Hare hunting with greyhounds video

In what cases is it not recommended to hunt with greyhounds?

An increase in the efficiency of hunting with traps is observed in damp, cloudy and cloudy weather, when the animal lies more firmly and allows it to come closer to it. But you should give up your intentions to hunt with greyhounds due to the very low effectiveness of this action in the following situations:

• strong wind;
• at extremely low and high air temperatures (below minus twenty and above plus thirty degrees Celsius);
• fogs, drizzle, impairing visibility of the surrounding area;
• black ice;
• heavy snow (when its depth exceeds 60 cm);
• heavy snowfall or long continuous rainfall.

Pheasant hunting (rifle)

We invite you to hunt for the release pheasant. A few hours before the start of the hunt, the bird is released onto the field. Pheasant hunting sessions take place in the morning and evening dawn. In the absence of heat, pheasant hunting is possible during the daytime.

Pheasant hunting with a gun dog.

Pheasants are released onto the field in advance. A huntsman with a pointer dog walks across the field with a hunter. The dog is looking for a pheasant, having found it, it makes a stance. Having approached shooting distance, the instructor gives a command, the dog flushes the pheasant, the bird takes off, and the hunter shoots.

“Hunting by drive” from 50 birds.

Beaters with dogs walk in a chain through the thickets in which the pheasant is kept, trying to scare it away and raise it on the wing. The hunters move on the sides of the chain of beaters and somewhat in front of it. Pheasants raised on the wing fly from the chain of beaters under gunfire. After shooting the birds in the pen, huntsmen with guard dogs retrieve the wounded birds and the birds that have flown away.

List of required documents:

1. Passport.
2. Hunting license.
3. Weapons permit.

The cost of organizing a hunt (with a dog) is 1,800 rubles. (group up to 4 people).

The cost of organizing a driven hunt is 51,000 rubles - for a group of 3 people - 17,000 rubles - a huntsman with a dog.

Included in cost:

• individual huntsman support;
• safety briefing;
• the ability to use your own dogs;
• transport from the base to the hunting site.

Cost of final game:

Pheasant – 2,000 rubles/piece. For driven hunting (from 50 heads) - 1,800 rubles per head.

Additional services:

• Providing the base with its own dogs – 1,000 rubles/one dog;
• trophy processing: pinching and gutting -250 rub./head (pheasant, duck), 450 rub. - goose;
• barbecue rental - 500 rub.

How to hunt fox with greyhounds

The skin of a fox is very valuable, but the hunt for this animal is remarkable not only for this. Having “clashed” in the fight, the greyhound and the fox create a very interesting spectacle for hunters - the battle between the evasive fox and the sharp hunter has no equal in intensity and beauty. All that remains is to enjoy this “show”, since the specific nature of hunting for this animal allows you to observe everything that happens from the first to the last moment (unlike the hare, the fox does not take the dog away from the hunter’s foreseeable latitude).

A good greyhound will never let the animal go more than 200-300 meters if it was raised at a normal distance - about 80 meters. Experienced hunters act completely differently when the fox was caught at a long distance (500 meters). They quietly cross her path, predict the animal’s path and show her faithful four-legged friend the prey from the closest distance.

If the terrain in which greyhounds are being hunted makes the above-described “maneuver” impossible, then the mounted shooter takes the dog on the saddle with him and from this vantage point points him to the fox. A hunter on foot simply lifts the dog up so that he can see the space through dead wood, vegetation and other small obstacles. The dog remembers the direction in which the animal is moving, makes a long jump and “takes the initiative”, starting to chase it.

In order to successfully solve the task and catch up with such a distant animal, the hunter must be well trained and trained, have good eyesight, agility and endurance.

This method of hunting demonstrates even greater effectiveness in a situation where not one dog is involved, but a pack. Several greyhounds will not leave a single chance for the cunning fox - they will beat her in races and after some time will stop her completely. Hunters may be advised to take binoculars with them to closely monitor the situation and keep everything under control.

Some greyhounds can very cleverly use their own light color and sneak up extremely close to the fox. While the fox is trying to catch the mouse, the greyhound quietly, unnoticed by it, approaches as close as possible to it. Foxes are also “not born with bast” - they understand that danger can await them at any moment and constantly look around, even when they are keen on hunting a mouse.

