BigGameHoundsmen.com

dwalton wrote:I treed my first bobcat 48 years ago and hunted straight cat dogs for 35 years. I have owned and hunted with many good cat dogs most of them walker breeding. I have had a lot of dogs able to tree a bobcat, that's not hard to do. I have owned 4 or 5 top bobcat dogs, not saying the others could not get the job done on, but when you hunt with a top dog you know what can be done. Most of the dogs that were top have running dog in them. If you wait and are looking for that top dog in my book you will look for a long time. It is far easier to put together 2 to 4 or 8 dogs that can make a top pack that catches almost every bob they jump. Bobcat dogs are no better than their owner being able to pick and match a group of dogs and the knowledge to make it happen. A truly good cat dog will come down to the ability of its current owner in a short time. Every bodies yard stick as to what a good dog is is different but until you hunt with someone that catches hundreds of bobcats and seldom misses a jump your are comparing apples to oranges. I think the guys that catch that many bobs with running dogs or part just might have some tree dogs in there, running dogs that tree. Each to their own, hunt what you have the ability to hunt. Dewey

oconee wrote:I don't think cat hunting will be for me guys, you have talked me out of even trying.

Thanks for all the input.

jcathunter wrote:

dwalton wrote:I treed my first bobcat 48 years ago and hunted straight cat dogs for 35 years. I have owned and hunted with many good cat dogs most of them walker breeding. I have had a lot of dogs able to tree a bobcat, that's not hard to do. I have owned 4 or 5 top bobcat dogs, not saying the others could not get the job done on, but when you hunt with a top dog you know what can be done. Most of the dogs that were top have running dog in them. If you wait and are looking for that top dog in my book you will look for a long time. It is far easier to put together 2 to 4 or 8 dogs that can make a top pack that catches almost every bob they jump. Bobcat dogs are no better than their owner being able to pick and match a group of dogs and the knowledge to make it happen. A truly good cat dog will come down to the ability of its current owner in a short time. Every bodies yard stick as to what a good dog is is different but until you hunt with someone that catches hundreds of bobcats and seldom misses a jump your are comparing apples to oranges. I think the guys that catch that many bobs with running dogs or part just might have some tree dogs in there, running dogs that tree. Each to their own, hunt what you have the ability to hunt. Dewey

Finally, we agree on something, Dewey. One does have to hunt with top cat dogs to know top cat dogs. Fortunately, I spent a lot of hours in the woods with a man who was simply one of the best. Not "good", not "better than some" but simply one of the best. Because of this, I was able to see that I did not want to "put together 2 to 4 to 8 dogs" to get the job done. Although I'm sure its very effective, I want to reach in my dog box and pull out any single dog and I want to be surprised if they don't catch the cat.