bloodhound

[wisconsin hunter]

Hey guys I am just trying to get started hunting with hounds. I am planning on purchasing a started dog in the near future. However, my wife has a client that she does grooming for that is about to breed their bloodhounds and they are offering us a pup. It appeals to me since 1, its free, and 2 my wife wants it which always makes things easier.
My question is would the bloodhound pup be useful in bear hunting? I know they can track but i have heard they are slower (although both parents are fast, and smaller than usual, look more like black and tans) and I have also heard they are not good for getting a bear treed.
Any info on hunting with bloodhounds would be apreciated.
Also for the started or trained dog I will be hunting in north central wisconsin and I live in Iowa. I dont know any of the bear guys up there so if someone knows a good person to talk to about a dog that would be great.
I do know have contact with some guys in northern ia that use hounds to coon hunt, and id trust them to make me a straight deal on a dog. Would it be easy to take a coon dog and get them to run bear?
Sorry if these are stupid questions but im totally new to this.

[wisconsin hunter]

Also due to me already having bird dogs and limited space, is 2 dogs enough to get started on bear?

[Pops]

if you get the right dog, one will get you a shot at a bear.
if you get the wrong dogs 20 won't get it done.

[BBGH]

Just remember that nothing is free. After the shots, wormers, ivermec, dog houses, kennels, e collars, tracking equipment, hunting truck and dog food, you will be paying a pretty penny just to get started. Buying a dog is the cheap part. Just remember a pup is a investment and you are going to put hundreds of training hours into it. If you want to bear hunt buy a bear hound pup from proven parents. It will save you a lot of frustration in the long run. Good luck

[BuckNAze]

As long as the dog wants to hunt it can come from any parents, doesnt matter if they are proven or not. Thats just my opinion though. I will say that it is easier to get a dog out of proven parents and it may be easier to train and have more natural instinct to hunt but you can make a dog into a hunting dog if it has the drive to want to hunt. If it doesnt then there is really no point in forcing a dog of any breed to hunt if it doesnt got the will to do it. I agree that having proven parents helps out a LOT though, but is not always necessary and you can still have a damn good dog otherwise

[beaglewalkerhunter4]

As long as the dog wants to hunt it can come from any parents, doesnt matter if they are proven or not.

I agree that it doesnt NEED to have proven parents, but it increases his chances of getting goodun' by a heck of alot. but most of the time those hounds that are good out of unproven parents are those freakishly good hounds. and if you are looking to breed the hounds you get, even if you get a damn good hound out of unproven stock, then what are your chanes of producing something of that caliber again? if no proven stock is available then like bucknaze said, it doesn't need to come from great stock to be great. its what you put into him. but out of proven stock chances are the pups going to have more instinct, perhaps more wasn't the right word, better instincts. It would make life much easier with pups from proven stock. just my .02 on your post. good hunting to you.

[Mt Goat]

Just remember that nothing is free. After the shots, wormers, ivermec, dog houses, kennels, e collars, tracking equipment, hunting truck and dog food, you will be paying a pretty penny just to get started. Buying a dog is the cheap part. Just remember a pup is a investment and you are going to put hundreds of training hours into it. If you want to bear hunt buy a bear hound pup from proven parents. It will save you a lot of frustration in the long run. Good luck

I have to say listen to BBGH his words are GOLDEN and full of wisdom, and worth listening to.

You can buy a good pup for a couple hundred dollars, and you might even get one for free if you look around. BUT whats your time worth ? and are you willing to cull, give away the Bloodhound dog if he/she doesnt turn out. Get the BEST blood line you can find and afford. It WILL save $$$, Sweat, and Headaches in the long run.

I personally dont think you could go wrong, if you looked at Jeff Allen, and Mike Leonards, Nance Bred dogs. They are known for their cold noses, and are highly regarded Cat Dogs, but dont think for a minute that, that cold nose, with natural tracking ability, wont help you find and catch Bears too.

Good Luck, and Happy Hunting

[rocket]

To add a little on this subject, I personally wouldn't go with the bloodhound because some of the lines are so bred out that you don't know what you'll get. It is possible to run and tree bear with two dogs if they are both a good caliber of dog. It is also possible to take a coondog and turn it into beardog but the results are not always good. Find a bearhunter willing to take you under their wing show you the ropes a little and get you headed in the right direction. You need to learn how to walk before you can run.

[BBGH]

I agree with rocket all the way

[bearintheair]

As someone who just got into bear hunting a couple of years ago I would recomend getting an older proven dog in addition to any pups. I researched for months and finally settled on a pup from out of state, paid good money for her and was never more frustrated, she would come back to the truck after 15 minutes and want to get back in the box. So I started over, I bought a 3 year old female for less than I paid for that pup and she's turning out to be a heck of a dog. In addition she is helping train the 2 pups I do have. I keep all my dogs in the same kennel together which really helps the pack mentality, they all want to stay together with the older female. I would also recomend you try to find someone to hunt with especially if you are only going to have 2 dogs, not only to show you the ropes but the wolves are so bad up here and 2 dogs make an easier target than a pack of 6. I wouldn't recomend a bloodhound as they do seem to be slower on a track, I prefer plotts but am not color blind, there are good ones and bad ones in every breed. Hopefully your wife is understanding cause bear hunting is expensive and time consuming, it's more of a lifestyle than a hobby but damn is it fun. I'll get a divorce before I give it up Good luck!