PARTNERS.