BigGameHoundsmen.com

I believe that if you ever get satisfied with the dogs you have, you are moving backwards. I hunt with my Dad and Uncle, so we have several dogs to use. A few years ago, we had three good strike dogs. One of the dogs was a three year old and the other two six. We also had five or six good help dogs. We got to the point that carrying a green pup only hindered us because we had plenty of older dogs that knew their job. As time goes by and dogs get older, you lose some to the game you pursue, and your best one has a heat stroke, you are (as my Dad would say) AFOOT. We are trying to grow back to where we were at, but had we spent more time with some of the young dogs, we would already be there(or close to there).

We can all look back and remember a handful of dogs that performed at a higher level than their peers. The best dogs have holes also, just not as big as the average dog.

Hounds are like cows: The youngest animals on your yard should have the best genetics, if that is not the case, your program is going backwards.

Well said Coady,I couldn't agree more.

...

Ike wrote:We've plowed this ground before, and the answer is still time, distance, conditions and topography! If a person starts fresher tracks in easy topography they are gonna have a higher catch rate; however, if the track is older, conditions are not favorable and the animal was on the move then the catch ratio is going down, and it doesn't matter whose dogs or what breeding they have behind them..........

Most serious hunters breed the best confirmation they can, feed the best dog food they can afford, either road or hunt their dogs as much as they can, and therefore it ain't so much the blood but the things I spoke about in the first paragraph......

ike

Very well put Ike.

I believe it is a simple answer and over analyized. First thing you have to do is be completely honest with your critique of the dogs you run with or you will get nowhere. If you are content with your pack dont bitch and complain when when your running 2nd Ask yourself,whose dogs are always there? If one dog can make it to the end they all should make it. If you are continually making an excuse , terrain, weather, time of day but 3 other dogs are always there your lying to yourself. Move the dog. I had to move dogs that I swore would have a home for life here but I was continually playing 2nd fiddle to other dogs. Once I made that leap and moved substandard dogs (they might be great dogs 75% - 80% catch rate) but when you see dog catching 95% or better why would you want less? Every member of my pack is on waivers. If I see something better I want that blood in my kennel. Now there comes a point when your splitting hairs on how good can your dog can be but there is always something better and to be fair, yes everydog has a bad day. Also you have to becareful when comparing your dogs to other dogs, what works in BC Mountains on Blacks and Grizz may not work as well in the desert heat on cats. Basically when you see something better, try to get some of that blood in your kennel, or if you got lucky and found the Colonel Sanders recipe of a cross when every pup seemed to be all stars STICK WITH IT!! dont outcross and try to reinvent the wheel. So really how much more is there? Its a simple question. I hunt with Eric alot and he knows first hand how tough we can critique dogs. We have 4 or 5 dogs we measure everything up against, if they can't hang with them, move em. When I'm hunting either with my regular buddies or with new blood I am constantly observing my dogs and theirs. Not to see who is the best (that all shakes itself out by the end of the day), but to learn and observe more and always ask yourself where can I improve.


http://www.sheepcreek.com

The question just was'nt for big game so i'm gonna put my two cents even though it might not be worth squat .I expect my dogs to finish every track they start , whether it be coon or coyote . If they don't i'm pissed . Do they?NO ! I know sometimes , especially when it's dry that the scent will be good in around damp area's but when they get in dry area's it's harder going but i expect an end to the race , not a lose but a tree or a hole . I don't make no excuse for it . If there's no end to the race, to me it's like watching a good movie and not seeing the end . If i was only finishing fifty percent of my run's i think i'd rather sit home and watch the leaves fall off the tree's .

There are some guys on this forum that have posted they do not mix or run their packs with others on game.Each to their own I suppose do what you want.
I wonder by doing that how really do you continue to get better and measure yourself against the best.Everyone can be an Olympic winner if they are the only competitor in the race,you can have a box full of medals that mean nothing.The idea of competion is to measure the best against the best and reward the winner.
From this type of competition new training ideas come to lite,breeding changes might be made and so on.
I think Grizzlydog put it right,you need to always look for something better than what you have now,
You need to measure yourself against the best out there and improve your kennels strengths to match the best you have found.
Some guys are stuck on paperwork and if thats you then good on ya,I believe in having the best regardless of paperwork,color,conformation,breed or what have you.If a dog of mine is consistantly at 75% he needs to belong to someone else,a dog that is always at the back of the race needs to belong else where and so on.I just sold a dog that is an awesome young dog but he is my weakest link.
We need to keep improving or we are not doing our best for ourselves or our hounds.

