topline cat dogs

[coondogger80]

Hi there y'all, I was first exposed to coon hunting about three years ago. I bought a bluetick for 150 dollars but unfortunately had to get rid of him due to unhappy neighbors. Since then I moved and would like to purchase another hound. I have this ever increasing desire to run bobcats
instead of coons though and would like to know if someone could maybe give me some of the names of some of the top notch cat dogs that are out there. You know super cold nosed, good track and tree dogs. I would like to contact the owners to buy pups! thanks!

[Shorty]

You need to He has some cold nosed cat dogs with the bloob to prove it. Just give him a shout he has a litter on the ground now. Or at least rweal soon.

[coondogger80]

thanks shorty! but I'm kinda new to this whole email thing and I'm still tryn to figure it out. Maybe I just missed it, but who should I contact, who has the cold nosed dogs with the blood to prove it? thanks again.

[Shorty]

Sorry about that i must have got side tracked. Get ahold of Mike Leonard he has a litter on the ground now that are out of some real cat dog blood.

[Travis Stirek]

JMHO but one backed by years of experience,forget the pups,Save your pennies(actually hundred dollar bills) and buy yourself one or two finished cat dogs and let them teach you how to be a cat hunter.As you may have read on alot of other posts on this board,bobcat hunting is an art,and not one you want to be trying to teach pups until you have an idea what you are doing.Two "GOOD" cat dogs will teach you more in a couple of years than ten years of reading opinions on this or any other board.Three years of coon hunting is just getting your desire going and I promise you that you will save yourself money in the long run and ALOT of grief if you will follow this advice.Coon and cat hunting only have two things in common dogs trail and dogs tree.Patience is definitely one thing a top cat hunter must possess.If you aren't a patient person forget it.Back when I mostly hunted bobs,there would be windy nights that it may take a dog literally hours to finally figure out which tree that cat was in.Nothing is cooler than a bob treed though,I always like to use this analogy,Coon and bear usually have that "DUH" look when they are treed,lion have that "Shut them up please" look,but bobs have that"damn I zigged when I shoulda zagged and how can I get out of this" look.Like I said there are so many things that are different,heres another example,with you being a coonhunter how pissed would you be if after locating for a half hour you walk in and your dog is treeing into the wind and the tree it "appears" he's treeing "at" is empty but the cat is the next tree over.As a coon hunter your gonna be pissed but as a cat hunter you realize that may be the only place in the whole woods he can locate it,good boy.The old man that taught me so much put it in terms that were easy to understand.When a bear or a coon tree they go right up to the bottom of the tree and climb,lion usually will also,but when a bob thinks he's getting enough heat to climb he may jump from ten feet back and catch wood tan feet up,now that visual really makes a person appreciate a cat dog that can,and heres the key word,consistently locate cats.Well I'll quit rambling but hope you have fun whatever course you take as bobcat hunting is awesome.

[blackpaws]

do what travis said and be sure to get good references when you do decide to buy a dog or two. it seems like whenever someone puts a "finished" cat dog up for sale it's the best cat dog that ever run. just be sure what you are getting!

[ryan goodwin]

Im with travis and blackpaws, i would spend the money and get a bobcat dog but be prepaird to spend a little doe they are not cheep and are hard to find. sure somebody allways has a cat dog for sale but in 24 years of hunting a bobcat dog is the cream of the crop, bear,lion,and coon dogs can be bought a dime a dozen but a good bob dog, i would not buy without refs and hunting with the dog. I know guys that have bob dogs and you wouldnt get them for nothing less then 6,000 our more. If somebody has bobcat dog they usally are not for sale becouse they are a one of a kind dog in my oppion

[coondogger80]

Hey everybody I really appreciate all your help! And it brings quite a bit of comfort to me that theres been 3 or 4 of you, that are all saying the same thing, That ya'll agree. But man, 6000 dollars! That's an awful pricey amount! would it do me just as good to purchase a couple of good started cat dogs?

