Avoiding clichés such as “a dog is a man’s best friend” or “dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole” and many is hard, especially when talking about hunting dogs.

The truth is all hunting dogs are not going to be cuddly, snuggle bug dogs that most families have since they are working breeds. Another truth is that breeds of hunting dogs exist for a reason and therefore it is futile to try and avoid those clichés.

Proven reports from archaeology indicate that our entire way of life and history would have been completely different if it were not for dogs and especially the breeds of hunting dogs since we have evolved together with dogs as a species.

We would not even be here today quite possibly. Throughout the years, dogs have changed an awful lot and therefore we are not the only ones who evolved. For someone just two or three thousand years ago, a lot of dog breeds today would be practically unrecognizable. Not without our help, even the standard apartment dogs that hunt nothing more than rubber balls are some of the most common dog breeds for hunting that were originally bred for finding retrieving game.

Hunting enthusiasts around the globe still enjoy the company, friendship, and help of a lot of the traditional breeds of hunting dogs that still exist.

What are a hunting dog and what dog breeds for hunting exist?

For dozens of millennia, breeds of hunting dogs have been hunting for and with humans. “Hunting dogs” and “gun dogs” are synonyms for a lot of people and it is usually a hound is what they imagine when they hear these phrases.

It is still incorrect but understandable. Both hounds and gun dogs qualify as hunting dogs despite being two quite distinct breeds of hunting dogs. There are several sub-types of hunting dogs and it is a fact. Here they are.

Types of hunting dogs and which one you need

1. Hounds

There are two or three different sub-categories of dog breeds for hunting in the hound category and they include sighthounds, scent hounds, and lurchers, which are often ignored or considered as sighthounds.

Hunting the prey by themselves is one common feature that all sub-category of hounds shares in common. Most hounds on dog hunting track, chase and kill the prey by themselves sometimes in a pack or individually.

During a hunt and mostly with the scent hounds that just locate and track the prey for the hunter to finish it off in some cases.

• i. Sighthounds

Sighthounds rely heavily on their sight as their name suggests. These breeds of hunting dogs have an accent on two key characteristics on which they have evolved i.e., their eyesight and their speed.

While hunting, since they typically hunt alone, once sighthounds have noticed a prey from a distance, they start stalking it then the chase begins and when they are close enough to the prey, they kill it. Coursing is the name given to this hunting method used by sighthounds.

Further, sighthounds have a unique and almost unstoppable drive to hunt since they are extremely elegant and slender animals. Sighthounds can spring into a chase and ignore all commands even if they are well trained and this makes having a sighthound for a standard pet a huge challenge.

Apart from their beholding sight, sighthounds use their instinct during an actual hunt. There are multiple and different breeds of hunting dogs under this sub-category of sighthounds plus they even have their special community known as the American Sighthound Field Association.

Some of the popular breeds of hunting dogs in this category include:

• Persian Greyhound also known as Saluki
• Russian wolfhound, commonly known as Borzoi
• Greyhound
• Scottish Deerhound
• Afghan Hound
• Irish Wolfhound
• Hungarian Greyhound, commonly known as Magyar agar
• Silken Windhound

• ii. Scent Hounds

There are several ways in which scent hounds are different from sighthounds. To their job for then, these breeds of hunting dogs rely heavily on their nose since they are not sprinters like sighthounds.

While on dog hunting, scent hounds will find the prey’s hiding spot by tracking them using their scent.

After finding the hiding spot, using their loud, booming barks, they will signal the hunter to come and take care of the rest or if during hunting dog training they are trained to kill, they will kill it.

Despite scent hounds not being sprinters like sighthounds, they are still faster than humans are you will hear them typically bark during the entire chase.

The typical barking is essential since a hunter may lose sight of the dog during a hunt and this will help her or him to easily locate it and the prey. Moreover, scent hounds hunt in packs, unlike the sighthounds.

The big, floppy ears of the scent hounds have been a mystery for centuries and it is one of the key features that all the breeds of hunting dogs in this sub-category possess. The big, floppy ears of scent hounds help them in recognizing the smell of the prey since it helps them collect the air and scent around their heads for a moment longer.

There are dozens and dozens of dog breeds for hunting in this category and therefore it would be impractical to mention all of them.

Here are some of the famous scent hounds:

• American Foxhound
• Bloodhound
• Dachshund
• Harrier
• Basset Hound
• Beagle
• Otterhound
• Basset Griffon

• iii. Lurchers

Lurchers are a cross between sighthounds and a random working dog breed (usually a terrier or a pastoral dog). Because of this, when it comes to classifying them, they are usually lumped in with sighthounds.

