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What kind of disposition do your dogs have? What kind of disposition do you want your dogs to have?

I want them to lick a kids face, lay quitely next to other dogs, and be smart-gritty-crazy with desire on game.

I want my dogs to be extreemly gamey. I mean I want them crammed full of hunt. We spend a great deal of time with early stimulation (Bio Sensor)techniques with small puppies. One of the reasons is this line of dog is bred to be very gamey and they naturally want to hunt. I do not prefer a hard headed dog. By that I mean a dog you have to half kill to get his attention. I find that working with a pack the less you can handle or overhandle your dogs the better off you are, ( another reason I use whistles). My dogs cannot be overhandled or you will never get the best out of them you should expect. They will quit an ametuer handler that is very heavy handed or loves that high intensity button.

Remember that hunting dogs especially hounds operate to a high degree on inherited traits. These can be channeled but how you do that is very important.

I guess some strains may take a lot of punishment to get their attention but I don't want that type of dog.

If a person tells you that you have to have a bull headed pushy dog to have a gritty game dog be very careful and do not buy any bridges or ocean front property from them. LOL!

Good topic....

What I really like

I like a Sweet dog soft handed dog. with lots of Desire, a dog that hunts for you.... One that gives me 100 Percent day in and Day out.. The dog that after a hard day of hunitng I don't mind sharing my hotdog or Piece of steak with around the fire.. (which By the way when you do give it tasty treat it doesn't Snatch it out of your hand and gobble it..!!;)

I should clarify.. I want a Soft handed dog that forgives me easily... Just Like Mike Says.. except I'm still an Amatuer allot of the time, It's nice to have a dog that doesn't hold my mistakes against me for too long..

I have a Hard headed Dog and it absolutely drives me nuts, But that dog is Supper soft with electricity..

the Biggest Problem I don't like about my dogs are they are Gamey and Competitive, they want to Move a Track.. .. But They want to be in Front Which seams to cause some over running of tracks and I'm sure is the cause for some Trash races.

Good post.

My choice is the same type of dog described above, super gamey, good handling, smart, smart, smart, very alert, pays attention to surroundings and is not always nose to the ground,not disctracted (wetting every bush, or sniffing every other dog) but will listen and come.

Maybe I should start another post. . . but what do you guys look for in puppy disposition? 8-10 weeks when choosing a pup?

Dan I can tell ya what I dont want. Is a shy hound, they are the absolute pits. I dont care how the hunt, handle game Ive had my fill of alot of breeds that were shy and it will be a cold day in hell before I keep another.

I like a laid back easy going hound that has a ton of drive and no quit to them.

Not into the high strung wound up tighter than a clock spaz hounds that don't have a brain in their head.

When someone says a dog has a ton of drive it doesn't mean the dog is super high strung and bouncing off the walls, it means the dog wants to hunt. Some people tend to confuse the two.

I also am not a bear hunter so I want my lion and bobcat dogs to be able to be able to take the time to work out a track when it gets a little tough. I have found the less high strung dogs are much better at this.

Gamey is good, but I don't want a suicidal dog. Stiching up a dog can get expensive and even worse trying to replace a dead dog can be even more pricey!

Hey Stuntman,

Where are you in the OC? I was born and raised in NB. Moved out here to Wyoming in '95. Went back to Newport 2 years ago and boy things have really changed!

Where the heck do you hunt there? Didn't see much open land left that hasn't been developed.

Dan,

Mike and Buddyw, about somed it up for me, I would be vary happy with those traits.

Stuntmans comments hits close to home, and I am vary interested in feedback. I dont want to highjack this post.

I will start a new topic and im hopeful I will get some insight on this man shy type dogs that you all have came across, seems to be alot out their.

Thanks

Big Horn Posse wrote:Hey Stuntman,

Where are you in the OC? I was born and raised in NB. Moved out here to Wyoming in '95. Went back to Newport 2 years ago and boy things have really changed!

Where the heck do you hunt there? Didn't see much open land left that hasn't been developed.