In those moments when the fox peers around itself to identify potential danger, the greyhound hides. Thus, the dog manages to get very close to the animal, and already being not far from it, the greyhound begins to attack openly.

Hunting with greyhounds. Hunting notes

HUNTING WITH SIGHTHOUSES

In pre-revolutionary Russia, there were three main types of hunting with greyhounds: complete, small-grass and single-pack hunting. Complete hunting was carried out mostly by wealthy landowners - owners of land in the forest-steppe zone. It consisted of a large pack of hounds and many packs of greyhounds with numerous hunting servants (hunters, hunters, greyhounds, borzois) and a large number of horses. The small-grass hunters had only a few packs of greyhounds, two to four riding horses with two or three, or even one serving greyhound. Non-landed greyhounds made do with one pack of three or two greyhounds, or even one dog, mainly in purely steppe regions. These were the Cossacks of the Don, Kuban, Terek and Ural villages and hunters of the peoples of the Crimea, the North Caucasus and Central Asia (formerly Turkestan). The main method of complete hunting was island riding. Previously, the hunter scouted wolf broods. At the appointed time (usually from September), a whole hunting army set out from the estate with a pack of hounds of up to twenty or more bows and many mounted greyhounds. Each of the bar and servants led a pack of mostly three greyhounds. The greyhounds took to the holes around the island (forests among the fields), and the hunter started a pack of hounds so as to plant it directly on the wolf's lairs and, if possible, break up the brood; in this case, the pack, splitting, drove and exposed several wolves to different openings at once. In addition to riding wolves, foxes and hares were also hunted using the same island method with the participation of hounds. Among other methods, hit-and-run hunting, similar to modern ones, was common. Greyhounds, if there were many of them, leveled out and rode across fields about a hundred meters from each other, having all the greyhounds in the pack. The one from whom the animal rose closest was the one who poisoned. They rode for the most part without making any noise, especially if they expected to poison a fox, but during periods when the hare was lying especially tightly, the greyhounds rode all the time, clapping their arapniks (riding to clap). At the same time, the alignment was not observed so strictly and the greyhounds tried to search the bushes, boundaries, and hollows where the hare could be hiding. Only small-grass and single-bred greyhounds were hunted in the hunt, and the dogs of the latter went on a free trot. In the powder they hunted alone or in twos or threes with greyhounds in packs or at large, following the hares on the scent. There was also hunting with a sleigh.

When hunting wolves, greyhound hunters rode in several sleighs, having greyhounds in the sleigh. Seeing a wolf (or wolves) in the field, the hunters tried to surround it from several sides and, continuing to move, made smaller circles, moving in a spiral. Having approached the animal as much as possible, they showed it to the greyhounds and let them off the sleigh. In a similar way (alone) they also drove around and poisoned mouse-foxes. Such hunting was possible, of course, only in fine snow. Nowadays, the main method is that corresponding to riding hunting, with the difference that now greyhounds rarely ride on horseback, and mostly walk. Hunting time in most regions of Russia is short - November , December. Earlier hunting is prohibited, later the snow is deep. In the southern regions, such as the steppes of the North Caucasus, the southern regions of Kazakhstan and the Central Asian republics, the hunting season is much longer. According to ground conditions, hunting with greyhounds is divided into black trail hunting and powder hunting. In more northern regions, in other years there may not be hunting along the black trail, when the hunting permit period coincides with the beginning of winter. Weather and ground conditions are extremely important for greyhounds. Depending on the weather, the soil along the black trail can be wet, damp, dry, soft or hard, frozen, and finally, there is icy conditions. The properties of the soil cover (grass) are also added to the characteristics of the soil itself. The terrain can be a meadow valley, feather grass, wormwood or salt marsh steppe, sometimes close to the sandy desert type; persecution can also occur in cultivated fields: on winter crops (green fields), stubble with stubble, untouched or knocked out by livestock, in litter - thickets of weeds on abandoned arable land, in areas under sunflowers, and finally on fresh arable land - harrowed or swept. In meadows and in virgin steppe soils, soil moisture is not particularly important, as long as it does not dry out too much and does not harden. The only thing that makes it difficult for a greyhound to gallop in such areas is icy conditions, when every stalk turns almost into an ice stick and the dog, not only at the race, but even in the trot before the animal rises, knocks its legs and paws into blood. The weather conditions in the fields are more important. On dry, dusty winds and even on dry harrows, when galloping, greyhounds can tear off the skin on the soles of their paws. Such fields are even worse when, after prolonged rains, frost binds the ground. Jumping over hardened layers of upthrust or lumps of harrow sometimes leads not only to skin tearing, but also to sprains and even dislocations. Under these conditions, the animal mostly escapes, and the greyhound is injured. Therefore, greyhounds “for knives” do not go out hunting unless there is virgin land or large tracts of winter crops or stubble nearby where they can poison the animal without allowing it into bare fields. When it rains, a special situation is created on fresh arable land (as well as on winter crops and stubble). The earth gets wet and sticks heavily to the paws of the beast and the greyhound; Both of them lose their agility, but the dog, of course, has more strength, and its legs are longer, and it does not give way to either the hare in black soil bast shoes or the fox, which loses all its evasiveness in these conditions.