Additionally, when it comes to hunting, these breeds of hunting dogs usually display a lot of key features of sighthounds. If bred correctly, lurchers are also very capable of working dogs.

These dogs breed for hunting most features are similar to that of sighthounds and therefore look at them in the sighthounds’ category if you need more details.

2. Gun Dogs

Gun dogs are another main big sub-category of dog breeds for hunting. These breeds of hunting dogs became popular at the same time gun hunting did are their role in a hunt is very different from that of hounds.

Before the invention of guns, gun dogs were used for net hunting however, as gun hunting began these dog breeds for hunting became popular. The main role of a gun dog is simply assisting the hunter but, their job varies depending on their type. Some of the roles of the gun dogs during a hunt include:

• Tracking and pointing towards the prey for the hunter to kill it
• Flushing out the prey out of hiding for the hunter to kill it
• Simply gather the birds that the hunter has killed once he or she is done since the hunter it can just observe.

Compared to the hounds, a gun dog’s role during a hunt is unique and new since it is something that has been bred into them over the last multiple centuries while the role of a hound during dog hunting is much more instinctive and closer to their ancestors.

• i. Retrievers

Initially, these dog breeds for hunting were classified as water spaniels but it is one of the most popular types of gun dogs. Bringing back the prey to the hunter after it has been gunned down is the main role of these breeds of hunting dogs as the name ’retriever’ suggests.

During a hunter, retriever’s role is always to sit and watch even for hours as the hunter shoots down prey such as birds if it is well-trained and when the hunting is over, it will gather all the gunned down prey and bring it to the hunter since it has an excellent memory that can remember all the spots that they fell.

There are various commands used in a hunt such as various hand, verbal, and whistle commands, and since these bird hunting dogs are exceptionally smart, they can easily recognize them during a hunt.

Apart from a never-ending desire to please and obey their masters, retrievers have been bred for having a large, but soft muzzle that helps them do their job.

Retrievers are one of the most popular types of in-house and apartment dogs for hunters and non-hunters alike, and even disability assistance dogs are retriever dogs because they are exceptionally smart, large, but soft muzzle and their never-ending desire to obey and please their masters.

Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers are the two main breeds of hunting dogs in the retriever category that is known by almost everybody. However, there are others but they are not that common and they include:
• Flat-coated retriever
• Chesapeake Bay Retriever
• Curly coated retriever
• Nova Scotia Duck tolling retriever

• ii. Setters

These are other dog breeds for hunting in the gun dog category and their roles are quite different from their counterparts in the retriever category. This is because, during a hunt, setters’ main role is to help the hunter by locating prey and flushing it out, unlike the retrievers whose role is to gather the gunned down prey.

These breeds of hunting dogs have excellent scent and sight and they use them during a hunt to expertly locate birds and flush them as per the command of the hunter. Because of this, setters are used for upland game birds. Setters do not chase and flush out the prey immediately after locating it. However, it waits for its master’s command to run and flush out the prey at the appropriate time by just freezing and pointing at the prey.

The rather distinctive pose that these breeds of hunting dogs take once they have located the prey led them to be named setters.

The popular dogs in this sub-category of gun dogs include:

• English Setter
• Gordon Setter
• French Setter
• Red or Irish Setter

• iii. Spaniels

During a hunt, these breeds of hunting dogs are used to locate and flush out prey just like their cousins the setters. Depending on the prey they were hunting during different times of history, these dog breeds for hunting have been separated into different categories such as water and land spaniels.

Land spaniels are generally used as setting dogs the same way they were used traditionally while retrieving the gunned down prey were left for water spaniel. While hunting, the land spaniels point at the prey for the hunter by creeping towards it.

Moreover, there are breeds of hunting dogs under the spaniel category whose job during a hunt is to point at the prey and flush it out and they are known as springing spaniels. In a hunt, spaniels love and know their role since they are very smart.

These breeds of hunting dogs are always used in conjunction with other animals. For example, falcons for pheasants and partridges, sighthound for rabbits, and many more.

There are also various types breeds of hunting dogs under the spaniels category and some of them include:

• American Cocker spaniel
• Papillon
• Cavalier King Charles spaniel
• Irish water spaniel
• Welsh springer spaniel
• English cocker spaniel
• Sussex spaniel

• iv. Pointers

This is another breed of hunting dogs in the gun dog category. Pointers mainly used specific kinds of hunts because of their vastly superior range compared to setters and spaniels. During the hunt, pointers are used to let the hunter approach, flush out, and kill the prey after they have located and pointed at the prey.

