BigGameHoundsmen.com

I was just wondering why the noble redbone has slipped so far when it comes not only to coonhunter where they started but to all around use?

These were the first hounds I was exposed to as a young person. Superb on mountain lion and other big game says the book, but we see very few these days. Maybe a few red hounds a bluetickxwalker crossed on a blood hound or a redbonexblack and tan, but not many regestered redbones especially in the big game world.


Any ideas why this is?

i think it is just trends. the treeing walkers are popular. those that love plotts for big game will not change breeds.personally my first hound was a redbone, solid tree dog. good bay dog. lion hound as well. my one and only ever. nice all weather rig dog. back in the day we as a group had many in our circle of friends. we always said the redbone hound was more resiliant at coming back on after a thrashing by a bear than any other breed. including walkers, english, blues, plotts. just the crews majority opinion not mine. all in all nice dogs. through the years i have seen some nice redbone bobcat dogs as well.

i think it is the breeders.seems like the walker guys got a few breaks with great stud dogs that produced good dogs out of almost any line they were bred to.anybody new to hunting starts looking around and more than likely they will see more walker pups than any other breed.a lot of walker guys pushed their dogs harder in magazines, the coon hunt circuits etc.i have hunted all the breeds and if i had to find a pup of any breed to start i would say a GOOD redbone would be the hardest to find.i dont remember any truely dominant reproducing redbone in the 10 years that i ran the coon hunts hard.i had an older hunting buddy who would buy top notch redbone pups from lots of reputable breeders but he was always training them with bluetick or b&t.never seen him have a complete solid redbone hound in all those years.they sure were pretty and had good mouths but they all had bad flaws when it came to hunting.i would love to have a good one but im busy trying to see what i can make out of plotts and english.

Mike,
I believe the reason is because Scarlett is the last of the line bred Piute Mtn Redbones.

Seriously, I think it is because people do not breed for the good old fashioned Redbone traits and lines like they used to. My red dogs still look like the ones of days gone by and carry those all around traits that make them multi-purpose hounds. Not many of the coonhound type of dogs are bred like that.

I can say that the same goes for all hound breeds. You do not find the soggy looking hounds like before. Now they are bred to look and act like bench show dogs. I am glad the kid that has Scarlett now is going to breed her to Ozzy. Will keep that old Piute blood going for hunters out here in the rough country.

i dont have any idea either-

some guys that have had a few good ones ,told me it was hard to find one of equal quality , alive at the same time to breed to

i heard a rumour that gary mcmillan from MA has a redbone named buster thats a coondog and has won last 4 nitehunts entered- in three states -
ive heard he is an honest . good natured .accurate coondog
i dont know gary , have never seen his dog , just repeating a rumour i heard

I had a young man call me to breed a bitch of his back to my Ike dog that is suppose to be some coon dog. LCK has hunted with that female and claims she is about the only hound that he has hunted around that took a track away from his bluetick, a dog that was campaigned in the West alot on coons. LCK was the guy that had that young man call me, and told him he should go back to that same blood, as the dog is fast and accurate down a track. So I guess there are still a few rebones left and it gets back into what a person likes.

ike

Big Horn Posse wrote:Mike,
I believe the reason is because Scarlett is the last of the line bred Piute Mtn Redbones.

Seriously, I think it is because people do not breed for the good old fashioned Redbone traits and lines like they used to. My red dogs still look like the ones of days gone by and carry those all around traits that make them multi-purpose hounds. Not many of the coonhound type of dogs are bred like that.

I can say that the same goes for all hound breeds. You do not find the soggy looking hounds like before. Now they are bred to look and act like bench show dogs. I am glad the kid that has Scarlett now is going to breed her to Ozzy. Will keep that old Piute blood going for hunters out here in the rough country.

Just hold on there, the same does not go forall hound breeds. Don't classify the plott in with the rest of the mass produced coon hunt hounds.

larry wrote:

Big Horn Posse wrote:Mike,
I believe the reason is because Scarlett is the last of the line bred Piute Mtn Redbones.

Seriously, I think it is because people do not breed for the good old fashioned Redbone traits and lines like they used to. My red dogs still look like the ones of days gone by and carry those all around traits that make them multi-purpose hounds. Not many of the coonhound type of dogs are bred like that.

I can say that the same goes for all hound breeds. You do not find the soggy looking hounds like before. Now they are bred to look and act like bench show dogs. I am glad the kid that has Scarlett now is going to breed her to Ozzy. Will keep that old Piute blood going for hunters out here in the rough country.

Just hold on there, the same does not go forall hound breeds. Don't classify the plott in with the rest of the mass produced coon hunt hounds.

LOL, it's all downhill now.........Plott Hound parading around the Westminster show ring......just opens the door for show folks to start breeding them and doing what AKC does best with breeds -- ruin them -- look at AKC B&T's before AKC restarted the coonhound department AND had to bring other registry hounds in order to rebuild.