Eric Muff wrote:I just sold a dog that is an awesome young dog but he is my weakest link.
We need to keep improving or we are not doing our best for ourselves or our hounds.

If that cull dog is so "awesome" does that make the other ones "extra awesome" or "super awesome" ?

All this talk about doing best/improving etc and you're selling "weak links" which are culls... but they're "awesome" !
I guess you just hope he doesnt breed it ? Probably will though... especially if you told him how "awesome" it is.
No, that isnt doing the hound world any favours.

Quite the ruthless evaluation process going on over there... Esp considering areas often close in 8-14 days on average.

Ouch!
The dog is no cull.
The dog is neutered and will not breed.
The dog is going to a friend who has hunted him and needs his abilities.
I want to improve my pack if I can.
Sheesh...

BlacktailStalker wrote:

Eric Muff wrote:I just sold a dog that is an awesome young dog but he is my weakest link.
We need to keep improving or we are not doing our best for ourselves or our hounds.

If that cull dog is so "awesome" does that make the other ones "extra awesome" or "super awesome" ?

All this talk about doing best/improving etc and you're selling "weak links" which are culls... but they're "awesome" !
I guess you just hope he doesnt breed it ? Probably will though... especially if you told him how "awesome" it is.
No, that isnt doing the hound world any favours.


If Eric has a dog that he feels isnt benefiting his pack any further but a buddy thinks it can improve his how the hell is it any of your business what he does with it!?! And I get a kick out of you guys that cant stand what others use to breed with. Why dont you just worry about whats in your kennel.....the way I look at it if guys wanna breed shit dogs to shit dogs to make more shit dogs that just means there one step behind the guys that know what there doing. If you know what your doing and your dogs are that much better then it should put a smile on your face when you tally up your catch count as compared to others and there "awesome" or even "super totally awesome" dogs.


Quite the ruthless evaluation process going on over there... Esp considering areas often close in 8-14 days on average.[/quote

Where'd ya get this data from??? You should look into stuff like this before you open your yak next time....theres plenty of zones in this province that are open to run in all winter or pretty damn close. And its a far cry from impossible to come run in BC! It aint all that far away ya know.

Holy crow houndcrzy might want to consider a beta blocker...
He explained it just fine without you rescuing him and fwiw I know plenty about alberta and whats going on, whos claimin' what and whos doin' what

No data here... just facts.

Nobody said anything about breeds so you must be still mad about another thread... vent all you need to.

You just can't come to BC to run whenever you feel like so...

Eric Muff,

Next time someone opens his pie hole about a dog you sold, I wouldn't even dignify him with a response. Obviously a fairly ignorant person that doesn't know much about advancing and improving a pack if he thinks people don't sell good dogs. I have sold dogs that were easily worth breeding, and an excellent dog. I just had other dogs that covered what I needed. When trying to improve your pack why keep a dog you don't need when bringing up a pup may end up being an improvement.

Blacktailstalker, if you haven't caught on I am talking about you. No offense but that may be the most ignorant statement I have seen on here. I was offended and I don't know any of you guys. I just hope I missed something or this was some sort of an inside joke. The "everyone is out to cheat somebody" mentality doesn't do the hound world any favors either.

Awesome, awesomer, awesomest, awesomerest, awesomeish, and AMAZINGLY AWESOME........

Glad I'm not in the buyer market the lingo could tounge tie a feller

Like the deal where the company fires the salesman at the end of every month with the lowest sales volumne, in theory after several months you still have a salesman getting fired for lowest sales volumne compared to the rest of the now improved "pack" of salesmen and overall sales are .........well.... TOTALLY AWESOME

It's a theory for sure

Nobody chimed in terms of hog dogs. In my own experience we will strike roughly 50% of the time with the silent dogs. We will catch them usually 80% of the time. Its a rough estimate but I guess its probabally pretty close. In terms of breeding or having dogs that will catch more hogs Ive seen a lot of people run more agressive dogs. The downside is striking hogs less often due to the shorter noses and the obvious risk of injury with rougher dogs. But with rougher dogs you get shorter races and a better strike to catch ratio.

Ive leaned away from rougher dogs as ive gotten older. Its more about the race and im a heck of a lot slower these days on foot. I would rather lose the hog on a long race than get a bunch of dogs hurt on a short one.

BlacktailStalker wrote: Holy crow houndcrzy might want to consider a beta blocker...
He explained it just fine without you rescuing him and fwiw I know plenty about alberta and whats going on, whos claimin' what and whos doin' what

No data here... just facts.

Nobody said anything about breeds so you must be still mad about another thread... vent all you need to.

You just can't come to BC to run whenever you feel like so...

x2