They may be man’s best friend, but they can also be game’s worst enemy.

Just ask Charles Lee Williams Jr. of Natchez and Andy Anders of Clayton, La. – both outdoorsmen who employ canines in their respective types of hunting.

Williams said he owns 14 beagles, seven of which he uses during hunting season to scare up deer and get them moving in the forest.

&uot;You train them when they’re eight to 10 months old,&uot; Williams said. &uot;Some, however, take one and a half to two years to train. With older dogs, they train themselves.&uot;

Williams said his dogs are especially good about coming back to his camp at Cypress Grove in Rodney.

&uot;I don’t have to worry about them getting lost,&uot; he said.

Williams said the difference between still hunting and hunting with dogs is very simple.

&uot;With still hunting, a lot of (hunters) get in a deer stand and wait. With dogs, we put the stands up and turn the dogs loose.&uot;

But, &uot;very few clubs have dogs anymore,&uot; Williams added.

Williams said all the hard work pays off, however.

&uot;I’ve been doing it all my life,&uot; Williams said. &uot;I enjoy listening to the dogs run.&uot;

Williams also said it is more exciting to hunt with dogs than it is to still hunt.

&uot;It’s something I’ve always liked,&uot; Williams said. &uot;To most people it is (more exciting to hunt with dogs). But a lot of people like still hunting. That’s eventually where it’s going to.&uot;

Some dogs use a little more finesse, according to Anders, who uses his four English pointers to help while hunting quail.

Anders’ dogs are pointers, he said, able to smell and reveal the location of a bird if it is within 5 feet.

However, Anders said his hobby may, too, be a dying one. &uot;There’s just not a lot of them in this part of the country,&uot; he said of quail, and subsequently, quail hunting.

&uot;I guess the quail have moved west to Texas,&uot; he added.