Question for guys that use dogs

[hillbilly boy]

Question for guys that use dogs to track drags have you ever had a dog get hurt from wanting to fight with the game reason I ask was I read on another forum about s guy using his lab and I was thinking that something like a bobcat or coyote would rip a dog like that to bits if it wanted to fight

[Katmandoo]

I had a dog get really bad swelling on his head from a bobcat. Didnt really get too tore up. They had it bayed up in a super thick swamp and when i got close the next thing i knew the dog was running right passed me with the cat on his back and a ear hanging out his mouth. Thank god for my new mike kemp pup she was only about 7 months old. She snatched that cat off his back and saved him from any further damage. Couple rounds of antibiotics and he was good to go. Couldnt feel or find any serious damage, but his head swelled up seriously in about 24hrs.

[hillbilly boy]

What kind of dog was it

[Katmandoo]

That was a running walker

[hillbilly boy]

See I would think a good sized cur or hound could hold their own but I have heard of some guys using the little stock dogs like jags or gun dogs like labs that I would think would get cut up or killed the first time

[TomJr]

[david]

Keep in mind the animals are in traps. The scenario of a dog baying an unhindered animal that latches on for a long ride would be rare if ever. It's fun to think about this stuff and good to study and learn what you can before you make the commitment to a dog, but I think you worry too much. Just go for it. There are many dogs that would be very helpful on a trap line, and few that would not.

I met a nice trap line dog this weekend. Belonged to a professional trapper. Was a full blooded jagdterrier. If ever there was a dog that might get ate up, its one of those little units. But he made an exceptional trap line dog. He also would retrieve, and made a decent bird dog as well. He said the dog did not make a good decoy dog for coyote, however. It seems coyotes can recognize "crazy" from a distance.

Pick a dog you like and start teaching it about traps and snares.

[hillbilly boy]

The two I like are airedales and jag I really like the jags but I just keep thinking that a dog that little would get cut up or killed the first time they tracked down a coyote or bobcat but I guess one in a trap with a drag probably could not move as fast as one running free

[david]

of the jags I have owned or known closely, most died young. They have a tendency to do that. Yet I know of two males that lived into their teens. If your limit is 60 pounds, you can have one airdale or 3 jags.

Some jags are smarter than others about staying alive. And some are smarter than others, period.

Jack Russell terriers are known for being more likely to bay, and less likely to engage the animal. Some of the barn coon hunters use the Jack Russell's for this reason. They want them to stay back and keep the coon cornered but not engage him and force him out. (The only Jack Russell I have owned did not have homing instinct, so I did not keep him. I don't know if that is a breed problem or not.)

Rat terriers really have some devoted followers. They are very versatile dogs and every one I have known of was a good tree dog and made a squirrel dog.

Really there are so many breeds that could make excellent trap line dogs. It would be hard to narrow it down.

I think a Kemmer Cur would make a real nice trap line dog, and they are good coon and squirrel dogs, 30% bobcat dogs, and commonly used for decoy coyote dogs.

[hillbilly boy]

That is what I would want is a bay dog maybe I need to look more at the jack Russel I don't think I know any of the others you called

[david]

You live in the heart of mountain cur country. People drive from all over the USA to get cur dogs from your country. It is not that easy to get a real good one, but if you did it would ruin you for life. A good cur dog will do everything you have been talking about on here (hog hunting, beaver hunting, trapping, decoying, etc). Plus most of them make an excellent family pet; inside or outside.

You would love a jag. I think they are close enough to German breeding still. You would have a very good chance of getting a real good dog if you get one. They will bay. And they will wait and watch for chances to bite. Like when that badger turns toward you to run you down, he is going to get bit in the butt. That badger will forget all about you. But jags are not suicidal. The deaths I have known were not by animals killing them. Their desire makes them prone to accidents in my experience. But they have set the standard for drive and desire in my mind.

I am not as sure of the Jack russels as they have been bred heavily for the pet market. But there are good ones out there.

But you really should become aware of the mountain curs (including the Kemmers, OMCBA, the Streak line, etc.) There are several well known breeders in your state. Mountain Curs know how to handle dangerous game without getting killed.

Check out this post, if you missed it:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=45541

[hillbilly boy]

I have had a black mouth cur are they kind of the same deal as the ones you were talking about the one I had was a great coon dog but I did not know how he would have been on a trap line because he was a hot noses dog so I didn't know how he would have done a a track from as far back as the night before pules he passed away before I started getting into trapping

[david]

I never had a black mouth cur. I was going to get one once and my friends said they were going to do an intervention and tie me up and not allow me to buy one because knowing me, they were certain I would not like one. That is about all I know of them, except I have heard they are hot nosed as you mentioned.

The Kemmers will cold trail, but not like a bloodhound cold trails.

I knew a government trapper whose dog was a blue heeler. That dog was very important to all he did. And he hunted down trapped and poisoned coyotes, some had been dead for a day or two or four, but I would not call him a cold tracker. I don't think you necessarily need real cold tracking dog. If you do, you need a hound, in my opinion.

Keep in mind, most trappers I have known did not use a dog at all. Some states it is illegal. Any help at all you get from a dog will be more than a lot of succesful trappers have (who do not use a dog).

[hillbilly boy]

Ok the one I had was the only cur dog I have ever seen maybe I should take a good look at kemmers so what I can find out about them if they are a little bit colder nosed then the black mouth they might be what I need for trapping and den working do they have the fight of the b.m.c I know that old tracker was a straight killer when he got one on the ground and he got them on the ground just about as often as he treead them

[david]

The Kemmers I had were not what I would call kill dogs, although they might eventually kill one. But that would be a big drawn out ordeal. I know there are strains that are used for hogs though. I can't see the ones I had as hog dogs but I never tried it.

I don't know how many Kemmers are in your state, but I bet hundreds. Would be nice if you could get to know a few of them. See if you can find a competition squirrel hunt or coon hunt and go on a couple casts as an observer. You will meet some good people and can pick their brain on what you are looking for.

They are all around you. You are surrounded. Surrender. Lol