Western OR hunters i need ur help.

[CatCrazed]

Ok so here is my situation this is my second season and I can't catch a cat. I have a 6yr old walker that was supposed to be a finished cat dog. I don't know where his fault is I've only got to hunt with more experienced guys a few times. He's Hell on coons on cat he will strike from the box he starts the tracks walks logs stretches high on the tree to locate cold trails circles back when ever he makes a loose. But I haven't seen any cats. I was told this dog trained the last guys young dogs and caught 21 cats and 6 lions last season 4 months I didnt buy the dog under tree or with a garuntee. Cause I hunted him a few days and tought I saw the correct traights some times he barks at the same track to much and others he's so fast he over runs. He is hunted in bad company 2 young dogs. I need someone in experience to help.at this point I'm about ready to sell out as coon dogs cause gas is killing me with no game. Since Sept 1st I've hunted at least 50 days. I'm willing to pay your fuel or come to u or meet in the woods Idk what a fair price would be for your help. But I'm about to give up on my dogs. I have tried walking out tracks but the snow has just been crap in my area. Thanks Bryan

[CatCrazed]

Btw I figure the fault is with me something I'm not doing not reading the trail/race correct and stopping the dogs or Idk. I have herd the cats get run a lot where I hunt.

[twist]

You stated you are hunting him with bad company. Hunt him by himself and see what he can produce. That is the one biggest problem with new hunters is they have to have a bunch of dogs. Take the so called experianced dog hunt him and learn from him and then at a later date bring in another younger dog to start hunting. Andy

[Stacer hounds]

If i lived closer i'd be more then willing to help ya.What i'd do is run him alone see what happens then try running one pup at a time with him.Then i would try your pups out see what they got one of them might suprise ya.That old dog might only be a hot nosed dog he might not be a cold nose dog.Good luck dont give up if ya have to sellem and start fresh.

[CatCrazed]

I have had him on some tracks alone. He has a decent a decent nose ive seen him trailing ice frozen tracks. I'm sure ive had the young dogs blow it out on him a few times but i dont think thats the major problem. One young dog I shouldnt even take as she doesnt get it at all but she hasnt been displaing any bad habits so i just keep taking her. The other one is a gamey smart little dog just hasnt put 2+2 together quite yet. Thanks for the PM's and info so far.

[riverrun1986]

Was your older dog hunted in the same kind of country u hunt or was he hunted in wide open country before u bought him

[CatCrazed]

Pretty much the exact same country the exact cats im hunting mite be more educated but the terrain is the same. I'm gunna try hunting him by himself on a couple tracks if we ever get some snow.

[cobalt]

Don't bother with the snow. If he is a straight cat dog just road him in good cat country and let him start his own track. At the very least you will keep him in shape.
Have you caught any coon with him? You say he's hell on coons. Straight cat dogs DO NOT run coons. You say he straddles a track sometimes, then he over runs other tracks (drifts). This seems to be a contradiction. How many cats have you put him on? My guess is if you've put him on at least 10 good tracks and haven't caught one then you probably bought a counterfeit dog. Not having seen the dog, the tracks you've put him on, and everything else, this is all guesswork. knowing the area you hunt and the area you got him from might help.

[CatCrazed]

Don't bother with the snow. If he is a straight cat dog just road him in good cat country and let him start his own track. At the very least you will keep him in shape.
Have you caught any coon with him? You say he's hell on coons. Straight cat dogs DO NOT run coons. You say he straddles a track sometimes, then he over runs other tracks (drifts). This seems to be a contradiction. How many cats have you put him on? My guess is if you've put him on at least 10 good tracks and haven't caught one then you probably bought a counterfeit dog. Not having seen the dog, the tracks you've put him on, and everything else, this is all guesswork. knowing the area you hunt and the area you got him from might help.

I never said straight cat dog. He is bear broke, Yes I've caught coons with him there is not many coons in the area I hunt and the main road along river is busy so its a little hard to hunt. But he will catch coon. As far as contradictions well lets say the snow is a week on the track looks perfect for sure a bob track but hard in the bottom ill dump him point to the track he opens right up goes 10 yards and will smell a track and bark 3-4 time skip 3-4 track smell bark 3-4 times to me that is slow barking and not progressing, then other times he will be trotting as in I cant really keep up but not running the cat will jump on a log or go through some super tight brush where the track changes course hell run rite off the end and have to circle/ work back to pick up the track. Once into a huge rock slide i on a fresh track inch snow he couldnt stay on that track consistantaly. As far as fresh last night idenifiable good know more than 4hrs old prob 6-8 so not many but ive had tons of dirt wet/dry strikes and or roading into a track that have never turned out kinda stuff.