The hare is saved only if he manages to escape onto virgin grass and has time to dry his feet before the greyhound gets to him. It’s also bad for a hare to gallop on frozen arable land, when it begins to thaw and becomes slippery and gets sticky on its paws; this bothers a greyhound much less. It is very difficult for a dog to gallop in fields with harvested sunflowers; it is difficult even for a horse to gallop across such a field. The conditions for a greyhound to gallop along a white trail are also heterogeneous. Fine and soft powder is best in light frost. The deeper the snow gets, the harder the ride is for the greyhound and for the beast. As long as the snow remains loose, the advantage is on the side of the greyhound, but as the snow blows and compacts in the fields, it becomes more and more capable of carrying a hare and a fox and makes the work of a failing greyhound more and more difficult. Even worse for a dog is the formation of an ice crust on the snow after a thaw, which supports the animal and cuts the dog’s legs. If deep snow immediately falls at the beginning of winter, then dead powder can form, on which the animal does not wander at night and leaves almost no trace. It is very difficult to find him then, but, raised, he cannot run briskly and only dives in the snow. The greyhound quickly catches the animal at this time, but, of course, such a hunt, like hunting in wet arable land, is not of beauty or sporting interest. The best weather for hunting with a greyhound is dry, cool, when the soil is still moist after recent rains, and the temperature is about 5-10° Celsius. Hunting is impossible in heavy rain, in heat and severe frost, and especially in thick fog, when both the dog loses the animal and the hunter knows nothing about how the baiting is going. With regard to temperature conditions, much depends on the area where the hunt takes place and on the climate to which the local dogs are accustomed.

Greyhounds from more northern regions, such as Tambov or Ulyanovsk, cannot work successfully in such warm weather, which does not create difficulties, for example, for southern greyhounds, not to mention the Central Asian Tazy. The best places for baiting are flat or slightly undulating virgin steppes, overgrown feather grass or wormwood. Such places usually have excellent visibility into the distance and great facilities for racing greyhounds and horses. In many areas there are no virgin lands and hunting takes place in cultivated fields. Of course, here too, the flatter the terrain, the better, but often the animal, avoiding flat and bare fields, either hugs the ravines, or lies down in dense weeds, from where it jumps up and leaves unnoticed. In late autumn, a very white hare often lies down on the rise between the layers. Here, against the black background of the arable land, it is far visible and you can look for it in a small cell. However, baiting on lumps and layers is very difficult, and not every greyhound will catch a hare if it is not possible to knock him out onto stubble, winter grass or meadow.

Recently, many forest shelterbelts have been created in the southern steppe regions. In such places, meres seek refuge from greyhounds in forest plantings, where, in addition to bushes and trees, tall grass also hides them. The greyhounds of landowners did not work in the forest at all, but among modern commercial greyhounds it is not uncommon to see those that do not lose the animal in the forest belt and catch it there. We can give at least the following examples: at the Saratov regional tests in 1946, the bitch Kara, owned by Gordeev, after a three-kilometer race, caught a hare in a forest plantation along the railway line. At the Rostov regional competitions in 1950, Ivanov's dog Hero, after several stealings, caught a hare in a rather dense shelterbelt. When a hare lies down near ravines, it is difficult to catch him. Raised, he hides in the nearest hole, and only very experienced greyhounds sometimes manage not to lose him and, when he evens out his run along the bottom of the ravine, they overtake and catch him or drive him out of the ravine in order to deal with him in a clear place. This is not always possible, especially if the ravine is winding and branched.

