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slow trail hounds??

Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2011 11:49 pm
by moose
could a slow trail hound catch a lion?? please help. thanks

Re: slow trail hounds??

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:02 am
by Mike Leonard
Sure they do it all the time. But just slow doesn't define the track so some stickers seem slow some need them and then pick it up and move it and others seem to have wings. But yes slow trail dogs can catch lions---AT TIMES

Re: slow trail hounds??

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 2:34 am
by chilcotin hillbilly
I think there are more slow trailing hounds catching lions then fast ones. I watched a video the other night of a well known cat hunter. Great video but I wouldn't feed one of their hounds. they sounded good but where like watching paint dry moving a good track in good snow conditons. But to each there own.

Re: slow trail hounds??

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:03 am
by pegleg
This subject is always open to debate. I first ask what a person considers a "slow" hound? I don't care what speed a hound is moving a single track. if no one else is moving it any faster then he is he must be doing all right. I consider most of my hounds slow trail hounds but they aren't going to be walking out a track another hound is going to be running around here. There are better hounds I am sure but not so much better I couldn't ruin them.
My dividing line between slow and fast hounds is this if a hound will only work a track it CAN run it is a running type hound. I know running dogs have the ability to work a older/colder track until it freshens up some times. so I won't argue this point with someone. the fact remains they don't prefer or specialize in it.
Then come trail hounds to me these hounds can and will work a cold track with little or no encouragement. if they can move it, it is fresh enough for them to take it willingly. this is also a trait that seems to develop as a hounds gains experience. now this same hound will run a track when it is able to. these hounds need to be in the scent trail themselves just because a pack mate is working it isn't enough to convince them to keep running this way very long, before they need to hit the scent to keep going.
Then you have those hounds that wont run a track that they are or should be able to. I don't mind a "track straddler" when it needs to in order to follow a cold/difficult trail. however a hound that insist on moving at a slow pace regardless of easy trailing conditions is a liability in my mind and a true track straddler. I am sure on occasion it may put a cat in a tree by sheer luck. but if it can't get its nose off the ground long enough to overcome obstacles or a loss in scent it won't catch many if any lions. my experience is lions leave some mighty long gaps in their scent trails when pushed or in rough terrain. so if that hound won't leave that last bit of scent to find the next on a boulder, thirty feet down the trail etc. your going to be moving so slow you'll never wind the cat or out pace him in traveling mode. these hounds are the type that you may use as a pup trainer but I don't think its your best bet. I don't want a young dog learning to ball up on a loss and refuse to leave it until I come straighten it out for them.

so if your slow trail hound is the type that can move a track at a lope when its possible it is surely the kind that has caught a good number of lions and they will continue to.
bobcats take a hound that hunts almost frantically compared to a lion hound. if a hound isn't ready to run air scent or push ground scent super hard on a bobcat and take some gambles on where it is going here its only going to catch those easy bobcats and not many of them. they don't leave much scent and it doesn't last long so they need to make the most of what little they get and not waste time convincing themselves.