BigHorn- I'm sorry about that I live in Orange Co, N.Y. its not the first time sombody has asked me that.I have to change it. But hey its built up around me and I have to drive a little also

Most have hit on what I'm looking for in a dogs disposition. Easy handling the brains to put the hunting genes to good use.
One big thing for me, I want a dog that can trust me completly. You can overcome some shyness with trust. I've been hunting some country with some pretty healthy bluffs, helps that a dog trusts you and will let you get them down thru big rock when the catch counts on it.

I also like a dog that checks in when freecasting them. I think this is something that disposition plays a big part in. The hard headed dogs just go hunting for themselves, at least till they get a hunger pain.

VERY INTERESTING TOPIC. I WILL WEIGH IN ON HAVING HUNTED TWO DIFFERENT BREEDS OF HOUNDS OVER MANY DECADES ,YOU START TO SEE A STARK DIFFERENCE IN DOGS. THE DISPOSITION IN MY BRINDLE DOGS ARE FOR SURE DIFFERENT TNAN MY WALKERS. MY BRINDLE DOGS COMPLETELY RUN ME TO DEATH, GAMEY , HARD HEADED, YOU HAD TO BE VERY STERN WITH THEM OR THEY WOULD PLOW YOU UNDER. TOUGH . RUGGED ALL WEATHER STYLE DOGS THAT DON'T KNOW QUIT. THE STYLE OF HOUND I DESIRED TO HUNT BACK IN MY YOUNGER DAYS. AS I NEVER HUNTED BEHIND A STYLISH HOUND. WHEN I DISCOVERED THE WALKERS,I SOON LEARNED THAT I WOULD RUIN THEM IF I HANDLED THEM LIKE MY PLOTTS. THE THING I DISLIKE ABOUT WALKERS IS THEY ARE NOT RUGGED HOUNDS ,AT LEAST BY MY OLD STANDARDS OF RUGGED. IN THE WINTER MY PLOTTS WOULD SWIM A RAGING RIVER . KIND OF SCREW YOU MENTALITY. WHEN I FINALLY GOT TO THEM RISKING LIFE AND LIMB, THEY WENT UP ON THE RIG DECK AND CONTINUE HUNTING . WHEN I GOT MY NEXT STRIKE I NOTICED THEY HAD ICE HANGING ON THEM. I DON'T HAVE THAT PROBLEM WITH MY WALKERS AS THEY WILL QUIT YOU LONG BEFORE THE ICE STARTS TO FORM. PERSONALLY I LIKE THAT BETTER. AS I SLEEP IN MY BED MORE OFTEN THAN I DID WITH THE PLOTTS.I DONT YELL AT MY WALKERS. I TALK TO THEM. I DONT FRY THEM WITH JUICE. NOR DO THEY TAKE A THUMPING AS THEY WILL QUIT YOU ,UNLIKE THE PLOTTS WHO IF GIVEN A THRASHING WILL SPRING BACK AND NOT MISS A BEAT. THE THING THAT YEARS HAVE TAUGHT ME IS HUNTING IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN. IT AIN'T ALWAYS ABOUT CATCHING BUT WATCHING A DOG PERFORM. THE OLD SAYING BORN FREE, BUT HUNTED TO DEATH. SURE APPLIED TO THE PLOTT DOGS.

I want them to lick a kids face, lay quitely next to other dogs, and be smart-gritty-crazy with desire on game.

me 2 -

i havent always got what i want -

have had plenty that were pshyco -- very few laid back- at least not as pups and young dogs -





i always joke ,
=
like em just on the edge of crazy- some are a little over the edge




quite often,

pshyco , crazy young dogs just need to be hunted till theyre tired -

easier said than done -


my sassy dog was a great example of what boredom can do to a dog

during hunting season- she basically lived in truck--

- sometimes id leave her loose in my yard and forget , find her sleeping top of dog box in back of truck -or in it





off season -when tied up too long -known to dig holes and bark into them --chew trees down , a real pain to have around -

so - id tie her by door on my house-- or just let her stay in/on dog box as much as i could--ride to work ,go fishing , whatever -lol


she just needed to do something ,almost anything -


rite back to laid back sensible hound ---instant fix --



need a year round pursuit season-- even if it was a few days a month -

no hunting for 6 months or more is what makes a lot of pshyco crazy rattleheaded dogs--


they werent made for part time use









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