The fox also lies down for the day in different places. Sometimes she will lie down in the air, where she can see far away and where she jumps up - half a kilometer or more away and then manages to hide in a nearby ravine, not letting the dogs get close to her. Often the fox is located on the stubble, on piles of straw left after harvesting with a combine. Here the Greyhound can come close to her, since her horizons are limited by heaps of straw. In this case, bullying is usually successful. Sometimes after the morning mouseing, the fox lies down on top of the broom, from where she can see far away. Having noticed a man with greyhounds from afar, she will get out in time. It happens that a fox spends the day near the hole. The greyhound must know the location of the holes and, of course, visit them during the hunt; here he can often find prey. In severe frosts, the hare and the fox climb into the weeds, jump up, letting the dogs close, but then quickly hide. Exceptional vigilance and agility of the dogs are required in order not to miss the animal in these conditions. In the weeds it is possible to stumble upon a wolf, especially in windy weather, when the noise of the weeds drowns out the steps. The mounted greyhound has great advantages. First of all, he will travel to many more places; he has access to land even 15-20 km from home. Needless to say, how much a good horse means, which makes it possible, during the baiting itself, to see up close the most exciting moments of the greyhounds’ work. The horse is also very useful in that it frees the hunter from carrying the prey. Moreover, a horse-mounted greyhound does not waste time skinning a fox in the field, which is inevitable for those on foot. Having caught three or four hare, each of which weighs 4-5 kg, the foot greyhound is forced to stop hunting, since it is no longer possible with a load of 15-20 kg. For tying the animal to the saddle, practice has developed rules: the fox should be tied only by the throat, tightening the loop tightly. A fox, tied like a hare by the hind legs, can, if it is not finished off, come out of a fainting state and grab its teeth into the horse's groin. An enraged horse will carry off without listening to the reins, and can throw off and kill the rider. When tying the hare to the saddle, you should cut off the hind legs (pazankas) at the joints so that they do not interfere with the rider. A cut is made between the tendon and the bone of one of the hind legs, into which the other hind leg is inserted. A loop of toroks is threaded between the legs and draped over the joints. The hare tied in this way is thrown over to the other side of the saddle so that it does not dangle. If it is impossible for each hunter to have a riding horse, it is advisable for three or four greyhound hunters to unite to use a common horse and cart, which is convenient for getting to the place and carrying prey.

...The long-awaited day has arrived. Hunting is permitted. A greyhound hunter or a company of no more than two to four hunters drives around or bypasses the fields and virgin steppe lands where the animal stays and lies down for the day. This takes into account, of course, the nature of the terrain, which should allow both the galloping of dogs and horses during baiting, and observation of its entire course. Hunters and their dogs check hollows, boundaries, weeds and other places favored by the beast. Hearing the approach of people and dogs, the animal jumps out and the baiting begins. The objects of hunting in European regions are almost exclusively foxes and brown hare. Having jumped up, the hare usually does not immediately give full play; At first he seems to be warming up and assessing the situation, and sensing a pursuit, he kicks in with all his might. Greyhounds greedily rush after the animal, but if it jumps up close, then sometimes they catch it without stealing. But if he managed to run away, then it is rarely possible to catch him without hijacking. Driving with a weak turn of the animal to the side is called a twist. About the chase, from which the animal rushed back, they say that the greyhound “put the hare back with its ears (not ears).”

Greyhound breeders believe that the faster the greyhound catches the animal, the steeper the stealing. A sharp drive is beneficial for baiting, since it greatly reduces the distance between the animal and the greyhounds galloping after the one who gave the drive, and if the greyhound puts the animal “ears back”, then this is even more expensive - in this case, it can itself get into the teeth of the rear dogs. Usually, after three to five runs, good greyhounds catch a hare. It happens that several greyhounds surround the hare and, like a ball, throw it to each other, and he suddenly gives a candle and, having flown over the dogs, rushes at full speed and, sometimes, leaves altogether. The fox is the most interesting animal, not only in terms of value skins, but, most importantly, by the beauty of the catch itself, by the excitement of the struggle between the evasiveness of the animal and the frisky and dexterous work of the dog. Catching a fox is more interesting and spectacular than catching a hare. The fox does not take the greyhound out of sight of the greyhound, which often happens when baiting a hare. It is interesting to note that the fox, despite being less agile than the hare, sometimes, having withstood a dozen or even two runs, safely leaves through ravines or burrows. Of course. , this does not happen with dashing catch greyhounds. If the fox has risen moderately, i.e. no further than 70-80 m, then the calculation with her is short, and good greyhounds will not let her go further than 200-300 m. But it happens that the fox will jump far away or the greyhound will notice a mouse-like animal 1-2 km away, or even further. In this case, the hunter, having calculated the course of the animal, hurries, if the terrain allows, to secretly cross its path in order to get as close as possible and show the fox to the dogs at a short distance. If the terrain does not allow secretive movement, then the horse breeder takes the most reliable of his dogs to the saddle and from there shows the fox to her, and the person on foot raises the dog’s front as high as possible to give her the opportunity to see the field through thickets of weeds and other small obstacles.

