Super Training
Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:52 am
The 1st day of our bear season , I rigged a bear around 0730 .It was a good rig, so all my dogs got to go.I was in an area the had a lot of canyons in it and one road...The dogs were out of hearing in no time...I thought they had the bear treed a couple of times, but couldnt get close enough to them to really tell..Around 1300, most of my dogs had quit the race and were coming out to the road. I picked up all of them except 2. I figured that the other 2 were just tired and were a little slow..
I went back to camp to grab a bite and returned to the area with my quad. I drove around with a buddy of mine and located the 2 dogs in a small canyon not to far from the road. The 2 dogs sounded like they were treed. I started putting dogs down and then I couldnt hear the dogs treeing anymore. By the time I gathered the dogs I just turned loose, I couldnt hear the other dogs at all. I checked my Tracker and found that the 2 dogs had crossed the road and were leaving the area.I didnt think they would ever get that Elk stopped
Anyway, I located the 2 dogs in a canyon just about dark...I couldnt hear them, but from their signal, I was just above them...I was a little confused as the 2 dogs I had out were not tin the best shape, yet they way outlasted the ones that I considered in good shape...I had to leave the dogs and make it back to the road before it got too dark to see.Once at the road, I headed to camp.
The next morning, i came back in the same area and started to rig. I checked the Tracker, and found that the 2 dogs were west of the canyon I left them in. They had not walked out to an area that I could get to them.
I was going to check one more small road before getting out of the area when My box blew up. I dumped the box and loaded up my pack. I put my 2 video cameras and my digital camera in the pack, hoping to get some photos...
I radioed to my buddies where I was and started walking towards the dogs.When I walked out on to this mesa, I thought I could hear a dog treeing. I had to wait until my lungs dropped back in to my chest cavity to make sure I could hear dogs. I was sure I could hear a dog and started my way to the tree. The closer I got, I could only hear 1 dog treeing. I didnt know what to expect as I walked to the edge of the small canyon . I looked on the other side of the canyon, and could see a bear in a tree. Under the tree was one dog. It was one of the dogs that I left out the day before. As I got closer, I could see the other dog from the day before. He was trying to bark, but had no voice. It was about 8 - 10 minutes before any other dogs showed up...Those 2 dogs had run and treed that bear, I dont know how many times over the last 24hrs. One thing for sure was that they had him treed now.
The other dogs piled in later and started treeing . The bear was low, and the young dogs could get a good look at him. While I was waiting for my buddies to show up , I thought Id get some video of the bear. I whipped out my new small compact video camera and noticed the switch was still on..the wife had used the camera to film a birthday party and left it on..The battery was dead..
...No Problemo, I just broke out my old video camera which I had charged the night before...I was filming away when my buddies showed up..When one of my buddies went to shoot the bear, the" Battery Low " light came on..What the heck man....I only filmed for about 2 minutes. ..I was not a happy camper...I busted out the digital camera and it was good to go.
My buddy took a shot at the bear and it didnt move one bit...He shoots again and BAM ,the bear comes out of the tree. We turn dogs loose and the fight is on...The bear doesnt have a hole in him that I could tell. The bear made a stand just under the tree and he was flipping my dogs like burgers on a grill. I ran in to get some photos, and it was pretty intense..It got a lot more intense when all the dogs cleared out after a rush and it was just me next to the bear. The bear looked at me for a second and then decided he was going to "get some.". He made a rush at me and I was high stepping across the wash to say the least . I just knew that bear was going to run me down...If it wasnt for my cat like reflexes , there would have been some new holes in my posterior area...
I dont know if it was my brawn or the smell that was coming from the back of my jeans that deterred the bear, but all I could hear was my buddies laughing as the bear went past me.The bear bayed up in a small cut about 40 yards from the tree. The dogs bayed him up for about 10 minutes before my buddy put a round in the bear...It was super training for the dogs to say the least.I got some good photos, but it would have been crazy if I could have got it on tape...Ill try to post some photos....Coop
I went back to camp to grab a bite and returned to the area with my quad. I drove around with a buddy of mine and located the 2 dogs in a small canyon not to far from the road. The 2 dogs sounded like they were treed. I started putting dogs down and then I couldnt hear the dogs treeing anymore. By the time I gathered the dogs I just turned loose, I couldnt hear the other dogs at all. I checked my Tracker and found that the 2 dogs had crossed the road and were leaving the area.I didnt think they would ever get that Elk stopped
Anyway, I located the 2 dogs in a canyon just about dark...I couldnt hear them, but from their signal, I was just above them...I was a little confused as the 2 dogs I had out were not tin the best shape, yet they way outlasted the ones that I considered in good shape...I had to leave the dogs and make it back to the road before it got too dark to see.Once at the road, I headed to camp.
The next morning, i came back in the same area and started to rig. I checked the Tracker, and found that the 2 dogs were west of the canyon I left them in. They had not walked out to an area that I could get to them.
I was going to check one more small road before getting out of the area when My box blew up. I dumped the box and loaded up my pack. I put my 2 video cameras and my digital camera in the pack, hoping to get some photos...
I radioed to my buddies where I was and started walking towards the dogs.When I walked out on to this mesa, I thought I could hear a dog treeing. I had to wait until my lungs dropped back in to my chest cavity to make sure I could hear dogs. I was sure I could hear a dog and started my way to the tree. The closer I got, I could only hear 1 dog treeing. I didnt know what to expect as I walked to the edge of the small canyon . I looked on the other side of the canyon, and could see a bear in a tree. Under the tree was one dog. It was one of the dogs that I left out the day before. As I got closer, I could see the other dog from the day before. He was trying to bark, but had no voice. It was about 8 - 10 minutes before any other dogs showed up...Those 2 dogs had run and treed that bear, I dont know how many times over the last 24hrs. One thing for sure was that they had him treed now.
The other dogs piled in later and started treeing . The bear was low, and the young dogs could get a good look at him. While I was waiting for my buddies to show up , I thought Id get some video of the bear. I whipped out my new small compact video camera and noticed the switch was still on..the wife had used the camera to film a birthday party and left it on..The battery was dead..
...No Problemo, I just broke out my old video camera which I had charged the night before...I was filming away when my buddies showed up..When one of my buddies went to shoot the bear, the" Battery Low " light came on..What the heck man....I only filmed for about 2 minutes. ..I was not a happy camper...I busted out the digital camera and it was good to go.
My buddy took a shot at the bear and it didnt move one bit...He shoots again and BAM ,the bear comes out of the tree. We turn dogs loose and the fight is on...The bear doesnt have a hole in him that I could tell. The bear made a stand just under the tree and he was flipping my dogs like burgers on a grill. I ran in to get some photos, and it was pretty intense..It got a lot more intense when all the dogs cleared out after a rush and it was just me next to the bear. The bear looked at me for a second and then decided he was going to "get some.". He made a rush at me and I was high stepping across the wash to say the least . I just knew that bear was going to run me down...If it wasnt for my cat like reflexes , there would have been some new holes in my posterior area...
I dont know if it was my brawn or the smell that was coming from the back of my jeans that deterred the bear, but all I could hear was my buddies laughing as the bear went past me.The bear bayed up in a small cut about 40 yards from the tree. The dogs bayed him up for about 10 minutes before my buddy put a round in the bear...It was super training for the dogs to say the least.I got some good photos, but it would have been crazy if I could have got it on tape...Ill try to post some photos....Coop
