BigGameHoundsmen.com

RiverBottom wrote,

What is a good houndsman? I don't know??? I'm not sure the two words should go together

Kinda like being a "good" alcoholic?....

Maybe this should be the general dictionary definition.
Houndsman....One who's existence is defined by an obsession with hunting hounds.

ben lily to me is the definition of houndsmen in its purest form . he sacrificed everything else for hounds and the pursuit of game. i bow down to the hound god .

I've only owned my own hounds for 6 or 7 years now. I grew up running hounds with my grandfather. In my opinion he is a true houndsmen and so aren't his hunting buddies. My grandfather is turning 84 years old next month. Him and his friends. Bout 6 to 8 of them still get up before daylight 3 or 4 days a week to run coyotes with hounds. I went with them last week as I try to as much as I can. To listen to them on the radios having a blast, joking with each other, stuttering cuz there so damn excited there dogs jumped the yote, sets them apart from anyone else in our area. My grandfather bought a pup bout 4 years ago. He's had hounds all his life but has lost em. Last year his hound got sick and the vet had to put it down. My grandfather used to be an old school fella and would of never gone to a vet but times changed. He is a true houndsmen in my book. He cried when they put that dog down. It was his last hound. He's still going strong and they run as many yotes as anybody else I know. JMAO. Corey

Many of these answers are great. I like seeing everyone's opinion. I believe a genuine respect for the game is very important. Also, at some point, a true dog man will realize that every dog won't be an A+, long-range, number one strike dog. It takes pack dogs to tree or bay game as well as the strike dogs.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, when a person can recognize the weaknesses in each dog they have and use other dogs in combination with them to put the most game at bay, then you have someone that understands how to use dogs.

That doesn't mean that I consider myself one, but have been around people who are.

I went through six or eight dogs over a five year period. I was baying a bunch of hogs, but couldn't find that "special" dog like I wanted. One of my older hunting partners said, "Son, long range strike dogs ain't made, they're born". That makes more and more sense to me every day.

1. open minded[just because we haven't done/seen it doesn't mean it's impossible]
2. when in real doubt-it's not good [be honest with oneself]whether it's off game or a dog who just doesn't have it.
3.don't sit in the truck and drink coffee and make up astory on what sounded like what happened.
4.handles/trains dogs well,has a good understanding of dogs' mind and how they really put things together
5.understands the basics of breeding and knows how to cultivate the talents in the kinda of dog he's looking for.
6.Be an ethical hunter.

Well..
One of the traits I see consistently in the hound guys that I actually respect is HUMILITY. The more a guy runs his mouth about ,"my dogs this..and my dogs that".. makes me think the opposite. If you are the only one saying anything good about your dogs, maybe there is a reason for it..

I have been fortuante enough to talk some with the guys who I really respect, especially in southern Utah and western Colorado and down into the desert southwest.. A common theme with them is, "Oh.. ol so and so is just a dog. He ain't much to look at but he can trail alright I suppose....." And, they just desribed a REAL hound, the kind we all dream of owning, probably worth 5 or 10 thousand dollars easy.. and no amount of your money could ever tempt the owner to sell the dog.. Many times you don't find out the real truth about the gentleman or his dogs until you talk to some folks that know the guy and his hounds, and then they just gush with praise and admiration for them..

Show me an ol boy with a weathered face, wore out ol dirty truck, boots with not too many miles left on them and a few skinny lookin hounds that never take their eyes off the old guy, and I bet you that you are looking at a houndsman... You can tell it's him cause he is listening WAY more than he is talkin.. and he darn sure ain't on some computer in his basement killin barley pops typing with his fists about him or his dogs and their super-human abilities.

There are some real "Houndsmen" (whatever that really is) on this site, but there aren't many, and they are the ones with the least to say most of the time, and when they do say something, some wannabee types something that makes them shake their head and turn off the computer and go whittle in the shade in the company of the hounds.. So, just one guys opinion, who darn sure ain't a houndsman.. just some guy with a couple dogs and been around long enough to know neither he nor his dogs are anything special..but old enough to know how to enjoy it all like it oughta be enjoyed..

KattSkatt

IMHO a true houndsman (if there is a such thing anymore) is only in it for the dogs. He is always pushing to have better dogs. He knows each dogs voice and what their saying when. He knows where the game crosses in in the areas he hunts and can get pretty close in areas he's never been to before. He has his dogs well broke and has a good handle on them. He knows how to spot weaknesses and strengths in different dogs. He knows how to track his dogs and the quarry through the rocks and bare ground.

Those are just a few of the many qualities I think it takes to make a true houndsman. Honestly I think there are few if any true houndsmen ever since the introduction of tracking equiptment (no offense to anybody so old they had to deal with no tracking systems lol). The men who pioneered our sport were what I would consider true houndsmen. We can only hope to be as successful as they were and strive, push and work harder to be the best that we and our dogs can be. Just my opinion weather you agree with it or not no hard feelings.

You have to truely understand dogs and the critters you are chasin. You have to be moderately physical. Maybe not a super star athlete but you better be fairly tough and fit. You should have an extremely high intelligence level and common sense. You have to be extremely dedicated and spend almost all your free time with your hounds.

To me, being a good hounds man and being a gentleman or sportsman are not always the same thing. To be able to train your dogs, know what is going on and know how to fix problems that cost you game is key to me. This means knowing your dogs and reading sign as well as knowing your quarry. I started out around a bunch of guys that had little regard for nothing but their dogs and catching everything they put out on. To me they were houndsmen/ hunters. Conservationists? No way! Houndsmen come in all colors with all kinds of character flaws. Some are good for the sport and some are not. Some are gentlemen and some are sportsmen. Being a good hounsdman, so to speak, has little to do with either.

Ok everyone, don't cull me. Wow, what a tuff group. To me, you are all houndsmen. True houndsmen too. Why not? Do we have to make it a gold medal? Really. Not saying anything bad, just saying. Isn't a houndsmen the member of the pack that is human. Sure there are good houndsmen and all other types too. There are only so many of us so lets at least call ourselves houndsmen. I may be a lesser, but I feed, scoop poop, try to train and attempt to tree as much game as possible. I'm proud to be a houndsman. And I'll always be wanting to improve my skills. Raise your hands my brothers. All houndsmen stand and be counted. Lets not cull 90% of the humans. Do your dogs think you are a houndsman? I'd say the only way they don't is if you wont take them hunting and they are ready to go hunting and promote you at any time. So, let all vote each other into the club. Anyone want to go hunting? I live near Salem, Oregon.
Sean

I will add to the long line of traits. You not only want to make better hounds but also constantly improving on your own abilities. No matter how good we think we are there is always a better dog out there.

AMEN MR.TROYER

the traits i admire. honesty,humility, desire to breed better hounds, and promote the sport positively by providing new hunters the info and pointers they need. the one trait that I've seen that is a turn off is the my way is the only way mt hounds are the only hounds and if anyone else is successful they must be lying or breaking the law. people have been running hounds for centuries. I know the southwest is a difficult region to hunt but there are areas of the world that offer more extreme conditions to hunt in. and the same can be said for most regions of the world some area always exceeds it in some way at one time or another. so humility is a trait that can't be stressed enough. but it's often stressed to the wrong people.