[Spanky]

Travis has a valid point starting up with a finished hound but I would like to add one more thing and that is go hunt with the hound and I do not mean just one time. Try to look at the hound under several conditions, weather being one of them. Also look at the hounfd alone and then with company.
As for $6000 dollars I have always got a kick out of the pacific coast pricing. There are far better hounds out there that won;t cost you several mortgage payments in my opinion.

[D/S-hunter]

that is good advice spanky.allway's try a dog but better yet know what you want and what to look for.

[Travis Stirek]

Hey everybody I really appreciate all your help! And it brings quite a bit of comfort to me that theres been 3 or 4 of you, that are all saying the same thing, That ya'll agree. But man, 6000 dollars! That's an awful pricey amount! would it do me just as good to purchase a couple of good started cat dogs?

Heres were your cat training begins"PATIENCE".You won't have to spend $6000,just be patient and shop and plug your ear LOL FINISHED DOG,not started not pups FINISHED.You'll be money and happiness ahead. Just remember your wanting to jump into what I and many many others feel is the toughest animal to catch consistantly with hounds.Even one season with one top cat dog and not hunting anything with it but just learning what cats do(not what dogs do,your a coon hunter you already know that)but what cats will do,will further your hound hunting knowledge invaluabily.Good luck as I forgot and the guys have told you buying a cat dog with out seeing it go several times is not a good idea.You may not have to pay quite as much as Ryan said but you will have to pay every bit as much as a TOP coondog or a little more,however remember thats just money saved in that someone else has put out the money to finish that dog.With fuel being what it is take a pencil and write down every expense you could incur buying,starting and finishing that dog(keep in mind your inexperience) and I would almost guarantee you'll save money buying a finished dog.You will never ever regret getting to hunt bobcats solely for a season.

[Mike Leonard]

I agree with Travis< starting out at the cat game is an awesome task. Yes Shorty and thanks to you, I do have some very powerful cat dog blood and these pups are what you need to start a new cat dog, but unfortunatly the first litter is all gone.

Her's lies the rub boys, finished bobcat dogs that are consistant are seldom available and if the are less than 8 years old and they are good command 10-20 thousand dollars. Yes I am talking about a real cat dog if you can buy one. You can buy a good lion or bear dog for five grand you can by a gummer pup trainer for 1500 but you can"t touch a real cat dog unless you are ready to turn loose of some real lettuce. So where does that leave you?

I had a guy stand under a bobcat tree with a huge beautiful tom in it one day and look at my late great Kate dog and said. Here's a check it's signed you just fill it out.Stupid me I handed it back to him and shook my head. She is dead now, and if I had to do it all over again I would hand it back again. Hey who ever said cat hunters were smart? LOL!

[Mel White]

spanky a $6000 cat dog from a reputable cat hunter out here is just a nice balanced dog, not a super star. theres only a few guys anymore that catch a lot of cats that sell a good dog every now and then. if you buy a good bobcat dog from the western OR or WA it will kick ass anywhere else. because of our weather, brush and terain and the way these cats run. i, like everyone else said would look for a trained dog if you are just starting out. you will be money and time ahead in the long run.

[Spanky]

well to each their own Mel, hound prices are basd on what an individual is willing to sell it for and what a person is willing to pay for it. I have seen my far share of hounds over the past 30 years and have yet to see one worth $6000.

[R Severe]

Coondogger, one other thing no one has touched on. If there's a true bob hunter within a hundert miles, beg, pled, weasel or whatever to go with him/her on a hunt. Make that about five years worth of hunts. Sometimes these older bob hunters are looking for help getting to the tree instead of hanging up the dog leash. They will give you info that you may only get five or six years later when you have the experiance to do so.

You can start learning the art of handling bob dogs, and learn tons about these little cats that drive a lot of houndsman nuts. Good luck on your quest, it's a good one.