build your perfect cat dog

[coastrangecathunting]

the tail on a dog can tell u alot about a dog . if it is a bloody , hair wore off , blood on both sides of the rib cage . than u can damn well say that dog is a track stradler. have had one . my dad had been out of the hunting for a few years and i bought a dog, he seen its tail and said it sure looks like u turn hot tracks into cold tracks. i think that happens alot more than people realize.
u guys have covered alot of qualities . one i have always loved was the magic of making cats just appear. have seen some specail dogs and they can disappear next thing u know they are 2 barks away from being treed and the rest of thee dogs dont have a clue what happened.

jc

[George Streepy]

the tail on a dog can tell u alot about a dog . if it is a bloody , hair wore off , blood on both sides of the rib cage . than u can damn well say that dog is a track stradler. have had one . my dad had been out of the hunting for a few years and i bought a dog, he seen its tail and said it sure looks like u turn hot tracks into cold tracks.
jc

I don't know why I find myself wanting to defend the dogs out there with a characteristic that so many want to consider bad, but I will anyway. The bloody tail track straddler is one of the biggest traits that gets bashed on here. I realize a lot of us want a dog that advances a track without going back and forth on it. I agree with that, we want to know where a cat is going, not where it has been. I have hunted with a few bloody tail track straddlers that can run right up front with these running dog crosses when they need to.

I remember a time I tagged along with an exceptional houndsmen to do some depredation lion work. He always has a very diverse pack of hounds that compliment each other well and flat out get the job done. Year after year he accomplishes what many folks on here consider a fairly tale. We turned out a few of his dogs and watched as they tried to start a lion off killed livestock. He may get a little pissed when I call his dog a bloody tail track straddler, but that is what she was when needed. The rest of the dogs could tell you there had been a lion there, but there wasn't enough for them to show us where the lion went. It may have taken that old dog of his the better part of a half hour but she did what was needed to grind that track out in the hot mid day summer sun. She showed us and all those running dog crosses where the cat went, and led the pack all the way to the tree. The thing that made that dog of his so exceptional is her ability to know when to straddle a track, and when to hit it with her high gear. And I tell you what, if that track was good enough, she ran it with her head up and right out front. But she also caught a lot of cats that very few dogs would be able to advance.

I had a male, although not quite the caliber of dog I talked about above, that had a bloody ribcage from time to time. But he didn't yo yo back and forth, and he sure as heck didn't make tracks colder. When some of the guys I hunted with would strike a track that was too old, there was a pretty good chance he could grind it out. It was boring, sometimes taking 45 minutes to an hour before any other dog barked, but when your low on cats and it is the only track to be found it was just what a guy needed. I guess what I am getting at is, I will gladly take a bloody tail and rib cage as long as they are attached to a head and nose that isn't stuck in that low gear.

[Mr.pacojack]

Seriously, you guys really believe a a dogs bloody tail makes the dog better? Or a tail at all? Something is really wrong with you guys Andy, Bird dog or not, what matters to me is when I see the cat in the tree. I could care less what it looks like as long as it is getting it done and done right. When I have to sit and look at the dogs tail and determine if it is blood, it's a good dog and if it's not blood it's not a good dog, then I will shoot the whole bunch.
Oh and Andy, when I see a flag tail I think of a English Setter.
Carry on guys.

[George Streepy]

Mr.Pacojack,

You may have misunderstood my post. JC said a bloody tail means the dog is a track straddler and makes catching bobcats look harder than it really is. My point is the tail or amount of blood on the tail means nothing when it comes to catching bobcat. It may be an indicator of a track straddling dog, but those dogs catch cats too!!

But I do think you fellas cutting off tails is somewhat sadistic. Whats next cropping the ears, maybe fitting each of them with studded collars, how about dressing them in pretty pink sweaters. How the hell did we get here????

[Mr.pacojack]

Heck if it helps, I am game for it. I just dont' see how letting your dogs get hurt and bleeding would help their preformance.
Bird dog guys and Terrier guys have been doing it for hundreds of years, not for the looks but for a reason. So the tail would not bleed and distract the dogs hunting ability.
But I guess if you think that letting your dog hunt in pain and blood dripping is not sadistic, then I am very happy for you.
Hows the hunting been for you George?

[twist]

I figured that would get you going Devin Havent heard from you in awhile hope the hunting is going great for you and everything else is great also. Andy

[Mr.pacojack]

Not me Andy. Its pretty hard to get me going. I jsut like getting you pro Bobcat hunters all fired up. Me and my bird dogs will just go run some deer. Have to stay in touch, the ol BGH has went down hill and I just lurk any more. We need to get together one of these years and go hunt before we are in the ol wheel chair. Take care buddy

[Dads dogboy]

Devin,

It seems that Bobing a Hound's tail is a regional preference!

The Hunters in South Texas have been doing it for years....their reasoning is much like yours. Hopefully South Texan will chime in on why and how they do it.

In Southern VA and most of NC you will see the "Ouside" hunted Hounds with bob tails. Yet in Central and Northen VA and almost all of SC the Hounds have "Flag" Tails.

The Bob tail Folks in the SE all have valid reasons with keeping the "Bloody" tails to a minimum. They have lots of “ANTIs” watching them closely. Any thing to keep these Radical Idiots from bothering them while they enjoying the Privilege of Hunting Hounds is worth while to do!

Now we hunt in Bad, Bad cover and do have an occasional “Bloody” tail but since we hunt alone and at night and very seldom see anybody we leave the “FLAG” tails, besides Dad love to watch them wiggle when they smell the ole Short Tail.

Too each his own as to their preference, lets not let this dissolve into the kind of Thread that will breach the friendships that the “Bobcat Section” has and will continue to develop!

[Mr.pacojack]

Oh I was just playing. I only hunt bobcats to put them on a stretcher and make some extra money. Don't claim to be a pro like these other guys. Just a Idiot with some bird dogs that catches a few cats. Nothing serious. Have fun guys and good hunting. i will go back to lurking

[George Streepy]

Mr.pacojack,

I prefer you razz away, it is better to know what your up to than to know your lurking around in the shadows. I always forget that no one can tell the tone of your voice with out using one of theses stupid things.

It takes a lot more than a hound forum to get me going most the time. I like the jokes and such, no reason to be to serious all the time.

[Tim Pittman]

I raised and trained cowdogs for part of my income for awhile.I used to cut all their tails off until a couple of well thought of respected trainers/breeders talked me into leaving the tails on part of a litter and docking the half the litter.There's a huge difference in how balanced those dogs are at a run when they turn a corner,when they swim a creek,when they go across a log etc. etc. etc. the tail serves as rudder of balance through the spine and drastically effects the hind quarter movement on most dogs.I personally clip off about a 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch off at 3 days old along with the dew claws on the hounds,and this solves the bloody tail problem and soreness in snow or harsh brush on the dew claws.

[al baldwin]

Was not going to respond to this post, but since everyone seems to be having fun with it Iwill chime in. George said it better than I could have. But I have had some of the same experiences as he described. Also had heard that dogs used thier tails for balance as Tim stated. Thanks to you hunters, this is the only social life I have and enjoy reading your comments. The perfect hound for me would be any that would catch 8 of 10 cat jumped, on a consistent bases. I have a few that might fill in any desired traits they are short on. Good hunting to all Al