Our daughter with our lead dog, Hooch
The excitement never fades the moment that indicator on your Garmin Handheld comes up showing “treed”. You look to see how far you’re walking and prepare to get in there, leashes strapped to your chest, Garmin in hand and one boot in front of the other. For the most part, pretty straight forward. Simple.
Now add children to that equation. The constant batter in the back seat when you’re trying to listen to your hounds, the abundance of snack wrappers left all over the pickup, the fights that break out between siblings but most importantly the lessons and moments you get to share as a family .
Anyone that’s tried it or does it regularly knows that having kids along on a hunt of any kind adds a whole other dynamic. The focus shifts significantly, at least for me. With children, there is a lot more thought and planning before you put boots to ground. Is the terrain friendly for kids? Is it mostly uphill, through a swamp, tight brush and how far? Every child’s tolerance to the elements and terrain is different but these are things we often evaluate to ensure that they have a positive experience.
As parents, we strive to plant a seed that will eventually grow into a deep love and appreciation for the outdoors. Our hope is that they will grow to love the hounds and all that they are capable of, as we do. By bringing them along, I am accepting responsibility to create this positive experience for them as much as I possibly can. This may mean educating them as we go, giving them tasks and responsibilities to match their age, asking their opinions and most importantly, rewarding their efforts at the end of the day ( as well as ours) ; ice cream for the kids and a cold beer for us. Both a wonderful and encouraging way to end a day of hunting hard if you ask me.
There is always that worry that we are pushing them into our world, which we worry will in turn actually just deter them from it. After seeing my daughter develop such a strong love and appreciation for the hunt, I know we must have done something right. As I am writing this, 36 days into spring bear season, my 7 year old has missed but only a few days in the woods with her daddy. The moment his feet hit the floor and he is lacing his boots, she is doing the same. Every mile, every moment, every bear tree, every bay up, she was there with the exception of a few. The best part, by choice. For the sake of my sanity and so that I could participate, I’ll be honest, I didn’t always give them a choice. It was about and still is about finding that balance. Pushing them to try and show them the benefits and fun that can be had but also keeping it as positive as possible. My son although not quite as eager being a year younger, has also spent 3-4x a week in the woods with us learning and appreciating the adventure ( most days).
I wish there was a secret formula or a “how to” guide to encourage our children to follow in our footsteps but as we all know, just isn’t the case. All we can do is encourage them and praise them for their efforts. Expose them to it early all while keeping it exciting for them. With any luck, we will have another generation or two of houndsmen down the line.