Having remembered the direction where the animal was spotted, the greyhound makes a long jump without seeing it; other dogs jump after her at first. When the distance is reduced and the fox is in sight, the greyhounds press on to their full speed. Noticing the danger, the fox also takes off at full speed. Such baiting requires outstanding vigilance, skill and strength from the dog. Its success is not always guaranteed, but the greyhound’s satisfaction is great when he sees how the dogs reached a distant animal, began to “beat it in the chase” and finally caught it. Good field binoculars are of great benefit here, as in general when hunting with greyhounds. There are greyhounds that masterfully use their light color and are able to get closer to a mousing fox that they have spotted even a kilometer away. While the fox, carried away by its hunt, jumps and digs in the snow, catching a mouse, the greyhound gallops towards it. As soon as the fox stops looking around, the greyhound lies down. This continues until the dog is close to the beast; then she openly rushes towards the fox and quickly catches it. This is how, for example, the male dog Porkhai of the Saratov Greyhound P.L. behaved during the hunt. Romanova. During such a hunt, a white camouflage robe is very useful for a greyhound. The hunt for a hare is mostly done along with hunting for a red animal. A hare, and especially a seasoned one, requires great agility from dogs, and there are many greyhounds that catch a fox well, but rarely catch a hare. There are quite a few among commercial greyhounds (especially South Russian ones) who, without overpowering the hare in short order, starve him out and catch him after a persistent gallop of 2-3 km or more. The hare leads such dogs for a long time, as if in tow, and they are not able to throw themselves across the 15-30 m gap remaining to the animal, but the hare’s strength dries up, and then after some two or three runs the hare is caught. All that has been said. characterizes in general terms the usual modern method of hunting with greyhounds. So, the matter seems simple: a hunter with dogs mostly moves in a free trot through fields and virgin steppe lands, a hare or a fox jumps out nearby, the greyhounds rush after the animal, overtake and after several runs catch In reality, this is far from being the case.

...The Greyhound went out into the fields early on a November morning. There is a strong frost, the puddles have frozen, the brown autumn grass has turned gray from frost, frost lies on everything: on lumps of arable land, and on heaps of straw scattered across the stubble, and on the stubble itself, and on the greens, which from bright emerald have now turned whitish -blue. After several frosty days on the roads, the dirt hardened and the ruts rolled by cars began to shine and became wide and smooth, like asphalt. The hare has turned very white and lies weakly in the cold. The hunter is walking through the fields, the dogs are freely prowling not far ahead. We passed a large field of rye stubble and a grassland knocked out by cattle. There is no beast. Having crossed the ravine, the Greyhound walks for a long time through the vast greenery, crosses a shallow ravine and zigzags inspects a wide deposit here and there with clumps of weeds and heaps of “tumbleweeds”, near which hare like to lie down. There is still no animal. Again stubble, another strip of winter crops, more weeds, a ravine, a meadow, a strip of harvested sunflowers with broken cattle and still sticking out here and there. Three hours have already passed in fruitless searches, and still no sign of the beast. The whole hare must have lain down on the arable land! No matter how difficult it is to walk along the frozen slope, no matter how bad it is to poison the animal here, the hunter reluctantly moves towards a strip of arable land about a quarter of a kilometer wide, blackening to the side, and begins to cross it. Now the greyhound has walked through the lumps for at least a third of the strip and has already managed to put a fair amount of effort on its legs. Greyhounds don't even like it here. They no longer merrily prowl around, but only move from layer to layer, from lump to lump, a few steps from the owner. And he thinks: is there really no hare here?..