[cobalt]

You're right. You said "finished" cat dog. I am trying to help, believe it or not, and it is somewhat hard to understand what exactly is going on. I assume you've never run cat or had a cat dog. It sounds like you've run 6 to 8 tracks of which a couple are somewhat fresh, yet the dog doesn't move it out like he's been shot out of a cannon. Trotting will not catch a cat. Missing turns is ok if the track has age, but not on a jumped track. Have you ever had a cat jumped with him? My suggestion is keep the dog in shape until you get a good snow and then go hunting. If you find a track, put him on it. If he putts around, put him back in the truck and either go find it fresh or find another cat. A fresh track will at least let you know what he's got under the hood. Also it would be best to run a tom as they are much easier to catch. If by the end of the season he has been put on at least 10 fairly hot tracks and not caught a one, then it might be time to pull the plug. Unless you live where there is a high population of cats or are an experienced cat hunter, it might take a lot of fuel to fill your card and really enjoy the whole cat huntin thing. If you don't have the funds, it can be very difficult to get out of the "want" catagory of cat hunter to the "am" catagory.

[TRW]

I would go to hunting him at night you may be cold trailing all over the place that frozen weather we have had some of them older dogs that want to trail them old tracks can make things seam like you have a better track than you do don't let him piddle around with that old stuf go on a cold nose dog in good tracking conditions will waste your whole day if you can't use his tool in the right manner i live around Corvallis if you want come load up if he isn't bad around the tree where did the dog come from most all dogs that made cat dogs are known by name

[CatCrazed]

Guess a should have was said as a "truck to tree capable on cats". Thanks for the help its hard for me to explain to like I said in one post I think i'm part of the fault. I have never owned a cat dog and ive only hunted with experiance hunters litterly like 4 times. I always ask tons of ?'s and try to fig it out on my own I also try to read up on here alot. I do not believe I've had a jumped cat ive had races that he moved pretty damn fast and tought maybe. I had one track in snow that crossed in my tire track behind us as we were trailing so I know is was not more than an hr old but the track did not look as if the cat was running for its life. The trailing was hard at that point the cat was zig zagging down a 100 yard wide 1/2 mi at least long rock slide. The dogs and I could barely walk it. I falled that day because I quit the track be cause the rock slide just seemed to go forever and I can only walk so far lol. Maybe I'm just expecting to much cause the few older guys i have hunted with almost made it look like a coon hunt. LOL

[Unreal_tk]

Cat,

Cobalt is a very good asset to have on your side. I've never hunted with him but I know people who have. He's hunted cats around your country for a long time before he moved to idaho. So I hope you gain some knowledge from him, I sure have.

Thanks.

[cobalt]

Thanks t, I probably won't be able to help much, but it does interest me for my own curiosity. Help over the internet can work sometimes, but without seeing what's going on conclusions are really just guesswork and even seeing it can be tough. I think it would be a good idea to hunt with an acknowleged cat dog in your area. A dog doesn't need to be a superstar to catch cats, but they do need to possess at least a few traits to be able to get underneath a cat in order to put an accepable percentage on the board. Because the cat is walking doesn't mean much other than it doen't feel an immediate threat to its life. It will usually run to just get enough time ahead to continue to walk or trot if it can. When a good dog or a pack of good dogs is pressuring a tough cat then there will be quite a bit of running on both sides. If your dog never gets to the point of racing through the woods on the track, I would say he is going to catch a very low percentage. There are many dogs out there that look great on track in every way, but never catch a cat. I don't know why, but they are good coon, bear, lion, feral cat catchers that just can seem to put the finish on a bobcat unless another dog is with them, maybe it's locate, maybe it's pressure, maybe it's just desire. Putting the dog in different scenarios may help you come to an accurate conclusion. No one catches everything they run.

[getnertreeed 3]

hey man give me call im in scappoose,oregon 503-369-9322 txt or call