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Our bobcat population is really growing here at home. I as wondering if it is possible to have a beardog slash bobcat dog? We have the cats and i have english dogs. My two big dogs are finished beardogs. They are complete from strike to tree. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

We run ours on bears, bobcats, lions, and coons. Dont see why you wouldn be able to start them on cats but be warned its not as easy as bear hunting. Not that bear hunting is easy by any means, what I meant to say is that finding cats or cat tracks is harder then bear, typically. Unless you have a huge population of cats. Sounds like you have some dogs that might be able to do it. Find a track and try it out, walk it out with them or if you're lucky you might get a hot track then they might just take it. Good luck!

My advice is just go try them they will do it our they wont, My best bear dog and thats what he is, is a bear dog i could catch lion our a bobcat with him. But by no means he was not a bobcat dog, so just take them to the woods and try them out, were you from if you have snow find a track and walk them out on it help them if you can a incourage them the whole time, my lead bear dog i would have to walk out a track a get him pumped up he thought at first that i was settin him up like ther were trash lol. but once he fig that they wernt then he did a decent job, good luck and keep us posted

I hope it goes well. I'm not gonna try them til our bear season is over. I'll keep ya'll posted! We have some snow but no great amount! We have over a foot right now but thats bout as good as it gets! What kind of nose does a dog need for bobs?

Well if you had Plotts you sure could

Lol i needed a good laugh today! I had plotts once upon a time and only ever killed game to one bout 5 years ago. Bought my first english on a monday and killed bear to her that saturday! My big male has had a ridiculous amont of bear killed to him. Lol but i am sure some where out there there are some really good plotts!

It would help to know what region you are from. In wisconsin, most bobcats are killed using bear dogs. Alot of them are killed the same way a rabbit would be killed ahead of good beagles.

Personally, as a bobcat hunter, bear dogs always frustrated me. At times I would get so frustrated, if I was rich, I would have bought the dogs just so I could make sure I would never have to hunt with them again. It is not just any bear dogs though, it is the ones that have standing offers for many thousands of dollars. If You analyse why this type dog is so easy to sell for big money, you will know what traits to stay away from for bobcat, in my opinion.

If I read a statistic that said more bobcats are caught by bear dogs than any other dog, I would agree with it. From my perspective this would be because of the sheer numbers of bear dogs with nothing else to do all winter.

Your dogs will have to re learn how to work a track though, and that can take a little practice. It depends on how many weeks you have to bobcat hunt. It can take a couple weeks or so for them to settle down enough to keep a cat worried.

As far as your original question, do you have the right stuff to start bobcat hunting: If you have the desire to hunt bobcat, and the time and the money and an understanding family, then you have the right stuff. Go have some fun.

I hunt both here in Michigan. I like bobcats the best as they are what I started on and are way more challenging.
One caution though: if you want your dog to do both you must be willing to put up with an occasional bobcat race in bear season. Many dogs know the difference and most seem to know what & when you want them to do it but sometimes that hot one is just too good to pass up.
I have seen all colors do the job. A real cat dog is few and far between as the other post stated.
fyi - my best cat dog is out of a long long bear line of walkers and he isn't my best bear dog by a long shot. I had a black and tan that was out of one of the best cat dogs I have ever seen and she wouldn't run a cat even in company but was the dog I always tied on my rig when bear hunting.
Don't be afraid to try some of you second string pack dogs on cats, it may even help avoid the occassional cat race in bear season.
the advice about walking some out is really good advice, I find it is really good learning for young dogs too. With a little snow you can make sure they stay on track and not to trash.
Most dogs get really good because they are hunted a lot not because they sit on a chain.
I wish you well on your hunts.
Big Bite

but i am sure some where out there there are some really good plotts!

Good Plotts are like UFO's.You here a lot about them but never see one.lol

Our season on bobs is oct 13 thru feb 28. I'm in western north carolina. I only own four dogs so second string doesn't exist for me. Keep the advice coming please. Its real helpful and i am getting real anxious to try it out

big bite wrote:fyi - my best cat dog is out of a long long bear line of walkers and he isn't my best bear dog by a long shot. I had a black and tan that was out of one of the best cat dogs I have ever seen and she wouldn't run a cat even in company but was the dog I always tied on my rig when bear hunting.

That brings up an excelent point that I have noticed through the years. It almost seems like if a dog has what it takes to be the very best bear dog, he does not have what it takes to be the very best bobcat dog. Likewise, the best bobcat dogs I have been around would not have made great bear dogs. A lot of good bobcat dogs were dogs that had been culled as bear dogs. I beleive that many potentially good bobcat dogs have been naturally and unknowingly culled by bear or coon hunters. I also know that I have a natural culling tendancy that would probably keep me from ever having a potentially good bear dog for very long.

I gotta ask you about your name though Plottpappaw. Is "pappaw" a german word which means "hater". Just wondering why Plott would be in your name. It's kind of a cool idea though. If we all could put our least favorite breed in our name it would be very educational

Anyway, like big bite said, just get out there and do it as much as possible. You have a really nice long season. Good luck.

Lol. When i joined the page i only had plott dogs. But was only on the begninnin of my down hill spiral with them. My hunting nickname is pappaw cause i drive like an old man. I had plotts for a long time. The longer i owned them the less amount of game i was catching so i just started tryin stuff. I found my first english and was over joyed with the results so i bought another one and he was great as well. I have just kinda stuck to them and have had great success and seen alot of bear with them and regained the fun in hound hunting. i really am not color blind just went to trying diff things and finally it all clicked. I have the best dogs i have ever owned in my two old dogs and two young english pups that are really starting to handle well and trail a lil bit. My oldest pup really likes the smell of a cat. My old dogs were coon dogs before bear dogs and do both well i just hate to coon hunt and ever ince i have read bout cat hunting i have really wanted to try it

Bobcat dogs are made one at a time. My suggestion is to take that young dog who seems to like cat scent and run him on tracks that he can smell and move and see how he does. Don't expect too much at first as bobcat are way different than either bear or coon. Locating a bob is what separates many good dogs from bad, and your young dog might need to educate himself in that respect, if he can. It will probably be frustrating at first, but if you can find tracks for your dog, eventually you and your dog will learn. Good luck.

Houndhead wrote:

but i am sure some where out there there are some really good plotts!

Good Plotts are like UFO's.You here a lot about them but never see one.lol

if your dogs will run the occasional cat that is great. in my expierence the only dogs that do well on bobcats everyday are dogs that are only on bobcats. there are a lot of tracks i start that good dogs stand there and look at my dogs like there is something wrong. 20 or 45 minutes later those same dogs may be barking. but with such a small amount of scent on an old track they have to leave the house with that animal in mind to strike it off the truck i think. some of these tracks are up and rolling in 15 minutes and some in 2 hours, but without that dog looking for just that scent you will only hit the red hot ones, which if you have a ton of game or a great private spot i guess it dont matter. im not trying to discourage anyone or be mr bigguy it is just my perception.

Rooster i have respect for all ppl's opinions and perceptions! You could be right. I am still gonna try and use my two big dogs and use all the advice ya'll have been kind enough to give me. I hope it all works out well my wife and i are real anxious to get to chasing some bobs. Got one last shot at a bear this week then i'll keep ya'll posted on our progress. Keep the advice coming!