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Do you guys who hunt around wolves feel like you don't have as good of dogs as you have had in the past and do you feel it's harder to get a dog going at a younger age cause your always looking over your shoulder. I have some great dogs that catch me a ton of critters but I feel like they could be better. I don't let them grind out that 2 day old lion track any more or work a bobcat all night cause you just don't know. I love to dry ground run it's so much more rewarding when you do catch a few critters. I know many places where cats cross but don't go there when there isn't snow cause im not taking that chance. I've been threw 3 encounters and maybe that's, why im a bit gun shy. I used to turn out where ever and when ever and would let my dogs go all night if need be. Maybe other local guys feel the same so just wondering what other guys thoughts are. If we didn't have GPS I think there would be way more encounters also. I don't know how many times I spent all weekend trying to find dogs,with the old telemetry system. Probably why I let my dogs go all night so many times haha

Wolves there will always be a problem when you cat hunt when there is snow you have some idea where there at no snow you have take a chance .We have learned some of there habits They are breeding in February and March that makes them more territorial and don't want any out cast in there area .Bear hunting your dogs can get more spread out that can be a problem when you don't no where the wolves are. Hunting in Wis. and Mi. they have shut the wolf hunt down will be a bigger problem. You need to take a close aim to take care of this problem.

I still hunt a lot of tough tracks and dry ground. Wolves are always in the back of mind when I hunt. I definetily do not turn loose into a drainage that I know contains a pack of wolves. In 2008 a lost a hound to wolves since then I have had 2 close encounters with wolves right in with my dogs. I like mouthy hounds and as many on the track as possible I consider that to be a deterrent. A lot of guys claim wolves zero in on dogs when they hear them treed or bark. I think that can happen but it is very unusual, if that would be the norm there would be very few hounds left. Wolves killing hounds are the exception and not the norm in my opinion. In February during there breeding season the Alpha males are more aggressive. I also figure most of the other occurrences happen when hounds trail through where they are layed up for the day or if dogs get strung out.

Several years ago I turned loose on a bear, close to the top of the ridge I heard the dogs catch up to it and start walking it. I followed the dogs till I lost GPS signal when they dropped into a deep drainage. I walked an hour back to the truck drove to the top of the drainage and got just a weak telemetry signal. So I drove an hour around the drainage so I could shoot up the drainage from across the bottem. With the telemetry signal I could tell they were closer to the top, so I drove back around and went in from the top of the drainage. I had 3 hounds baying a 300 lb bear in there, on the way in I found a wolf den with 3 pups only 300 yards from the bayup. I had other dogs with me going in and the way they acted I new the adult wolves were right there close. My 3 dogs I estimate had that bear bayed up for about 6 hours 300 yards from a wolf den, why weren't they killed.

that's a good story thanks for sharing. I will sleep better tonight knowing there is three less wolf to breed on. thank you for doing your part.

Adapting is fruitless, you need to conquer..

We have a booming wolf population around here. They are hunted pretty hard a few months out of the year.. Not doing much to the population. Regardless, i think there are worse things out there than wolves. Am i cautious around them? Absolutely, i have never lost a dog, nor have i had any near misses. They dont come running to hounds, they keep their distance. If i changed how i do everything because of the "what if" scenario i would be one boring sob.

I think the key word there is "they are being hunted". I'm a firm believer in putting fear into a wuff of man and hound.

Old dog wrote:that's a good story thanks for sharing. I will sleep better tonight knowing there is three less wolf to breed on. thank you for doing your part.

According to research wolves usually use a den site year after year. They never used it again after I found it.

dhostetler wrote:
According to research wolves usually use a den site year after year. They never used it again after I found it.

Haha that's awesome right there!

My pups bitch got killed in the FlatHead this Winter by wolves when she was running a lion. The pack proceeded to run the other dogs all over the mountain. They tore her ribs from her spine. Unfortunately the tracks were not found till it was too late and the wolves found the dogs. I definately believe the zero in on the dogs when they hear them. Just like a grizzly hearing the dinner bell when a gunshot goes off during elk season. Wish we had some apex predator type dogs to run wolves and kill a few. They do have a learning curve.

I lost a dog off a tree last winter the wolves homed in on the treed hounds - no questions asked. I hunt around the shit birds on a daily bases and pass on probably 25% of the tracks I cut. Does that make me a woosie? Until you've wrapped parts of a great old hound in a tarp your opinion doesn't matter to me.

I answer the original question - yes my hounds get to run fewer tracks because of wolves.

any time we turn the dogs loose could be the last time state wide period. any body that thinks other wise is living in a dream world. I switched to kemmers because of the wolves but I sure don't feel any safer that's for sure.

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Kind of like the bully on the play ground. One good punch in the nose and everyone else takes notice and the bully walks the other way, when he see's you.

mondomuttruner wrote:Adapting is fruitless, you need to conquer..