# of hounds

jlyman · Post by **jlyman** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 2:52 am

new to the bear hunting world and was just wondering how many hounds that you should have to run bears. I have been told that you don't run with less that 6 hounds I have 1 right now but going to get one more pup this winter so he will be ready for next season. So i hope that you can do with two.

Jim

reed · Post by **reed** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 3:31 am

I have six right now as well, but I wouldn't call any of them a bear dog, just started bear dogs. All of them are 3 or younger. I have heard some guys say that if you are not catching most bear with four dogs you are probably hunting the wrong four dogs.

rich h · Post by **rich h** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 8:23 am

JLYMAN...you'll most likely get a lot of different opinions on this question. Here's mine.

If you want to pleasure hunt, just hunt 3 or 4 dogs and spend a lot of time on handling, trash breaking, etc. It'll be a lot more enjoyable than trying to juggle 6 dogs by yourself. And I agree with what Reed said, "if you need more than 4 dogs, you're hunting the wrong kind of dog.

That statement will no doubt upset some folks...but, that's my opinion and I didn't learn it sitting on the tailgate.

Good luck with your efforts...and don't be bashful about asking folks on here for advise. It'll save you from lots of aggrivation!

ryan goodwin · Post by **ryan goodwin** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:41 pm

i agree i only hunt 3 to 4 on bear and the same dogs i use on cat to. my exp i have found that the guys that turn 6 our more dogs on a bear that really only a few are right there with the bear they seem to get strung out then when they tree most of the dogs have time to catch up just my oppion.

jlyman · Post by **jlyman** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 5:43 pm

thanks guys I forgot to add that the guy told me the reason for running more is if you have a tuff bear the more numbers the better you chance of getting him up with out getting your dogs killed. But i'm in it for the pleasure of watching my dogs work and if it takes a mile longer than it is that much more time that i'll get too enjoy the hunt. But i would sure love 10 or more hounds after the ol bear atleast once.

jim

crushhpd · Post by **crushhpd** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 6:53 pm

My opinion is dont' hunt more dogs than you can lead. A good pack of 3-4 dogs can tree any bear out there. I know you will get a lot of different opinions, but I would say 5-6 is a good number and you really shouldn't need anymore. I hunt with three dogs and hunt with a lot of guys that own more than three dogs, but only hunt three at a time. I have seen one dog, tree a many of bear, if it is trained correctly and bred right

Good luck

chris · Post by **chris** » Sun Sep 23, 2007 6:29 pm

we have had as many as 30 on a bear and as less as 2 if its in teh dog he will bay or put that black bear in a tree

bearcat · Post by **bearcat** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:19 pm

I run half a dozen dogs and when I hunt with another guy or two it gets to be a lot of dogs. You only need 3-4 to catch any bear if they are the right dogs, but I run a mixed pack of males and females. So somebody is always getting left at home because a female is in heat, or a dog is hurt or something. Plus I always have a couple of young dogs that are just learning and aren't necessarily a lot of help. My dogs handle well but I remember this spring having 7 dogs on a leash,plus my gun and pack, and being about 20 feet from the tree when the bear bailed in plain sight of all the dogs. I was by myself and trying to lead that many dogs away under those circumstances is something everybody should try at least once. :lol:

pogo56 · Post by **pogo56** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:32 pm

the weekend before last we had a bear put a whoooooooopppppppppeeennnnnnn on 5 hounds....they knicked named the bear popcorn....cuz he would pop in to a tree and pop out...he was popen on dogs and after humans.....we caught another bear on the ground with 5 dogs sunday....and when i seen the bear the first time it was taken all 5 to hold that bear still...in a big 50 acre feild...when i finaly caught up with the dog for the 2nd time....i was 30 yards from the bear and there were only three dogs holding the bear....there was some cover but not much.....the bear put a hurten on 2 dogs....they couldent help much...we never treed that bear....he was killed on the ground....we have only treed two bear this year.....soooo my opnion....if your just starten...by your self...you can start out with two dogs...but dont get to excited if you dont seen anything.....once them dogs are started good...get some more....you never never never (in my opnion) want to be standing at your tail gait looken at your BEST dog bandaged up in the dog box wishen you had just one more.....so get as many as you need but never more than you can handel....dont go out and buy 6-8 pups...but spread the age differance out....2-3 3+ year old dogs 2 1-2 year olders
and maby a pup arround 6 months......here you have your start dogs...some young dogs to pack in on good hot bear and then you have a pup to take to the tree.....this is the way it should go....but if your hunten with a group.....2 dog is just bout perfict.....

