BigGameHoundsmen.com

what exactly is a trapline dog, how are they used?

alot of the time we run drags on a trap. It allows the animal to run with the trap so that it does not set there and fight with the trap and get loose. You use the dogs to find the trap that has been drug off. Depending on how you you like your dogs trained your dogs can also swiftly kill with little pelt damage. Also you can use your dogs as an aid in find where to set your traps. If I have a dog that marks a spot it is a good place to set a coyote trap because a yote has ether done the same or will likely do the same. Hope this helps

thank you. I was thinking about doing this with one of my plott males. He likes to ride in the durango with me and has a lot of hunt in him.

I talked to one cat trapper who used to use his dogs to help him find a catch! They were terriers of some sorts. Used to use em' when he anchored his traps with drags, you know so he didn't spend all day looking for the animal. He left that up to his dogs!

Airdales work well as trapline dogs,as do most of the cur breeds.

25 years ago, I used my Springer on my trapline. I never used to anchor my traps, just used drags so occasionally, we'd have one drug off and would use the dog to help find it. She was great in the thick cover finding foxes and bobcats.

I dont know about using a full hound. Maybe your Plott is more cur like, as some of them are. But if you do use him, he's gonna have to be able to give up a track of his favorite animal on command.

I knew a government trapper in Oregon who used a blue heeler. Would not trap without him. He used a lot of "gitters" and also needed the dog to find the poisoned coyote. Some states it is illegal to have a dog with on a trapliine. fyi

I use my young hounds when trapping. It really helps them get gamey! The first time I take a dog into a set I willshow them the cat (I only take them in on cats not coyotes), and let them work the cat and bay for a little bit. Then I dispatch the cat and let the dogs wool him a little.
After that I start the circling down wind of the set till the dog winds the cat and comes in on his own or opens on the leash then I will let him go find the cat. With in a couple days of this the dogs are real cat minded. I just do this to get these dogs comfortable with shooting, aggresive cats, handling, and being in the truck in rough country.

And even though I dont rig dogs Im sure it would be a great start for young rig dogs!

damn thats a hell of a good way to show young dogs the game ya want them on. never thought of using my trapline as a training aid. now if it were legal to trap a bear or two. lol havent ran a trapline for a few years but am gonna try and set some this year and will have a couple young dogs that will be more than happy to go with me. good luck and keep it fun

i had a little jack russell for a few years he was the best dang trap line dog I ever had. He would go to ground and track real well.

Anyone ever use dogs to track game to their dens the ones that I have heard of are skunk beaver and mink also has anyone ever heard of a blood hound be used

JC has some very good information on using dogs for trapping. His blind set DVD, shows you how to use a dog to find paths of travel as well as other things. He invented the Jake Trap and its a real good trap, if not the best coyote trap. http://www.jcconner.com/books.html
Everything he sells is well worth the money and he is a very good honest man.

Ok do the know the name of the DVD or is it just called blind set also does it cover finding a den

Click on this link; http://www.jcconner.com/books.html. Scroll down to this video;Predator Trapping Blind Sets With J. C. Conner.
It does not cover finding dens.

Ok that covers the biggest part of the stuff I read about know trying to find anything about using them for finding den's the most common one I have found is finding beaver den's and mink and skunks den's