ethan9392 wrote:Thoughts on training dogs to run bear and coyote...Would like to know who does this, and if anyone also throws bob’s in the mix... How often will a dog leave a cold trail bear for a coyote? Any input would be appreciated. Also how do coyotes run compared to bear?
Coyotes sometimes run exactly like bears, and according to reports bears will shape shift into coyotes just before crossing roads where hunters are waiting for the bear to come out.
Young coyotes will also run like a cat sometimes; or shape shift from a cat into a coyote if they know they are about to be seen. Cats and bears can shift their feet into coyote feet if they have to cross something that will hold tracks.
Personally, I have witnessed some HARDCORE denial among some bear hunters who cannot fathom that their dogs are running a coyote.
I think it is denial also to think that bears are the only ones leaving hot tracks from bear baits.
They need to start posting signs at the baits that say “bears only”.
I know that time stamped game cameras at bait sites have cut down on trash races in the past few years.
It may be true that combination dogs prefer bear over coyote. I can’t say, because I don’t hunt bear or date women that do. But If combo dogs prefer bear over coyote, then there are bear caught that started out as coyote tracks before the dogs crossed a hot bear.
...just another good reason to run coyotes.
Bear finders.
I do really like Brodieross’ answer though. Because I hate laying up dogs for months also. I hunted coon when I could not hunt cat. And in some areas coon are the worst kind of trash for bear and cat hunting. And maybe I would have been better laying up the dogs instead of hunting on “trash”. But I think it is hard on hunting dogs and hard on hunters to lay around getting soft for much of the year, and then trying to jump back into hunting full force. Some states only allow a month or two to run cats. About the time the dogs start firing on all cylinders, the season is over. And it can be very hard to get to hunting a pup at the right time in his development.
It is impossible to build or find a dogs full potential hunting him only a few weeks per year.
Wisconsin and Michigan have Many hunters who run their bear dogs all winter on coyote. And if they come on a cat track during cat season, they will run it also. Minnesota has long had coyote doggers who could catch cats with the same dogs.
Brodieross was right again about the rigging issue. I had to quit hunting with bear hunters because I wanted my dogs broke off coyotes.
Cat hunting becomes a lonely sport.
I guess as long as you don’t see it or find tracks, “the dogs had a hard running bear race today. Finally had to gather up dogs and go home.” There is always a chance you are not lying. And it seems better than laying around watching TV all winter to cut down on coyote races during bear season.