Additionally, during a hunt, once the prey has been gunned down, pointers can also gather and bring the prey back to the hunter because they are also excellent land retrievers. The difference between pointers retrieving prey and a typical retriever is that a pointer will locate and point out a single prey and bring it back to the hunter.

On the other hand, a typical retriever does not track and point at the prey beforehand but it can just sit, watch and memorize as the hunter guns down the prey and once the hunting is over it gathers dozens of them and brings them back to the hunter.

You may find pointers and setters mixed in the same category. Some of the hunting dogs under this category of hunting dog breeds include:

• Wirehaired pointing griffon
• German longhaired/ shorthaired/ wirehaired pointer
• Slovak rough-haired pointer
• Portuguese pointer
• Old Danish pointer

3. Water Dogs

These bird hunting dogs breeds are excellent swimmers and champions in endurance and because of this, they are specifically bred for water prey.

Therefore, during a hunt, these breeds of bird hunting dogs have the ability to retrieve all kinds of waterfowl after hunting them.

Because of this, water dogs deserve their category despite being typically classified as retrievers like poodles.

Breeds like Chesapeake Bay Retriever and the Curly coated retriever can be mentioned as examples of great water dogs. Other dog breeds in this category include:

• Newfoundland
• Standard poodle
• Spanish water dog
• Portuguese water dog
• Barbet
• American water spaniel

4. Dachshunds

Dachshunds have been considered silly looking and an object of ridicule and jokes by the uninitiated. This is despite the fact that these breeds of hunting dogs feature a lot of versatility, high intelligence, and a lot of modern uses apart from hunting, and therefore it is very undeserving to treat them in that manner.

Because of this, these breeds of hunting dogs deserve their category. During a dog hunt, dachshunds have the ability to track, chase, flash out and even kill prey since they have an excellent sense of smell and they rely on it.

Since these breeds of hunting dogs mainly rely on their strong sense of smell during a hunt, they are very similar to scent hounds. They are mentioned in the category of scent hounds. This dog breed for hunting can be used to hunt anything ranging from rabbits and hares to badgers, foxes, and even boar and deer depending on their size.

The unique physique of the dachshunds that allows them to jump in and flush out the badger after locating its hole is what distinguishes it from the scent hounds.

Furthermore, since dachshunds have a strong sense of smell, they can be used to assist in tracking down wounded animals after car crashes apart from hunting.

5. Terriers

If you want breeds of hunting dogs that you can use to hunt small mammals then small dogs are great.

There is a surprisingly fascinating view watching terriers hunt. During a hunt, these breeds of hunting dogs directly capture or kill the animal after locating their den or setting of their prey and then bolting towards it. Additionally, because of their size, a hunter can send terries to kill or flush out prey underground.

Further, for a larger game like Razorbacks (feral pigs), there are some larger dog hunting breeds in this category such as the bull terrier that can be used.

Because of their size too, terriers are often used with other dog hunting breeds since are team dogs and very smart.

Often you will find them being used together with scent hounds where they are sent to attack, bite and hold down prey for the hunter to come and kill it after a scent hound has located and cornered it. Some of the breeds of hunting dogs in this category include:

• Border terrier
• Bull terrier
• Miniature schnauzer
• American Staffordshire terrier
• Irish terrier
• Scottish terrier
• Welsh terrier
• Wire fox terrier

6. Curs

The hunting pattern of curs and terrier is quite similar and therefore they could be put together in a category. However, the breeds of hunting dogs in this category are always used for bigger prey like cougars, boars, and other large animals because they are bigger compared to terriers.

Here are some of the dog breeds for hunting in this category:

• American leopard hound
• Mountain cur
• Black mouth cur
• Catahoula leopard dog
• Treeing Tennessee brindle

7. Feists

The breeds of hunting dogs in this category bark to alert the hunter after locating the prey and they hunt in packs just like scent hounds. However, compared to scent hounds, feists are quite small and therefore they are often used to hunt small prey like squirrels.

What differentiates feists from classical scent hounds and sighthounds is that they use their sight and scent in rather equal proportions. A crossbreed of small Native American dogs and British fell terriers resulted in the development of feists. Some of the dog breeds for hunting in this category include:

• Mountain feist
• Rat terrier

Have we missed anyone? The above list completes our list of all hunting dog breeds that you may need details about.