What type of hound

[kordog]

whomever said balance yeah thats what i like and throw in some mental and physical toughness,and still get along with the pack members ,and wag their tails when the kids are playing with them or feeding them when im not around.

[poser]

Nolte, a friend of mine has a dog that will sit down and not say much at all, unless it is moving or fighting the tree climbers. She has never left a tree and back in her younger days she was one of the fastest dogs we had. She will only stay treed over night and then heads out. Trails in the dirt and rough tracks but not the best track dog by far. Handles really nice and is pretty broke but can run some trash from time to time if not hunted for a while....i would make a spot for this dog any day though. I could live with her faults.

Kordog, what is your idea of balance? You described the dog most of us would be happy owning but what are some of the things that dont make that kind of dog perfect that you could live with?

What about a dog that gets sulking..... can still put game in the tree the majority of the time. Trees good, will hold a lion for a couple of days. Can hunt his several days making big loops. Isnt afraid to pull hair but for some reason this dog went from a superstar as a young dog to if you shock or yell at some dogs,not him, he is by the horse all day until a dog hits a track and then he will be one of the ones catching it. Would you own a dog like this...?

I know im an idiot but i have never owned or seen a perfect hound and there are many different opinions of what a perfect hound would be from one person to the next. So lets break them down and see what some of the things you really like are and some of the things that you tolerated about them. It doesnt have to be your own personal dog.

This is not intended to bash anyone or breed of dog, just to get some discussion going about what you like, what you dont and what you can live with.

Thanks for the replies, jason

[kordog]

balance really in my eyes is if you only had that one dog you could get the game consistently with it here in maine .obviously if you have a treehound that dont tree ,and your a coonhunter the dog isnt balanced. here anyways . things i could live with are maybe a dog isnt as fast ,but by golly that sumbitch always has the game even by itself .i can also put up with a dog that will absolutely trash itself to the point it is no good the next day ,because it has given 110 percent . balanced doesnt mean perfect to me poser it just means well rounded in all areas for intended game and style of hunting.i understand that balance to some may mean a little something different ,because of different species and terrain different breeds etc.. their are the michael jordans of dogs out there most of us just never get to own one. all dogs are not created equal ,and that is the bottom line.finding a balance within a pack is also helpful .anybody who has run hounds for awhile usually knows about some balance .just my two cents worth from someone who doesnt balance his checkbook very well

[poser]

Kordog, thanks for the reply. That is exasctly what i am looking for... Everyone has something they like and dont like in hounds. There are things that we can all live with and things that we cant stand but you hardly hear anyone tell you exactly what those thing are or why they are selling a dog. Everyone opinion is different....some very different. And other have such high expectations that they will never be happy. Then you have those that read half the crap on here and think that every dog is a world beater.

The dog i was referring to as "not a good tree dog" has caught lots of game all by herself. Her eyes will never leave the tree when she is there but she is not gonna give you the 100 barks a minute stuff...lol Never understood that one either but to each their own.

Just trying to strike up some real conversation about dogs and throw a few examples out there good and bad....and what some of us get by with that still catches game but maybe isnt the all star.

Thanks for the replys on these subjects, jason

[kordog]

just trying to tell it how i see it when it comes to hounds i dont sugar coat it and even lost a friend ,because he took it personnel. he always found fault with everyone elses hounds ,but when i mentioned his dogs holes that was the end of the friendship .i can sugarcoat things such as the ol ladys cooking ,but when it comes to a dog i just cant my passion for hounds leads me in a different direction. nice talking with ya poser.

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Jason, my best dog is quiet at the tree as long as the animal is not moving or making noise. If the animal is active she is trying to climb the tree to drag out the lion or bear. I call it the death stare, I am sure she is doing her best to intimidate to animal.

