Hunting in Sweden

[Naj]

Hi Helene, as a matter of interest, what would be the commonly used breeds of gundog be in Sweden, other than/before the British working retrievers/spaniels became more popular?

Naj

[Hepe]

The "real" hunting in Sweden is traditionally elk, deer, hare and wildfowling, therefore we got a lot of local nordic breeds but also breeds from other countries for that. Short legged breeds to push deer (dachhounds, beagle, later years petit basset griffon has gotten popular) long legged hare breeds (stövare in Swedish, lack the english word) and spets for hunting elk, tracking them over big areas and barking when they get closer in the track and also barking when they get close up, making them stand still so the hunters can get a good shot. There are special breeds for hunting birds in trees, barking under the tree when they find a treeing bird. We also got quite a few wachtels, a do it all breed for hunting, pushing, retrieving and tracking. A very important part of hunting in sweden is tracking. The latest years we also got quite an influx of pig dogs, preferably mixed with old nordic tracking dogs to track. We have terriers, tysk jaktterrier is very popular for roedeers, fox, badhers and god know what. On and on it goes, i probably forgot some specially bred dogs and what they hunt. Oh lots of hpr's for our nordic fjäll (hunting ripa) etc. Quite a bit of this traditional style hunt is threathened by the Swedish governments decision to introduce wolves again in Sweden. A lot of dogs get killed now and people are afraid.

I don't know the exact background to the first imported retrievers and spaniels in Sweden but it's clear that most of them were show dogs or dual purpose. It was a fight (still is) to introduce dogs bred for working and get suitable tests and trials for them. Paul Anderson (also on this forum) has among others been a very important person in this process.

Helene

[Naj]

Thanks, I'm always interested in how dogs/sport works in other countries. What does the Nordic Fjall (hunting ripa) entail?

Naj

[Hepe]

Thanks, I'm always interested in how dogs/sport works in other countries. What does the Nordic Fjall (hunting ripa) entail?

Naj

I have never been, nor do i have hpr's but i have friends going up almost every year, bringing both spaniels and hpr's and it seems to be something special, maybe like your grouse season?

Hunting ripa in winter, birds are white.
http://tinyurl.com/l4jwaxm

Fall:
http://tinyurl.com/olhdm29

Sorry for hijacking the pip-pip thread. I can share a sneaky tip someone gave me this fall as a way of saying sorry. When it's time to panic at a trial - if you use one pip as turn, swap over to two pips when things begin to go pear shaped and you may get some extra minutes before things turn really ugly. Did someone here give me that tip? It does work if you start off your pup with two pips for turn/recall when they are pups. Not that Scylla ever would begin pulling at a trial, nooooo...

Helene

[Naj]

Looks like our ptarmigan, a member of the grouse family, & quite a challenge to get on terms with. Unfortunately, there are none where I live. You find them in the high mountain regions of Scotland. Few would have the opportunity to hunt them on a regular basis in this country.

Naj

[Hepe]

Looks like our ptarmigan, a member of the grouse family, & quite a challenge to get on terms with. Unfortunately, there are none where I live. You find them in the high mountain regions of Scotland. Few would have the opportunity to hunt them on a regular basis in this country.

Naj

Yes that would be the English name i believe. A big part of the northern part of Sweden is owned by the government and our natives, the same people got claims on it and the hunting is regulated and handled by both together, not exactly sure about the details. Anyhow, the result is that you can buy day cards and go up there and hunt, out of curiousity i checked how much a license for one day did cost this year and it was 450 kr/day, may vary slightly depending on area, i just checked one area. So absolutely affordable if you see it as a nice vacation which many do. You are not guaranteed a spot, it's a lottery, so you apply and then see if you got luck with you.

Helene

[Naj]

450Kr per day.

I wouldn't consider it to be 'absolutely affordable'. Better check my maths.

Naj

[Hepe]

450Kr per day.

I wouldn't consider it to be 'absolutely affordable'. Better check my maths.

Naj

Well ok ok ooook but compared to a week on mallorca? It's swedish crowns, not pund. Around 300gbp for the hunting for a week and then of course travelling and staying etc. Not something you do every week but even me with a low income could imagine it for a vacation with a bit of saving at least - if i didn't spend every drat coin on trialling and training the dogs here that is. No vacation for the wicked.

Helene

[Naj]

Per week sounds better.

[Judy]

Per week sounds better.

Would that be £41 odd or the £300 for the week?

I think you have some driven game shooting in South Sweden don't you? Is that in the majority like here or are there more rough shooting / walked up days and are you hunting alone or do you go in groups?

............................
It would be really interesting if we had a few more posters telling us about how you hunt/ shoot in your own Countries. Just to hijack this thread as well as the Pips one.