Running dogs on multiple species

[tombstonekennel]

I'm sure this has been discussed over and over, but I am new to the big game hound world. I have talked to several people in length on the subject, but am seeking advice from others. What are your thoughts on running multiple species with the same dog? The species I was thinking on running would be coon, Bobcats, and bear. My main reason for wanting to do this is to be able to run my dog practically year round on game that is optimal to run during that part of the year, an example would be running bobcats in winter instead of trying to find a coon track.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HOGMAN]

I have not hunted bobcat or bear, but i would think that coons are everywhere and if so, you will never know what you have in the tree before you get there, Dogs get confused, the same dog i do believe can do bear and coon but i dont know about bobcats too all with one dog, maybe if you had another strike dog to find the bobcats he would run em, but then he might wanna run bobcats instead of coon the next time you take him..

[tombstonekennel]

Where I coon hunt there isn't bear or cats so that's an advantage but after leaving a bear bait its a crab shoot to know what will be in the tree was my thought. Im not overly concerned with walking into a coon tree when expecting a bear tree, my main concern would be screwing the dog up.

[justahunter]

You will be fine . 85% of us out west use our dogs for bear lion bobcat and coon. They may not be the best at all of them but get job done .

[tombstonekennel]

Thanks, I figured it would be better for the dog if he could run more often


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pegleg]

There's a lot of variables that go into it. Some people swear it can't be done some say only certain combinations or certain areas. The only way you will know is to try it. In areas that are heavier in game numbers it seems less acceptable. I don't run bear with my dogs much I've found they can get lazy on cats and since that's primarily what I hunt it just doesn't work. We don't have many coons but they can be about anywhere. I don't care if they tree them it usually doesn't take much time out of the day and doesn't tire the dogs out like chasing bears all over the country does.plus if there is another coon its likely to be in the next branch not two canyons over like bears. But if my cat season was short I would look for other things to run. If you have all your seasons broken up running everything you can does help. The rule there is start the dog on the harder species first and add to them slowly as he masters each one. Seems backwards but does work better from my experience

[tombstonekennel]

Thank you for the advice, I live and hunt in WI. And I primarily coon hunt from central to southern wi, where there are no bears or bobcats. And would primarily hunt bobcats in winter. Just to give you some more informstion


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pegleg]

Well give it a shot. Its not politically correct but its a lot easier to let your dog know what to hunt when you know what its trailing to begin with snows a big help in this. And if you have a stable routine its easier for your hound to pick up on.
When you take your bird dog to the creek it expects ducks when your hunting fields he expects pheasant. Hounds can figure it out too .

[tombstonekennel]

That was kind of my thought process but wanted to hear what people with much more experience then myself had to say about it. Or the pros and cons to it as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cfanno01]

I run bobcat and coyote in michigan in the winter. In my experience the dogs usually stay on the same game that they were put down on, which is easy to control in the snow. cant remember the last time they switched from a cat track to a yote or vice versa. Most guys i run into are using the same dogs for bear in summer and cats in winter.

[Kyle D7]

In Idaho most people run there dogs on multiple game. I'm mainly a bear hunter but we only have 5 months of bear season in the units I hunt in. I run lions and bobcats during the winter. Are my dog's great cat dog's no but they get the job done. I recommend focusing on the main game you want to hunt and build your pack around that game species. Then let them run the other stuff in the other seasons. Good luck

[not color blind]

If your bear baits have a lot of coon on them you may be wading into a 'few' coon trees when your trying to bear hunt. Up to your zipper in swamp water for a coon when your trying to chase bears may get old quick.

[smithm6517]

Hello everyone I am from upstate SC. I currently coon hunt, but would like to get into hunting cats. I know we have bobcats here, but it is rumored we also have cougars. I am new to hunting cats, and am hoping for advice. I have a older bluetick that is a coon dog and a 6 month old mountain cur that I want to start on cats, how hard do you think it will be to get the blue dog to run cats? Also any tips on training the cur dog. Also what is the best way to train or see if you have a good dog or get one to start RIGGIN? Thank you

[bchoundman]

I run lions, bobcats, lynx, and bears. I tree the odd cat in bear season the dogs wants cats worse. But 30lions a year and 100 bears give or take. My dogs do fine.