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Here in VT we can only have 6 anyway. We like to use 3 or 4. As guys have said a good one can get it done alone in the right situation, but I do like the safety in #'s. 3 or 4 seems to be good, more than that and they seem to get bunched up and not work as well together. Think of any project you might do. you might need some help but too many hands and all you do is get in one another's way. Just remember that everyone has there own way and what works for some might not for another, so throw some dogs at 'em and see what works for you.

Last season I watched a different group of hunters dump 3 truck loads (at least 6 dogs per truck) on a bear that just crossed the road.All the dogs but one went screaming over the hill and where so off track it wasnt funny. The only dog that got it right was the last dog out of the box. I just wondered how long it took them to get the cluster rounded up and back in on the chase.

I use three dogs on bear but try each dog alone throughout the season. This lets you see what the dog is made of. You can always throw the other 2 down to helpout if the bear is playing hard to get. This allows you to see each dogs ability to start a track and finish it, this give you a real idea what each has for ability when you are looking to breed again. If you can't tree it with three, get new dogs.

I usually put on as many dogs as it takes. That might be 1, 3, 6 or we may have to rotate in 20. Just depends on the bear and how the chase is going. You can't just paint a broad stroke and say all bear runs go the same way.

I get a kick out of these threads because it doesn't take long for the chest thumping to come out. We all like to think we have the baddest dogs to walk the planet, but from the get-go, the BEAR sets the terms of the game. It's his choice if he's going to climb or not. Now you've got opposites ends of the spectrum from easy to hard, and the majority fall someplace in the middle.

If you haven't found a bear that won't climb, you either haven't been on enough bear or you're kidding yourself.

Nolte X 2,
can't add a thing to that post.

Somestimes we will have 2, sometimes 20. You can't very well tell someone hunting with a group that they can't turn their dog loose. They might be the one that catchs your dog and keeps it from getting killed that afternoon. Like Nolte said, I think every chase is different. One thing you will notice, whether 2 or 20 dogs, pretty much the same dogs, day in and day out, are going to be on that bear and at the tree.

Nolte wrote: the BEAR sets the terms of the game. It's his choice if he's going to climb or not.

If you haven't found a bear that won't climb, you either haven't been on enough bear or you're kidding yourself.

X10

Amen Nolte.

I get a kick out of threads like this as well. Usually I just sit back, read and sometimes chuckle.

chilcotin hillbilly wrote:I use three dogs on bear but try each dog alone throughout the season. This lets you see what the dog is made of. You can always throw the other 2 down to helpout if the bear is playing hard to get. This allows you to see each dogs ability to start a track and finish it, this give you a real idea what each has for ability when you are looking to breed again. If you can't tree it with three, get new dogs.

That's exactly what we do here. Though this year one of the dogs was sick, so we hunted two dogs instead of the three. Rotate them around. Had a few times they split up and got to themselves on their own.

I never said one dog will tree EVERY bear, or that EVERY bear trees. But I think it's funny the people that are hauling nine dogs around have a meltdown everytime someone mentions, one dog can and will make even a mean bear think twice on occasion. I didn't say it was safe, or that it is or should be something thats done all the time, but it happens!

I still say your not gonna catch the bad boys with one dog.. Just the chkn shts or the ones that really wanna climb that day. My four best dogs have all treed by themselves... I didn't let them go by themselves either. Not sure why anyone would think that was a good idea. If you think your gonna catch some of the dirty little 120 lb sows we have around here with one dog keep dreaming.

Bears are meaner, faster, bigger and have more endurance than your dog.

One dog isn't gonna make a bear climb if he doesn't want to. Will 3-4 ? I think so. Not all but a lot more..

The guy asked how many dogs do most guys run on Bear. Not how bad ass are your dogs.

I love the "I'm not feedin em if they don't come back flossing with bear hair and a bear claw necklace... "

never said anything about my moose chasing potlickers being bad ass, just said ive seen a couple mean bear treed by one dog, it definately is unusual, but its possible...but then again what do i know. Some guys dont consider there dogs "caught" until the bear is treed, whether it takes 2 dogs to do it or 50, but to me if my dogs have it caught on the ground im just as happy, and ive done it and seen it done with bears of all shapes and sizes by anywhere from one dog to 25, i personally prefer under 10, just love the music and the glowing "humm" of the dogs caught and i think that when you have a pack that works as a strong team, wheather it be 3 dogs or 9 or whatever, if they work together your percentages are going to go up huge... jmo

I wanna thank you all for the input that you put on my post. I would have to say that amoungst all of you that thier is a great deal of experience put out there to answer this question. Thank you all. Jim.

3 or 5 is my vote, seems like odd number works better for some reason. Sometimes the rougher you get, the rougher the bear gets. I've seen bear that dont tree period. Seen a plott man, dump 12 dogs on a bear to show me how its done. between vet bills, staple and sewing all night, it didnt tree period. My point, on the roughest bear, give me three bear dogs, let them bay and walk him, and the rest is up to me, as a hunter. I dont measure a dog by how many times its sewen up, its what dogs put it on the tailgate.

I live in California, and we don't have a training season, so when the time comes ( after deer season ) that I can run all my dogs I do. I have 5 hounds that range in age from 5-2, plus I have 3 pups I'll be starting on bear this season. I agree that I can catch a bear with 1-2 dogs but why I own 8. They aren't all complete dogs yet and they deserve to be able to run every chance they get. I don't own them to just dig holes in my back yard, I have them for hunting. Do I need 5 hounds and 3 pups to catch a bear, no, but I think my 5 older dogs will help make my younger pups bear dogs faster running together as often as possible. If your not going to hunt them why feed them ? All that said I think 4-6 is the perfect size pack, but at any time you could lose a dog or two, or more for that matter, so we all normally have young dogs coming up to replace them, and they won't become bear dogs sitting in the back of your truck. Do I need 8 dogs, no, but when the time comes I would rather have made my own dogs than to have to go out shopping around for acouple later. We all have read what happens when you have to go out and buy a dog, making my own just makes more sense. Just My Opinion

hey redwood coonhounds . i saw on your web sight that you have 2 or 3 dogs on the bear but have 4 or 5 dogs on coons i dont understand why you have more dogs on a coon than a bear you must have meaner coons than bear out there in california lol .

well all this talk about number of dogs. it all depends on each dog and each bear thats a fact. 4 dogs is plenty but when you have a couple more in the truck you mise well put 6 or 8 out just for the fun of watching all your dogs work.

BBGH wrote:I like to run 4-6 on a bear and this is why. I have caught a pile of bears with only 1 or 2 dogs but it makes them work so much harder. When you walk down to a bear that is bayed up what do you see? I see a dog that grabs the bear from the butt and then jumps back, usually that bear will turn and try to run down the dog that just bit him, well when he does that two more will grab his butt from the other side. They work together as a team and they usually don't get hurt. You get one dog or even two dogs a mean bear will focus on that one dog and run it down, and I guarantee eventually that bear will catch the dog. Now I have also hunted 10-12 dogs at a time and when that mean bear goes to run down a dog he will usually catch him because that dog can't run because there are a cluster of dogs behind him. They can't get out of the way because there is no room. This is just my opinion and what I have seen in the bottom of those nasty canyons on bay up jobs. I am sure there are a lot that disagree with me but I am sure there are a lot that know what I am talking about.

Yep I agree. Mike