Opinions

[dwalton]

Opinions, we all have them and it is human nature to believe that our opinions are the way it is. Which for our experience and limited knowledge is the way it is for us. There are many different breeds of hounds and many crosses and types within each breed each has a purpose and area which they work best. Opinions are usually based on our experiences, which no matter who you are they are limited. If you run bear there is a type of dog that works for you the same for coon,hogs, bobcat or lion. A type that can excel at what and where you hunt and how you handle your dogs. I would not ask my bobcat dogs to be bear dogs even though some do well at it. AS far as dogs that are good at all game I have seen and owned some that were, but when you do run all types of game or have a hard going, high energy dog you will have to break them. Where with me only running bobcat introducing pups to the bobcats that I bring home during kill season, choosing a dog that is easy going and not hyper and has a handle on them at a young age[ to come on command and a verbal no] I have dogs that have never been broke from trash, they are just hunting one game. With that being said those same dogs put in with a strange pack will run off game. Thats only one reason not to run with other hunters. Opinions are just opinions if they work for you great, if they limit you just maybe one should consider others as pinion as to what they are [ someones beliefs as how they see things] and just maybe there is something to be learned from them. Dewey

[johnadamhunter]

Well stated

John Sumrall

[barksalot]

Well said. I cull for traits that some others value; and others would cull for the very traits that I value. And training methods that work with my type of dog would fail with differently natured dogs.

[davidg1!]

I agree to have areally straight dog you shoud only hunt one game.

[al baldwin]

[dhostetler]

Yes almost all opinions are based on experiences. I agree running only straight bobcats and having good solid bobcat dogs to start pups with can help with having no trash problems.

I like to hunt year round and all cat and bear species, so I will probably never have straight dogs of anything. It is also my opinion that 90%+ catch rate bobcat dogs are easier to come by than 90%+ catch rate bear dogs. This opinion is probably not shared by many on here, especially the bobcat forum.

[dwalton]

dhostetler: When I hunted bear for a living I had a little 1/2 running walker that treed almost every bear she was put on many the next day. I got called one time to help catch a bear that was hard on dogs. We turned dogs lose from three different packs after 5 hours they were all back to the rig except her. She bayed the bear for 17 more hours by herself. She never tried to grab a bear, just get right in it's face and bark every breath. I watched her many times about 18 inches from a bear face barking. She never got caught by a bear until her old age slowed her down. I did not kill the bear, I went in and watch them bay it but chose not to kill it without a paying client. Good bear dogs are hard to beat but in my opinion far easier to come by them good bobcat dogs. In areas one can hunt bobcat all year with good success. Just my opinion. Good hunting.Dewey

[dhostetler]

Dewey, that is what I would call an exceptional bear dog. I had a loose Bruce Walker dog that would bay a bear by himself for hours and the only time he ever got nailed by a bear was when I made a bad shot and he piled it as soon as the gun went off. If I would have three 5 year old dogs like him there would be very few bears that I couldn't catch. I have always struggled a lot more with having a what a call a good bear dogs, but after having had 2 dogs in my hunting career that I called true bear dogs I sometimes wonder if maybe those two were so exceptional that all other dogs, I have owned I am doing a disfavor by measuring them against those two.

[dwalton]

That's the problem with owning a exceptional dog, all others just don't measure up. I think a lot of hunters have not been lucky enough to own a great dog that caught almost every thing they were turn out on. But it can ruin you for hunting mediocre dog that maybe a good dog but not quite up to what we remember the greats to be. Dewey

[barksalot]

And until a hunter has had a truly exceptional dog; there is no point telling him about the one that you had because he has no experience to enable him to understand or even believe you.

[Unreal_tk]

I think a lot of hunters just don't hunt enough to make a exceptional dog. Pretty sure if you hunt, you'll have at least one in your pack at any given time. Just my opinion

[mark]

I wonder if peoples opinions differ on the definition of an exceptional dog?

[merlo_105]

There is No Doubt some if not most people see exceptional differently. I don't have any exceptional dogs I have a few cull's that get lucky. I have seen a few that I thought were pretty stand out... Might be exceptional

[al baldwin]

Has anyone noticed the longer a dog is dead the more exceptional they seem to become? Al

[mondomuttruner]

Ain't that the truth Al.....lol