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There were 8 dogs ..... Track log was full and didnt show a couple that day evidently

Al, That's pretty interesting would be confusing to see I guess. To all, How do you know them cat's are for sure running around on there own track? I know they do seen it a few times. Twice this year i had someone ride along with me and bring there dog's first track was a lion my dog's rigged it 100 yards ahead of the truck they came off and got it going took it across two creeks flat out moving got up on a bench and was tree'd the lion made a circle in there. The other persons dogs were flat screaming running around and around and coming off the circle like they were running a new circle possibly drifting the scent. While the whole time mine were tree'd. The guy figured mine false tree'd and his dogs were hot on it's ASS. I laughed we walked in once his dog's settled down and tree'd with mine. There was a lion sitting there. This happen'd again different dogs and it was a short tail. Now those dog's are nothing special so that's one excuse but if he was by himself and that had happend a person would have thought differently. You would assume they got it out of there and tree'd.

Got to love a good race like that Mark.

Merlo, first you trudge through knee deep water into the nastiest tagalder swamp there is and get where their circling, find yourself a 5 inch tamarack tree and get yourself up it and you can watch the whole race. I don't shoot any so you get to watch the cat several times. Oh, and tracks in the snow don't lie....

I saw the cat in front of mine last week a couple of times, so I know it was right in front of them at least when I saw it.
Mark, what is the time frame of that race, how long did he circle and run dydos, how'd it end?

HAHA, That sounds awesome and horrible at the same time. I try to get in when the cat's dancing for the dogs and get to see some of it. No tree's I'm gonna shimmy up falling hurts these days. Yes people who hunt snow might get to see some of that stuff I try to avoid that cold stuff. I'm sure most here know's what there dogs are doing and they know if that's cat circling or if the dogs are screwed up and so on. Was just kinda a weird deal to see that happen twice almost back to back. I try to avoid hunting with others unless I know there dogs for reasons like that.

Merlo, I know what you were getting at. Years ago I hunted with a guy with a dog that any newbe would think was awesome. Barked, a lot.. after a winter of hunting with this dog I came to the conclusion that when he stopped barking, he lost the cat 10 minutes ago. I was in the woods a lot and saw what he was doing. Guys out on the road sure thought he was a good dog...lol Sure, eventually he would come up with cat, I just didn't like how he did it. Dog was circling but the cat was long gone..

That's some crazy stuff I have seen a dog like what you described not as bad But seen the dog over shoot a track by 200 yards giving mouth like it was sight running it. Finally the dog shut it's mouth and went to the other dogs.

The dogs jumped the cat about mid slope of a big canyon and he ran straight down hill to the bottom. The creek bottom was about 30-50 yards wide and full of blow downs and mini log jams with lots of brush. Probably ran for 20 minutes and treed. I wish i knew how to put videos up on here, have some things talked about on here on film.

Yes al I said 10 feet of the track. Dogs will run the scent funnel which may be off the track but if they are running the scent funnel they are on the cat. I have seen cat tracks walking a road from one side to the other a dog should straighten the track out and just maybe they smell it off the brush where the cat scent blew to. If a dog trails a bobcat track for track you had better take a lunch, it's going to take a while and you will probably never get a good jump. Al I thought you have cat hunted some? Dewey

Dewey you mentioned you like a dog to swing out here and there how often does the swinger make a jump? I'll have a dog swing out wide ahead and to the sides often jumping the Cat ahead of the pack and on average making that good of a jump the whole back is riding that cat to catch or tree in real short order. So why wouldn't a person want 75% tight track dogs and 25% casters?

dwalton wrote:Yes al I said 10 feet of the track. Dogs will run the scent funnel which may be off the track but if they are running the scent funnel they are on the cat. I have seen cat tracks walking a road from one side to the other a dog should straighten the track out and just maybe they smell it off the brush where the cat scent blew to. If a dog trails a bobcat track for track you had better take a lunch, it's going to take a while and you will probably never get a good jump. Al I thought you have cat hunted some? Dewey

OK, I understand what you were saying. I do know the tighter a dog runs to the cat less chance for a loose. Thanks Al

Merlo I said I don't mind a dog to swing out, it can help pick up looses. If opens when it picks up a track thats OK. Sometimes they will get thrown completely out of a race. If you have two it can be a bad thing if they try to out compete each other they will get thrown out a lot. You can't beat a good fast moving pack that stays on a track. When a loose is made they all may scatter to find it. One of the problems dogs have on trailing bobcats that in adverse conditions they don't go past where there is no scent for aways they need to go past the dead spot to pick it up. In dry conditions when you hit a good track there will be dead spots with no scent, if it is a fresh track the dogs excitability factor is high and the dogs will work out father to find the track. That for me is the most important thing in teaching a dog to move a bobcat track fast. Hunting in dry tuff conditions. It is hard to complete many tracks then but when the rains come you will see an improvement in your dogs ability to move a track. The best time to hunt is when you can not tree many cats when most people choose to stay home. In different conditions different dogs will handle the track different. Dewey

I agree with the last paragraph that's when cold trailers are made. That's my favorite time. I like a few dog's that will cast looking for the cat head hunters. Some time's they make a pick up out of a lose sometime's they over run it. The other day I had a seasoned dog cast out around a Boulder field taking a pup with it, the pack trailed up threw the rock's the two that swung, swung right into the cat made for a quick jump and a quick tree. I agree if you have some wild swingers they'll throw them selves out for a minute or two and mine will here and there. But they will stay in and trail progressing that track but as soon as it start's warming up or semi-jumped that's when you notice some swinging. Not often they do it on a cold track unless there is a dead spot. Interesting reading what everyone like's or prefers and what works. A lot of help and knowledge.