[mn. deep dark blues]

My hounds must have a cold nose big loud bawl mouth grit and brains they must lead the pack or all should run in a pack no super fast hound that will out run the others .A hound with super speed that gets to the bear first were i hunt will most times be dead when the others get there. My hound not be ill in any way or there dead bottum line . All hounds are not the same what works for me my not work for you Poser. You live in utha i live in mn. I not color blind i like hounds that hunt and cull on the ones that wont. So if some one has a bloodhound poddle coss and they can get game treed my hats off to the guy a no one bash him for doing it because no one but no ones hounds are perfect. So theres my 2 cent worth so good hunting and rember to feed and hunt your best and cull the rest. And not worry about the next fellas hounds. thanks Buck

[kordog]

My hounds must have a cold nose big loud bawl mouth grit and brains they must lead the pack or all should run in a pack no super fast hound that will out run the others .A hound with super speed that gets to the bear first were i hunt will most times be dead when the others get there. My hound not be ill in any way or there dead bottum line . All hounds are not the same what works for me my not work for you Poser. You live in utha i live in mn. I not color blind i like hounds that hunt and cull on the ones that wont. So if some one has a bloodhound poddle coss and they can get game treed my hats off to the guy a no one bash him for doing it because no one but no ones hounds are perfect. So theres my 2 cent worth so good hunting and rember to feed and hunt your best and cull the rest. And not worry about the next fellas hounds. thanks Buck

no offense ,but that dog your talking about that is leaving the rest behind is the dog i would try to build a pack around or breed too provided it had other qualitys i like as well to each their own i just like a dog that has something a little extra under the hood.

[Nolte]

My hounds must have a cold nose big loud bawl mouth grit and brains they must lead the pack or all should run in a pack no super fast hound that will out run the others .A hound with super speed that gets to the bear first were i hunt will most times be dead when the others get there. My hound not be ill in any way or there dead bottum line . All hounds are not the same what works for me my not work for you Poser. You live in utha i live in mn. I not color blind i like hounds that hunt and cull on the ones that wont. So if some one has a bloodhound poddle coss and they can get game treed my hats off to the guy a no one bash him for doing it because no one but no ones hounds are perfect. So theres my 2 cent worth so good hunting and rember to feed and hunt your best and cull the rest. And not worry about the next fellas hounds. thanks Buck

Buck,

Have you had a few dogs killed by bear in the woods? I haven't seen it but only on occaison and then usually by an inexperienced dog or a larger pack. And who knows how it all actually went down.

Most of the lead dogs I've seen have been on a rougher bear solo from splitting off or getting out far enough and they seem to figure out to give the bear more space when they are alone. What I have seen though is some real fast young promising dogs that are get out front and get swatted a bit, then they will just start to quit on a tough one. In my opinion those dogs didn't really have the right stuff in there to begin with. We had one just like that, A1 on a running bear and worthless on a tough one. Most times dogs don't get hung out that long around here, maybe a minute or two until the others catch up. Most can hang long enough until the calvary arrives. I'd say the majority of times the dogs are all packed up pretty good to get there at the same time, but the better ones are gonna be on an island at some point. They just have something extra that makes them better than the rest. Good discussion.

[mn. deep dark blues]

Yes i had two killed so far over the years because either to fast or to gritty or both. Thats wy i like mine to run some what together . Because where we train hounds the bear get ran alot and some become dog killers. The last stuff on my other post is not pointed at Poser because if you read it sound that way but its not my hats off to the man and his hounds . My hat off to any houndsmen who run hounds of any breed. I was making a point about how hounds work in other states. Buck
.

[Nolte]

Buck,

Whereabouts in WI do you run? I am in the NW part and these bears get run a bunch. I do know of two spots with more pressure but buddies who hunt there, don't seem to see that much of a difference in bear. I have noticed some places that always seem to have snappier bears, but they are still not the majority. Some bears are just bad, most aren't. But if you do have a bad one, it's best to try and get them out of there. Otherwise they will be a PITA until they're gone.

I am curious as to what sorts of injuries those dogs got that were killed. Of the three dogs I can recount off hand that I've seen, one was bit in the back and broke the spine, one got swiped on the back of the ribs and punctured an organ, and one got a little cut in the leg but it happend to hit he artery which caused the dog to bleed out. Seen some other dogs that really got wailed, but somehow got all patched up.

Interesting conversation. Good Hunting to everybody.

