Well I figured out a dog training secret.... Well squirrel dog training secret anyway.
My and my pup went to the woods monday morning to chase some squirrels. She is only about 3 months old so she's not grasped the concept of running off and tracking them yet. She stays really close by and only sniffs on the actual trail i'm walking on. Every once in a while she would catch a sent and then run up to a tree but no barking yet. Well all that changed monday morning.....
We walked a trail for about an hour and a half without getting anything. On my way back on the same trail the pup lost interest and just started grabbing leaves and sticks and just playing around, which i have no problem with considering the age. Then when i was almost out of the woods I heard some fighting in a tree. So i just plopped down right on the edge of the trail and so did the pup. She must have been worn out b/c she just laid down and went right to sleep there. Well, i leaned against a tree and just waited to see if they would come close.... (very thick foilage right now). After about 20 they came close enought to shoot with the 12 gauge. I ended up shooting 3 in a row, with one of them actually being behind us. Well the pup just slept through the first 2 shots and then woke up on the 3rd b/c the squirrel was running around on the ground injured. Remy, (pup) ran over to inspect it and started barking at it. She took a bite at it and the Squirrel bit back. As soon as the squirrel bit the dog its like a light bulb came on.... "GET THE SQUIRRELS" So remy tore into that squirrel and killed it, then she brought it to me. Then she took off and found the other 2 and brought them back without me showing her where they were. After that she was running from one side of the trail off into the woods, then back to the other side off into the woods. She smelled some more on the way out b/c she ran up to a tree and kept jumping up at it.... still not barking but i think we made plenty of progress on this day....
Secret training tip - Let a squirrel bite your dog.