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Is the Walker breed the fastest running line of dogs? I have heard this is true, that they will be first to cross the road, cause its bred in them betterthan others and they run with their nose up so that makes them faster? I am running redbones and plots, curs for hog hunting and people say walkers will be faster than my dogs because they run nose up. Please give me some advice and knowledge and experience..

That's a bunch of bs . u must be hearing this nonsense from walker guys . I believe speed is bred into a dog no matter what the breed is . a guy that breeds for speed is gonna get speed no matter the breed. I run my plotts with lots of guys that run other breeds and my plotts will blow the Sox off of most of there dogs and they openly will admit it but that don't mean that plotts are the fastest dogs. Big dogs tend to be slower because they are not built for speed . I can say running walkers are real fast but then again they were bred for it.

That's what I tell them, they just laugh, I know I got 4 hounds that aint slow, My redbone is not the fastest but he ISNT slow.. My plot my buds say he is skin and bones cant get any weight on him but he can find his own, run it all day, and bay it... Some people say hes the fastest dog around but ive never run him against a walker... Cause he does it great alone with a pup.. I normally start pups with redbones or my old hounds... Cause that plot- Angola Is fast... I might run against em one day to see... My cur who runs a lot with hounds as are stop dog has to stretch out with him and hes hunted with the best dogs around.

Nope its the truth every walker born is faster than all other breeds!!!!!! Lol jus blowin smoke hunt what makes you happy slow and fast in every breed. All dogs I have ever seen can (run) with there heads up but (can they TRAIL heads up is different story)!

There was a time that was probably true generally speaking but there has always been individual dogs of any breed that could run with the walkers.In the last couple of decades or so the other breeds have come a long way in increasing the speed and hustle in their dogs.I hunt blueticks that can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

Speed is a easy thing to talk about. In most peoples minds. But is it a eighth mile run, two miles? Or maybe its the third forty or fifty mile day and then you hit a hard running bear. Maybe your on your fourth coyote run of the day in Nebraska? Or have you been trailing all morning and have a fresh jumped lion flying along a cliff face? Maybe the dogs are trying to catch a bobcat in a thorn thicket before they get to far behind.
Its like the statement big dogs are slower is it true? Everything in life has to be qualified. Is a 30 lb treeing walker faster then a 55 lb running dog?
Maybe the strength of forums like this are the vast variables that each of us is exposed to that otherwise would take years and many miles to even begin to glimpse.
But to give a more direct answer to the walker question. I would say your more likely to find a "fast" dog in the walker breed that is what you expect then others. Because there are so many walkers your going to find more trait variations in the breed. And if your looking for easy answers some walker breeder somewhere can tell you what you want to hear. To me though the single biggest weakness of the walker breed is the owners fixation on single traits. There's so many that put one trait above all else and its obvious in any region I've been to. Yes there's some well rounded walkers and even guys that breed for the whole package.
But for a new hunter buying a walker is a real gamble. Just like those good walker breeders they are struggling to break through all the damage done by the masses of dogs being turned out.
The honest answer to any question about walkers is, yes they are but they also are not.

Speed is all relative. Go to a field trial and you will see some really fast dogs in all breeds on those field trial races. Take them out in the woods and it can be a different story. The speed I am interested in is not the first half mile sprint but where the dog is at in a running bear race at the 5 mile point. Same thing bobcat hunting a lot of speed is good on a jumped cat but the dog needs brains more than speed and also the trailing ability to get the cat jumped.

Saw a good many hog hunters down here try running dogs in their pack, so far no cheerleaders for the running dog. Don't know why, it was never discussed. But from what I've seen, an American fox hound can maintain speed longer than any dog I've hunted, a lot longer. Iv ran all kinds of hounds and mixed cur and hounds with running walkers and they can't keep up the pace that a pure fox dog can. Put them on game that will run and in about an hour nothing will axuall be in the race but the fox dog. Some may be following and barking but that's all.

Hog man, being from Brookhaven ms which is a hot bed full of fox dogs, I bet you knew the answer to that question before you asked didn't you.

