Section 950.40  Dog Training Seasons and Regulations

a)         Dog training is prohibited on Department sites except in designated areas.

b)         The use of horses for dog training purposes is prohibited except at the sites designated by (1).

c)         Only handguns and shotguns with blank cartridges shall be used on Department sites except shotguns with shot shells may be used only for shoot-to-retrieve training using domestic pigeons and/or captive-reared ring-necked pheasants, bobwhite quail, chukar partridge, and mallard ducks at the sites designated by (2).

1)         Only shot shells with a shot size of No. 6 lead or a non-toxic shot size ballistically equivalent to No. 6 lead or smaller shall be used for shoot-to-retrieve dog training.

2)         Individuals participating in shoot-to-retrieve dog training are required to wear a cap and upper outer garment of solid and vivid blaze orange of at least 400 square inches.

3)         Individuals participating in shoot-to-retrieve dog training are required to wear a back patch issued at the site headquarters on the outside of the upper outer blaze orange garment.

d)         Dog training at the following sites will be open from September 1-March 31, except closed during site upland game season; additional exceptions in parenthesis:

Carlyle Lake Lands and Waters

Clinton Lake State Recreation Area

Edward R. Madigan State Park

Eldon Hazlet State Park (closed September 1 through the first Sunday of the controlled pheasant hunting season; dog training is open on Mondays and Tuesdays during the Controlled Pheasant Hunting Season and from the close of the upland game hunting season through March 31)

Hamilton County Conservation Area

Hidden Springs State Forest

Horseshoe Lake State Park (dog training is open during the upland game season)

Iroquois County Wildlife Management Area

Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area (during the Controlled Pheasant Hunting Season, training is open on Mondays and Tuesdays) (1)

Kankakee River State Park

Kaskaskia River State Fish and Wildlife Area (water dog training only is open all year) (1)

Kickapoo State Park (1)

Lake Shelbyville – Eagle Creek State Park

Lake Shelbyville – Eagle Creek Wildlife Management Area

Lake Shelbyville – Kaskaskia and West Okaw Wildlife Management Area

Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area

Marseilles State Fish and Wildlife Area (closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during September, October and March)

Middle Fork Fish and Wildlife Management Area (1)

Peabody River King State Fish and Wildlife Area (water dog training only is open all year)

Sahara Woods State Fish and Wildlife Area

Saline County Conservation Area

Sam Parr State Park

Sand Ridge State Forest (during the Controlled Pheasant season, training is open on Mondays and Tuesdays) (1)

Sangchris Lake State Park (water dog training is open all year)

Shabbona Lake State Park (closed during archery deer season)

Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area

Skinner Farm State Habitat Area (area south and west of I-24 open only from October 1-March 31)

Stephen A. Forbes State Fish and Wildlife Area

Ten Mile Creek Fish and Wildlife Area

Trail of Tears State Forest

Washington County Conservation Area

Weinberg-King State Park (1)

World Shooting and Recreational Complex

e)         Dog training at the following sites will be allowed throughout the year; exceptions in parentheses:

Banner Marsh Fish and Wildlife Area (closed 7 days before through end of waterfowl season)

Clinton Lake State Recreation Area, Parnell Unit Designated Area

Des Plaines Conservation Area (closed during site's upland game season) (1) (2)

Eldon Hazlet State Park north of Allen Branch Public Hunting Area

Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area, Area C2 (East of Main office; except when controlled pheasant hunting is occurring) and all water dog training

Mississippi River Fish and Waterfowl Management Area (Pools 25 and 26) (1)

Pyramid State Park (closed during site's upland game and waterfowl hunting seasons) (1) (2)

Randolph County Conservation Area

Rock Cut State Park

Snakeden Hollow State Fish and Wildlife Area (closed October 1 through the Central Zone Goose Hunting Season)

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 6664, effective May 4, 2023)