Deer and dogs

[Gary Roberson]

Was roading my potlickers this morning about sunrise. I looked ahead and there were two does and two fawns at one of these gravity flow protein feeders. I had five dogs on the ground and they were loping about 50 to 75 yds. in front of my truck. As I approached, the deer raised their heads looking at the approaching hounds but held their ground. The at one time my five dogs were pretty much surrounded by the deer. Most of the deer were within 15 steps of the dogs and one old doe within 10 steps. The dogs went to batting their tales and one of them finally opened as he could smell a coon from sometime during the night. When he bawled within a few yards of the deer, they trotted back into the brush. The dogs trailed into the neighboring ranch to the north.
I wish I would have had a camera as most of the deer hunters around here think that dogs spook deer that is simply not true and see something like this most every day that I hunt. A deer knows when a dog is chasing him and he knows when he is not threatened.

[TomJr]

I have seen that a few times as well. Few weeks back came upon a doe and fawn laying down on the side of the trail while with two of my dogs trailing an old bobcat track. Those two deer just glaced at the dogs and never even bothered to stand up. I am not sure my dogs knew the deer were there though as they was too busy following the cat track... didn't get the cat jumped either. But it was a good day to be out.

[reed]

You gotta love broke dogs.

[Shorty]

You've got it Gary. Most deer hunters dont' even want a dog on or near their property. A broke dog will not spook the deer one bit. The deer just move off to the side and then are right back. If they even move at all. Seen it too many times. You can't tell them deer hunters that though.

[Big N' Blue]

Can't tell you how many times we have treed around feeders and the deer never paid any attention. I used to like to deer hunt as much as anybody but I have about quit because first they are pricing me out of the market and they are not really hunting anymore, they are growing obscene bucks, then harvesting like cattle. My boss has as good a deer lease with the best bunch of true deer hunters as there is in S.Texas. But no matter how good they know me will not allow hounds on the place.
A real shame as there are many bobcats and a few lions. When I go down I do not even talk about hounds as they do not deserve to hear a good race. Their loss! LOL

David Sudduth

[Shorty]

Big N' Blue
Where in S. Texas do you hunt? I'm in Cotulla. I know mike said ya'll used to hunt together, do you hunt cats?

[Big N' Blue]

Shorty, i have given up trying to hunt in Texas. too many nuts that do not like hounds. LOL I spend about 2 months a year in Arizona and New Mexico and am going to Colorado this year for the first time. Usually start hunting about the middle of December and hunt thru February. I only lion hunt for the pleasure of it. Love training good hounds.
Sent you a pm.

Best

[Jake Bell]

up here when we run coyotes in the winter the deer usually just stand on the edge of the bush in the field and graze while the dogs are inside, i have also seen 5 deer run into a swamp where the dogs where runnin a yote.

[Mike Leonard]

Well this is a real love fest of all you lucky guys that have them deer broke hounds! Just kidding you! Tell you what I have found because I have some real expereince with deer races. LOL! When dogs get into a country that has a pretty good deer population and they bust a deer and away they go, most of the time they run till that deer loops back and then they hit another one and away they go in a good circle on that till it gets tired of them and then they get them another one. Out in the fresh snow you can really tell what those knotheads are doing and they are just running and barking on airborne scent most of the time. Most of them wouldn't really track a deer up if they had to. That is why deer have always been the easiest thing for me to break my dogs off, second in this country is elk and we have a ton of them buggers too. Where my problems begin at times is them coyote running mongrels boy they can be tuff to keep broke especially when they coyotes go to messing with their minds and running after them and booger barking at them, but they can be tough. Bear is probably the hardest thing to break dogs off after they get a few good runs on them. Some of you bear hunters are going man are you nuts break your dogs off bear. Well keeping them off is eccential to catching a cat or lion anytime that the bear are not hibernating. Because bear usually outnumber lions 10 to 1 and they have a whole lot more smell then a bobcat so you will be out of luck if you can't keep them pretty well off bear,unless you are doing the track hunting yourself and the dogs are not free cast.

[Big N' Blue]

My poor old hunting buddy Russell had a B&T raised and trained around Kerrville that you could not melt and poor on a deer,elk, sika, fallow, or any other of the exotics around there. But let me tell you he loved a muley the first year we took him to the Blue. LOL I am telling you yhis dog loved them!!! HA Of course being the gentleman I am I did not tease him! LOL

[Mike Leonard]

I have seen a lot of whitetail brok dogs that would run the heck out of mule deer till they got the message.

One of the best hounds I evered owned was a registered bluetick out Elbert Vaughn's Bawler dog. this was way back before I had a elec. collar or anything and I had a walker dog out of a House's Bawlie dog that I could not get deer broke. I mean he was a great dog and super fast on track but if he didn't hit a coon or a cat pretty quick he wanterd tyo stretch his legs and run a buckskin. I mean I wore a lot of lumber out on his hide trying to get him bent. Well this blue dog came along and he was about 14 months when I got him and had never been on anything. First night out he hit a deer and boy he built to it in a big way. I cut him off and thrashed him proper cuz I had lots of expereince with it training on old Leader. Well it sunk in on this dog, and until they day he died he was a check broke dog off deer. I mean if that walker started a deer this blue dog was back behind me in no time. I finally had to give up on that walker, too bad because if I had a tri-tronics back then he would have been broke. But this blue dog was the easiest dog to deer break I ever ran into.

[Gary Roberson]

I guess that you boys are right about a mule deer smelling different than a whitetail. I loaned Jimmy to a fellow in NM who wanted to hunt him on lion thru the winter. I told him that he would trail and run the hair off a bobcat but you could not make him run a deer. He did not start the track but old Jimmy made a liar out to me cuz they claimed to have seen the deer and he and another youngster or two were building to it. They were able to break up the race and wear his butt out. That was the last time he ran a mule deer as well. I
Mike I had blue Vaugh female that I bought off Dartez Brumley years ago. She is the only hound that I never had to break off fast game. I raised one pup out of her and a Smokey River Cheif pup that I raised and she never ran deer as well.
I think it is easier to break dogs off of deer where there is one under every bush like this Hill Country.

[Mike Leonard]

I got a vaughn bred blue dog from Dartez when he left here and moved back to Texas. When I first moved here Dartez judged all the bench shows and participated in the night hunts and club hunts back when the ?Four Corners Houndsman Club was still going.

The blue dog I got from him was an extra long eared blue dog, and was a very nervous spooky young dog. I had a pretty big bunch of dogs back then and he was a little on the ill side with strangers so I got rid of him. that was over 20 years ago now.

[houndcrazyfool]

it just depends on the circumstances... neighborhood deer and deer that dont get ran by deer doggers wont care about a dog.