Treeing Walker feet

[Trueblue]

[twist]

There is not a dog out there that has bullet proof feet if one thinks that he has not hunted dogs hard enough. I am not a weekend warrior all I do is hunt!( I am pretty lucky to be able to do this)) You have to condition dogs if you want them to catch game yes the old fat hound can get lucky ever so often with the so called tough feet but not my style. Here is a thought you take a bobcat catching machine dog with brains, desire great track speed, great jump speed and awesome locater and tree dogand last but not least good tight feet, lay him up for a year no conditioning and yes when season rolls around you will catch a few cats. Take that same dog and condition him properly and see what your results will be! This is a fact not just a theory. Read my post I said I can make a dogs feet (TOUGH) not change their genetic make up. Just because a dog has nice tight feet doesnt meen they are bullet proof. Andy

[Trueblue]

[twist]

So if you dont agree with me then you are saying not all dogs feet need conditioned? Andy

[BIGBLUES]

I run Black and Tans and also Blueticks for a lot of reasons but one big reason is their feet are tougher than nails. My dogs get little conditioning from April to December and when I start running in December they all get sore feet for about the first 2 weeks then I don't have any issues except when the snow is super crusty their toenails get a little raw. But I can run them almost every other day except when snow conditions are real bad. I use to have walkers and my cousin still does, we both really like them but I personally didn't like the feet. My cousin never complains about his walkers feet but he usually only runs weekends.

[Trueblue]

[kordog]

the bluetick walker cross is a favorite for some ive been told more than once it makes for a better footed dog with good speed.i have personally found that blackntans have some of the best feet ive found that being said i love my walker dogs and always make looking at the feet a priority before i buy.the worst dog i ever saw foot wise was a walker female her feet were so soft she couldnt run fifty feet on good snow and they would start to bleed.there are obviously walkers with good feet or they wouldnt be so popular look around.conditioning is key to getting the most out of a hounds feet or a hound for that matter ,but it sure does help to have them thick tough sandpaper like pads right from the start . truth be known these walkers are probably burning their pads off like a drag car

[nait hadya]

[nait hadya]

[nait hadya]

[nait hadya]

[nait hadya]

[Ker_man]

Conditioning will make any feet better but it won't make bad feet good. Splayed feet let everything up in to injure the feet, soft skin will always break out, even if toughened will be softer than foot that is hard and tough to start out.
Weekend hunter or full time hunter the # of dogs you have to run can influence whether you can tolerate bad feet or not.
I agree that in breeding for feet we can not accept lousing the qualities that make the dog produce game.

[nait hadya]

[nait hadya]

if you look at enough walker hound pictures,especially breeders or those offering stud services you will see that feet, bad feet are often obscured,out of frame or hidden by grass. to me that indicates a problem almost like false advertising.