Let's be honest, all the coonhound breeds have taken a hit to everyone and their neighbor breeding them. $$$ talks and bullshit walks

buckshot you hit the nail on the head right there brother
show breeders, in most cases, ruin dogs. thats the truth



its a trend, walkers, walkers, walkers..every kid who starts huntin wants a walker
everyone breeds walkers...everyones buddys got a walker and so on.....seems like the redbones are more and more bred for show rather than the hunt

No amount of campaigning or advertizing or bullshitting will get a guy farther than a litter or 2. If the dogs aren't doing it then they'll die out. Much like the redbones have started to do. Walkers are being bred because they are getting it done. I'll hunt any dog that has the qualities I prefer in a dog. I don't care what the color is, except brindle.

Bearkiller wrote:No amount of campaigning or advertizing or bullshitting will get a guy farther than a litter or 2. If the dogs aren't doing it then they'll die out. Much like the redbones have started to do. Walkers are being bred because they are getting it done. I'll hunt any dog that has the qualities I prefer in a dog. I don't care what the color is, except brindle.

The first half and the second half of your post seem to contradict one another

I have a question to ask before I say to much because I really don't know the answer for sure or the direction I'm going with it.. But what breed of hound do you guys think are used just as pets the most? I know when I was looking for a dog about 5 years ago it was for my son who just read where the Red Fern Grows. Well I started hunting this hound and she turned out really well on both bobs and coons. But it was a year later the guy that I bought her from had a friend with a male litter mate got it for free, but it was never hunted and had two many dog or pet habits that I couldn't hunt with. I happened appond this site after I got hooked on hunting the very same dog that would have also made a great pet. But if it weren't for me and my competetive ways the dog never would have been used to it's fullest potential as a hunting dog. Some day I'll breed this female but for now I'm having way to much fun hunting her and the only reason I would breed her is to try to get a dog that is just like her. I'm just looking around now for the type of Red Bone Male that I think would make a good cross. But then I wounder how many of these pups would be hunted ,with no papers and the lack of hound men in my area, and how many will just become pets.,can't keep them all.

sdred wrote:I know when I was looking for a dog about 5 years ago it was for my son who just read where the Red Fern Grows. Well I started hunting this hound and she turned out really well on both bobs and coons.

I think you touched on what I've spoken about many times over the years, and that is the owner and handler takes any hound and develops it and that hound either becomes a hunting machine or not from the "bred in traits" it has. But without the handler the dog is nothing more than a pet or noise maker on the chain.......

Don't ever let anybody tell you the redbone hound is a dead breed or won't hunt, cause I have a couple that will rig, strike and run with any hound running today........ Those hounds of mine are getting on in age and starting to slow a bit, but I wouldn't trade them for anything I've ever seen in the field or on the web....

Most of the hounds I'm hunting these days are crossbred hounds with English, Redbone and Walker in them. I'll let others promote the papered hounds and sing their praises, cause my interests are more along the line of keeping alive the bloodlines of the hounds that have shared this life experience with me.

http://www.ingramwildlife.com/redfern.htm

ike

Thanks Ike I totally agree with you my redbones hunt as good if not better than any breed i've seen or hunted with, but I also like the handle i have on my dogs they handle and learn well. Which would also make them good pets. I don't know if it is breed specific or not but I like the eye I have in my Redbones and I don't mean the sight I mean the eye. Kind of like horses they can have a kind eye a dead eye or an eye that is looking right threw you they all start with a sacred eye when they come in contact with humans but that is to be worked around to find out what is truely underneath. The type of eye that my Redbones have is an eager eye they are eager to hunt eager to learn and most important eager to please. But even with that eye if you don't touch horses or dogs soon enough or just let them hang out with their kind they become just like you put it.. Just another dog or horse. So in short how many good hunting Redbones become someones treasured pets never to reach their potential as hunters? And how many breeders took advantage of public demands for pets and didn't breed good hunters to good hunters or even care if they got hunted or not. Because I can see maybe Redbone Blueticks and B/T's making that transition from hunter to pet easier than some of the higher strung moodier type breeds. Kind off like Quarterhorse vs thoughbreed, Lab vs pointer just an observation and a whole lot of rambleing.

Three contributing factors...1) Breeding for the bench shows without enough emphasis on ability. (self explantory)

2) Where the Red Fern Grows (requires a little explaining lol....people read the book who are not hard hunters or hunters at all, want a redbone, get a redbone, and breed more "pretty" redbones just like Old Dan and Little Ann for other people to buy who read the book and want their very own redbone coonhound...ie breeding dogs with no clue if they can tree game or not)

3) the popularity of Treeing Walkers in the nite hunt world (doesn't just affect the redbones) attracting some of your up and coming hard hunters into the tri-colored ranks before they give the other "off" breeds a shot.