[mn. deep dark blues]

One was killed by iron river 9 years ago the other 7 in ladysmith now i run with some great guys from minong. pm me mite get hook up. soory guy for changing chores

[Lost River]

I like a little of everything... Like has been said before a balanced dog is what most houndsmen want in a biggame dog. But I don't mind have a "balanced dog box" or "balanced kennel". Kinda sounds funny, but right now I have a blue dog that I am whipping into shape. She ended up in a backyard and never got hunted but I knew a lot about her breeding. She has a super nose so far and I have thinned her down a bit on my special Jenny Craig program. She isn't the fastest dog in the pack but she will work out an old track, she is coming three and never smelled a track until she was 2, should have probably put time into a pup but I liked her so she gets fed.
I have a little redticked/walker looking thing. About 35-40 lbs. Looks like you put a mini walker on steroids. She wants to climb trees, tear out of the dog box (6 inch holes in the dog box are escape ports). She is just a year old and has treed easy cats buy herself and was running with the older dogs when she was 5 months old. She has got a screw lose, but she is a kick to watch and loves to hunt. Potential to be a superstar? I hope, but she makes me laugh and puts a smile on my face.
Just picked up a 2 year old dog from Jeff Allen. Really like his build and he has a great voice. He may end up being the balanced dog, we will see. Pepper is happy to see me everyday when I come to the kennel and he completely wigs out when it comes time to hunt. High hopes for this butt sniffer.
My 8 year old son has a pup that is about 10 months old. Goswick bred and she is pretty pretty pretty. She is showing promise... but who knows. She makes my boy happy and that makes me happy. I guess I am a sucker for the next great one out there.
I like dogs for what they are and what they can be, I think that is what makes us raise the stupid things. Love looking at litter of pups and wondering who the superstar might be. When it comes down to it, most dogs bring a couple really strong traits to the table, teamed up with the right "other" dogs you can have a great little (or big) pack.
Happy hunting, Casey

[poser]

Good stuff fellas and there is no right or wrong its all just opinion like the real world.....its good to hear a different opinion. Especially when i goes against what most people think that they like in a hound.

Heres another dog for ya...

Year old been on a few lion trees, has always made the races though and will trail his own track in the snow from what i've seen. Been on one bear and was right in there doin ok but it was an easy deal. Handles good, hunts good from the ponies, seems to get around good, descent tree dog. Well been working him with some coons and when its hot and alot of the dogs are shading up this sucker just keeps plugging along BUT....the thing i hate is he is slower then hell when it gets tough, he moves a track good other then this. I have to give him credit for atleast working but i like a fast track dog....is this a dog any of you would be happy with?

On the cold nosed dog thing.....what is your opinion of a cold nosed dog? What have you compared them with? Are they just the coldest nosed dog in your pack or have you hunted with other people and that dog trailed tracks that other dog just flat can't push at all? Do you prefer a straddle track dog as a cold trailer or a dog that really pushes a cold track?

Im sure everyone is talking about a different dog as far as speed but just give your opinion on what you've seen.

Thanks, jason

[Lil Joes BigGame hounds]

Year old been on a few lion trees, has always made the races though and will trail his own track in the snow from what i've seen. Been on one bear and was right in there doin ok but it was an easy deal. Handles good, hunts good from the ponies, seems to get around good, descent tree dog. Well been working him with some coons and when its hot and alot of the dogs are shading up this sucker just keeps plugging along BUT....the thing i hate is he is slower then hell when it gets tough, he moves a track good other then this. I have to give him credit for atleast working but i like a fast track dog....is this a dog any of you would be happy with?



Thats something that wouldn't bother me to much. I probably wouldn't breed this dog but if he is there to pick up a lose every now and then he (to me) would be worth feeding. Just as long as he honors and goes with the other dogs as they move it ahead. I think of it as a team and I know Jerry Rice would have made one terrible center.

One thing I cant stand is a dog that gets its feelings hurt after you correct it on something. Especially since I have been known to hit the wrong button. I need dogs that have forgiveness in that area.


I have a dog right now that hunts pretty hard but man he is not quick in the head. I think the gears in his mental ticker are rusted. Not a big fan of that either.