Suddenly, a white ball seemed to flare up ahead... Far away, not letting him get within a hundred meters, a large, seasoned, well-faded hare jumped up and easily galloped across the petrified blocks of black soil, approaching the edge of the arable land obliquely. Willy-nilly, she cannot develop all her magnificent agility, and her black-footed elder brother Verny, who also does not stand on ceremony with any hare on convenient ground, despite all his greed, all his passion, also does not gallop at full speed. Nor does the hare. it’s a little difficult, and it’s noticeable that the desperate impulse of the dogs is not in vain, the distance between them and the hare begins to decrease; but now the white, rushing ball had already jumped out to the edge of the take-off and, turning slightly to the left, flew along the arable land, sharply increasing its speed. Why didn't the hare go straight to winter? But between her and the upsurge there was a well-worn road. Having stood on it, the hare rushed like a whirlwind, and the distance between him and the greyhounds quickly increased. When the dogs finally got out onto the road, the hare was already barely visible. This is where strength, endurance and perseverance were needed! Well trained, having already managed to get involved in work during the season, the greyhounds rushed off along the road. It was then that they gave all their speed, and the hunter clearly sees how they are all approaching the hare, who again turned left along another road. Having galloped along the road for at least a kilometer, the greyhounds came so close to the hare that it seemed that Vyuga, who had rushed ahead, would get him , there is about to be a hijacking... But the hare swerved to the right into the fallow land and for a few seconds disappeared into a thick curtain of weeds. The greyhounds, almost without slowing down in their agility, gallop forward, but the curtain of weeds is over, and there is no hare... And he, bumping into the thick of the weed, let the dogs pass by him and immediately jumped out again onto the road and rushed back along it at full speed. While the deceived greyhounds We managed and noticed the beast, it had already rolled away for almost two hundred meters. But all the daring, all the “wisdom” of the seasoned hare did not save him. Having galloped after him for a little more than half a kilometer, Vyuga caught him and drove him sharply to the left onto the green. Before the hare had time to come to his senses, Verny, who had cut the corner, had already run into him and, having knocked him down with a good run to the right, threw the hare right under the branch, which, after the new run, did not even rush past, but, deftly dodging after the hare, dragged him. Having laid the hare on the ground, the dogs lay down. near him. Having caught his breath a little after a two-kilometer race, Verny stood up, took the hare and, raising his head high, which gave him a victorious, proud look, carried him towards his owner. The blizzard modestly trots behind him... Here they are - agility, perseverance, endurance, and teamwork...

Here's another example. After a slight thaw in the second half of December, a thin crust formed on the snow, crunching under the feet of dogs and horses. A mounted greyhound spotted a mousing fox in the distance, about 700 m away. The hunter whistled to his dashing Eagle, and the dog stood his ears upright as a sign of full attention, but because of the nearby weeds he could not see the animal. Picked up by the owner, the dog jumped onto his saddle. From here, Eagle instantly noticed the fox and, jumping off, set off in the direction he noticed. Vihra knows what's going on and doesn't lag behind the dog that has taken the right direction. In order not to alert the animal prematurely, the greyhound, of course, does not gallop after the dogs, but, on the contrary, distracting the fox, rides as if passing by, still trying to reduce the radius of the circle and get as close to her as possible. Then the fox noticed the dogs flying out onto a hillock about a hundred meters away from her, and rushed away as fast as she could. The Greyhound turns his horse and rushes towards the bait. Here the Eagle got the beast... theft! The second! Vihra arrived and, in turn, turned the fox around. The hunter triumphs: now they will catch him! - and rushes downhill towards the lowland, where the baiting is rushing. Suddenly - what is this? Instead of ending up in the teeth of the dogs, the animal abruptly separated from them, the gap became increasingly larger... The movements of the greyhounds are strange: instead of fast leaps, throwing the dogs forward almost 5 m in one fell swoop, there are some strained short jumps, some kind of climbing ...And the fox, having fluffed up the pipe, quickly leaves and leaves, growing more and more away from the dogs. The hunter overtook the greyhounds, and now everything is clear to him. It turned out that the fox was dragged into a hollow where snow had been blown away from the fields. It is quite deep here, and the crust on which a light animal runs, as if on the floor, does not hold dogs. Having overtaken the greyhounds, which are falling into the snow every second, the hunter drives his horse across the beast, cutting off the arc along which the dell bends towards a blackened ravine island of forest in the distance. You need to knock the fox out of its direction and make it jump out onto a hill, into fields barely covered with fine snow. The plan is almost completed. Throwing out a curve, the hunter caught up with the beast, but in vain he tries to gallop forward, in vain he shouts and waves his whip at the fox. She must know what her salvation is, and rushes at full speed through the hollow. And the hollow becomes a ravine, and the red fur of the animal begins to flicker in the bushes that ran out from the forest to meet it. The steep mouth of the ravine blocks the rider’s path... That’s it! Gone!