Put them Fox hounds in the mtn out west with giant blow downs and super thick brush and a mean little running bears and see how fast they are then . it all depends on terrain and how a dog is bred . I hunted Wisconsin Michigan Minnesota with all kinds of dogs on bear bobcat coyote and coon . them running dogs sure do have speed and endurance but not much bottom end (not all but most) . dehostedler you nailed it on the bobcat and bear thing that's what I and taking about also. But for someone to say walkers are the fastest is a crock of shit! To say they are because in General there are more of them so it's more likely to find better one to me if there's more of them then there's a lot of culling gonna happen till you find the good ones. Those flat lands dogs may be fast down there or out there but not gonna be fast in mtn terrain out west and that has been proven . also been proven that fast dogs out here are super fast over there . this answered from actual experience . there are lots of fast smart hounds out there but not just one breed in particular and it's always been that way . do some research and traveling and you will find that out.

macedonia mule man wrote:Hog man, being from Brookhaven ms which is a hot bed full of fox dogs, I bet you knew the answer to that question before you asked didn't you.

Well, I have heard a lot of trash talking from the hog hunting- walker guys.... I know a lot of the fox hunters around here, I figured that's why they run them.... Heard a lot of the hog hunters say- (that hunt walkers) say if a hog breaks a walker will push it harder and get it to stop... Unlike some hounds... My opinion would be it don't matter the breed... (Running to catch, not just running to run) Our terrain varies a lot down here, we have bad thickets and swamps.... Which throws some young dogs... Rivers throw most of the young dogs... Most people say a bluetick is slow... I got bluetick coondogs and I dont know what to think.. it seems like my dog has the meat when others dont... It could be luck.. Thanks for all yalls answers. I really appreciate it.

dhostetler wrote:Speed is all relative. Go to a field trial and you will see some really fast dogs in all breeds on those field trial races. Take them out in the woods and it can be a different story. The speed I am interested in is not the first half mile sprint but where the dog is at in a running bear race at the 5 mile point. Same thing bobcat hunting a lot of speed is good on a jumped cat but the dog needs brains more than speed and also the trailing ability to get the cat jumped.

What kind- -of dogs are u using? What breed is gone have good speed, and bottom for a long race up to8-10 miles ?so your saying a walker may not do as good in woods as pen?

Man it's not so much the breed as it is the line or strain of dogs, there's fast and slow in any breed, Hogman, like as stated your in walker dog country, I'm not far from you, there's a big difference in the fox pen dogs as there is in an all round good hunting walker, it's a sad but true statement but most folks around our parts have bred running dogs to suit these trials, and that being speed and drive, and less about brains, making checks, cold trailing, etc. A dog doesn't have to be very smart or track minded to be a superstar in the fox hound world because there's no such thing as a cold trail in a fox pen no matter how big it is. Your best bet is to find some old man who doesn't brag about his dogs or field trials them who is an outside Hunter , that'll put you on the path to the kinda walker dogs you want....

You can successfully catch hogs with running bred dogs, just got to have the right ones.

Fast dogs are where you find them. I'll let you guys sort what color coat they wear. It all depends. Some dogs shine running in swamp terrain. Next dog looks great on high ground. The next learns how to cut corners and get in front. Hour 1 is different than hour 3 or 6. Or on certain game. Seen some tracks stars look for the truck when the game doesn't want to run. Many dogs are good but great ones are few and far between. Appreciate them when you got one cause they don't live nearly long enough.

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HOGMAN wrote:

dhostetler wrote:Speed is all relative. Go to a field trial and you will see some really fast dogs in all breeds on those field trial races. Take them out in the woods and it can be a different story. The speed I am interested in is not the first half mile sprint but where the dog is at in a running bear race at the 5 mile point. Same thing bobcat hunting a lot of speed is good on a jumped cat but the dog needs brains more than speed and also the trailing ability to get the cat jumped.

What kind- -of dogs are u using? What breed is gone have good speed, and bottom for a long race up to8-10 miles ?so your saying a walker may not do as good in woods as pen?

Most of my dogs are mix breed. The best dogs with bottom and speed for 10+ mile bear races I like are actually Walker dogs out of 2 sons of Loose Bruce - Hondo & Frontier Tall Timber. I have run all breeds and other walkers and I have yet to find anything that can keep up with dogs that descend out of those 2 dogs. I however have a 10 month old Duncan B&T, that is really impressing me but she is still trashy as hell.

I really think you are making a mistake in worrying about which breed is best more than breeding behind the dog. True from my experience certain walker dogs I think are the best but I also think most of the walker dogs out there are culls.