Bearkiller · Post by **Bearkiller** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:47 pm

Most guys you find hunting 4 dogs would be in trouble if they lost one specific dog of the four. Thats what usually drives guys to have 6-8 dogs. Hoping more than one will make a top dog. Most of those guys are usually rotating their bottom teir of dogs. If you have someone to hunt with I would stick with 2-3 dogs and maybe one pup. If all I could own was 2 dogs, I'd bear hunt with 2 dogs. I wouldn't worry about how many dogs I had. It may only take 4 dogs to catch a bear but you won't find a whole lot of people catching a ton of game feeding only 4 dogs.

raisenhellwithblueticks · Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:08 am

the guys i hunt with the one guy i hunt with hunts with 6 and the my cousin hunts with 6 and my friend hunts with 4 and i hunt 3 so we usually hunt with about 17 dogs every weekend and they all get the job done

raisenhellwithblueticks · Tue Sep 25, 2007 12:09 am

the guys i hunt with the one guy i hunt with hunts with 6 and the my cousin hunts with 6 and my friend hunts with 4 and i hunt 3 so we usually hunt with about 17 dogs every weekend and they all get the job done

jlyman · Post by **jlyman** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:00 am

thanks I think that I will shoot for three because my said no more than I could start buying her dogs to go with mine. thanks for the help.

Jim

Nolte · Post by **Nolte** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 7:36 pm

There really isn't any right answer for this question because it depends on a lot of different things. You'll tree darn near every bear that you can tree with 6 dogs or less. Especially if you can put in 6 fresh solid dogs on a bear that has been run for awhile with a different 6 dogs.

For training, I like to have 3-4 fairly solid dogs and a couple of pups learning the ropes. To kill one I want the 4-6 best ones we've got.

If you are hunting 5+ days a week, you are going to need more than 6 dogs in your yard if you want to run hard. You might be able to get by if all 6 are real solid. Heck even if you are a weekender with the occaisonal odd day like me, 6 sometimes isn't enough. Numerous things happen that will lay a dog up. For most guys if the WRONG dog is layed up, your success goes down pretty quick.

This is the one thing that is always overlooked by people starting out. You don't need a pile of dogs you need ONE dog that will run well first. Once you get one and feel your way around, then get another.

Ike · Post by **Ike** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:50 pm

I've treed lots of bear with two or three dogs and a number of bears with only one hound. And for the most part, three or four dogs are gonna give most bears lots of trouble and will eventually cause that bear to climb. They may spend some time on the ground before they do though--even the rough bears will eventually climb to get rid of the constent harrasment from a small pack of gritty dogs that won't quit.

However, it has been my experience that more hounds will usually cause the bear to climb faster. I had a boar give me trouble a few years back with seven pretty good bear hounds on him, he fought them all afternoon and they began quiting him just before dark. He was the kind of bear that liked to single out the hounds one by one in an attempt to run them off.

Well, I had twelve hounds in camp and loaded them all the following day.......and when they hit that bear it was nothing but a foot race to the tree. More is better if they are the kind of dogs that will finish on the bear and put lots of pressure on him. But six good bear hounds are gonna make about anything climb or wish it had......................

I use to hunt three or four hounds but somehow that pack has grown to nine dogs strong. If I'm hunting a week long hunt I split them up and try to give them a day off every second or third day. However, if it's just a weekend deal or I have a bear to kill they all get loaded.

ike

# of hounds

# of hounds

depends

number of dogs

# of dogs

3 of dogs

3 of dogs