In addition to hunting on foot, which is carried out similar to hit-and-run hunting, in some places they hunt foxes with greyhounds from a sleigh, that is, driving around the mouse in ever-decreasing circles and all the time directing the horse as if past the animal. In recent times, there was hunting with greyhounds from the entrance to wolves (Ershovsky, Pugachevsky and other districts of the Saratov region). Obviously, it is possible in other places. The hunters, organized in teams of 3-4 people, were allocated saddle horses by the collective farms, and the people, each with 4-5 greyhounds, moved through the steppe, matching and keeping intervals of 150-200 m. Having discovered a wolf in the steppe, the greyhound hunters tried to surround it. The closest one set his greyhounds on the beast, and the rest galloped, trying to be closer to the bait and not allow the wolf to go aside. This hunt was even more successful in shallow snow. Hunters with greyhounds rode in several sleighs and, having noticed wolves lying down in the steppe, tried to go around them from different directions and get as close as possible. Moving away from the greyhounds launched from one sleigh, the wolf met a pack dropped by another hunter, and he had no way to move .Local dogs did not have the malice and death grip that distinguished the bloodhound greyhound. Therefore, their task was only to knock down the wolf with short grips and not give it a chance until the greyhounds arrived in time and killed the beast with their guns.

V.I.KAZANSKY

How to hunt a hare with greyhounds

As a rule, greyhounds are never hunted only for a hare - usually it is caught along with other larger animals. Hunting dogs demonstrate very successful results in hunting foxes, but when it comes to catching hare, things are not so rosy. This is due to the fact that in order to chase a hare, the dog must have unimaginable agility, tenacity and endurance in pursuit of it.

It is better to take the hare short distances, that is, from short distances, but this is not always possible. If the dog fails to do this, then it exhausts the victim with a long pursuit, exhausting it, chasing it for 2-3 kilometers.

A hare can lead a greyhound for a long time at a minimum distance of 15-20 meters, without allowing the dog to shorten this distance and overtake itself. However, he quickly gets tired, which is why his speed and agility are significantly reduced and, as a result, after only 2-3 hijacks, he becomes easy prey for hunters and ends up in their teeth.

Features of hare hunting in winter

With snow falling comes a difficult, but most interesting time for hunting animals. By this time, the hare becomes significantly lighter, but never becomes completely white, making it quite visible in the snow. Therefore, hunting a hare in winter, when it also leaves noticeable tracks on the snow cover, is especially interesting. However, it is necessary to prepare equipment for it more carefully so that it is not only comfortable, but also designed for cold weather.

You need to follow the trail of a hare in the snow to the side so as not to trample the path. The animal often uses various tricks to confuse its pursuers:

1. Returns to the path and changes direction.
2. Makes loops of different sizes in the snow.
3. Returns for the day following in the footsteps of other hares.

Knowing the habits of the animal at this time, it is easy to construct an algorithm for how to catch a hare at this time. Winter roosts are often located near food sources. While the snow cover is low and loose, the hare feeds on winter crops. On a snow-covered field, an animal's resting position can be identified by a mound of discarded snow. When there is an abundance of high crust, it moves into gardens, forest belts and the edges of forests. It is easiest to track him early in the morning, in the powder, when the hare trail is clearly visible. In the cold winter season, the following methods of hunting animals are mainly practiced:

• roundup or drive;
• with hound dogs;
• various traps.

A roundup or drive in winter differs little from this method of extraction at other times of the year. But hunting a hare in winter with dogs has some limitations: heavy snowfall, frosts below 20 degrees, the presence of crust, ice and too deep snow are unfavorable for the successful work of hunting dogs. The most common hunting for a hare in winter is with hounds, which, due to their constitution, move more easily through the snow than other hunting dogs. To achieve success in winter, you need to prepare your dog well. Ideal conditions for hunting hare in winter with hounds are wet weather in the morning, with a small amount of freshly fallen snow.

How to hunt a wolf with greyhounds

Wolf hunting with greyhounds is very rarely used by hunters; in most cases, this animal is caught by accident. There are only a few professional methods of exterminating wolves by trappers. They often hunt in shallow snow cover.

The main method of hunting wolves is as follows - shooters move on a sleigh with several dogs, and, having identified an animal lying down (in the steppe), they drive around it from all sides, getting closer and closer. Next, the shooter releases the greyhounds, but not individually, but in a pack. Seeing that the dogs have been unleashed on him, the wolf tries to run away from them, but on the other hand a pack of the second shooter is set on him. The wolf finds himself surrounded, and after a while he is caught by dogs.

When hunting a wolf, greyhounds are much more persistent and aggressive than other dogs. They grab him with a death grip, leaving no chance of salvation. The dog knocks the animal down with short grips, immobilizing it. Next, the dog’s main goal is to wait for the shooter, who arrives in time to help and finishes off the wolf with a weapon.

Walking over a wolf with greyhounds

Hunting with greyhounds is rather an exception to the rule. However, in some cases, when a Russian greyhound competes against a wolf, such a solution is appropriate.

A young animal is suitable for landing. The best time for this is August, when the wolf is already strong, but has not yet reached the height of a large dog, and therefore does not pose a danger. It is better to arrange a resting place with an experienced greyhound.

The young individual in the pack is held by one person, the older one by another, and the third releases a wolf into their field of vision. When the wolf runs, the adult is released, and the young one is released a little later so that it follows the example of the older one. The wolf is fought off quickly so that the dogs cannot strangle him the first time. After several repetitions with an experienced greyhound, the young one is allowed alone.

What qualities should a greyhound have in order for hunting to give good results?

A greyhound must have a number of developed qualities in order to hunt effectively. Otherwise, normal prey will be out of sight. A good dog should be:

1. Frisky - the greyhound must be able to overtake the animal with a swift and very fast lunge;
2. Greedy for the beast - productive hunting is possible only if the dog completely devotes himself to it, concentrates on the process with all his guts;
3. Vigilant - she needs to be able to spot a fox or a hare in any situation, and when chasing them, not lose sight of them for a moment, even when overcoming ravines and thickets;
4. Agile - a cunning animal in pursuit will sharply change the direction of its movement and move to the sides. The dog must react quickly to this and not allow the animal to move away and leave with the help of such maneuvers;
5. Poimistoy - timely and instantaneous grip of the beast (this quality is innate, it is almost impossible to train it);
6. Tireless and strong – endurance is very important for a dog. She must be prepared for a long chase, which will ultimately be crowned with success and the capture of the beast;
7. Polite and reserved - a greyhound must be vicious, aggressive and attack living creatures (prey) only when hunting. She should never rush at people or pets.

How to train a hound to chase a hare

These dogs were specially bred to help in hunting, therefore they have innate instincts, they strive to search, pursue, and drive prey. That is why the first task during training is to awaken these qualities.

Hunting with a husky for an animal: dog activity

In order for hunting with hounds to be successful and bring satisfaction to both the dog and the owner, the pet should be prepared. You need to start training about a year before the intended hunt, you need to train regularly. The secret to success is that tasks should be as different from each other as possible. This will give the dog the opportunity to make decisions in a non-standard situation, and not act according to a template, which is unacceptable in real conditions. Expert advice:

1. The owner must provide the hound with regular physical activity, so it will become more resilient.
2. It is important to prepare the paws. Only on hardened pads will the dog be able to move through the forest.
3. A good exercise is to walk next to your owner riding a bicycle. If the owner picks up speed, the hound speeds up. If it decreases, it runs slower. In real conditions, the hare often changes speed to confuse its pursuer. This training will help your pet choose the optimal running pace.

You can start training at the age of 9 months. It's better to start in the spring. At this time, hares enter into mating games and actively mark their territory.

Note! In spring and summer, you cannot be with a hunting dog in hunting zones (it’s not the season yet), but there are special areas for training.

A young dog that has caught up with the first hare is allowed to pat it a little, but cannot be allowed to eat it. As a reward, you can give the hound a cut off paw - a pazanka.

Hound on the hunt