Suggestions for a hunting/ranch/kids dog

[pegleg]

Yep. But a bit of life should teach everyone There s more to it then what little they've seen. So stop swearing by things which are very likely being done contrary to your beliefs somewhere at this very moment.

[lawdawgharris]

Most of us form our opinions on our own experiences no matter how in depth or vast they are. Some will express opinions from what they've heard (these are usually the most sheepish types). From my experiences I would think the right Mt. Cur or the heeler/border collie crosses would be good candidates. I'm familiar with some of these others though, so I would have to really check them out. I am not a fan of straight curs as a whole, even though I know of a couple solid families that I would feed and hunt. I have this opinion because of what I have experienced in my part of the world and what I have needed. I'm not a fan of heelers. My neighbors have 2 yapping, screaming, never shut up da#! heelers I don't like much. Another buddy has a couple. The gyp is a good dog and the male is a biting fool. My grandpa raised and used them too. They were so hard headed. They would listen to him but that was it. His ole Thumper dog could make a real rank bull get right and for that reason I liked him, but he was probably the hardest headed. The Border collies I've experienced handled extremely well but lacked consistent bite when needed. They were a little too soft in pressure situations for me. I often wondered what those 2 breeds crossed would produce. It sounds like a nice cross, kinda like the hound/cur crosses I prefer. I prefer a hound to a cur because of that drive and want to. But, for my liking and needs, a hound isn't the fit either. Good is like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder. One man likes a super model, one man likes a plus size model, and the next likes a gal that is let's say, real big boneded. Which one is right? Hell all of them. Might not be my flavor or your flavor but it's their flavor and that's all that matters. Just because I don't prefer a straight cur, or heeler, or collie, etc. doesn't mean they aren't good or won't work. It's the task at hand along with geography that I would consider first. No matter what breed gets chosen, go to someone that is using them in a similar fashion to obtain one. Your odds of getting what you want go up because they've been selectively bred for the task at hand. If you chose the terriers, you don't want show bred dogs when there are people that have been breeding performance for example. I don't know how the catahoulas used were selected, but I'm betting you could find some that would suit you. They are a popular breed though, especially down south. Soooo many people want them for their looks and breed them for color. Some are bay competition bred, or cow trial bred, or agility, blood trackers, woods dogs for coons to hogs or cats. Depending on what they've been selectively bred for is to what tendencies are strongest. That's any breed out there!

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[pegleg]

"So many men, of many minds.
So many hounds, of many kinds"
The debate is centuries old so engage in it by all means, just remind each other each person's perspective is equally valuable and limited.
The world is large enough that even in the same dog breed you will find individuals and families of opposing qualities.
Personally I have never had great luck with walker hounds. I have seen many curs and admired some of their qualities for certain work. I've seen hounds that were worthless as well. The very best dog i have ever seen on cats was a heeler X hound. The best coon dogs were a family of black and tans from Oklahoma. The best dog for handling really rank cattle was a great dane.
Time has proven superstars will pop up in unexpected places. But it's also proven certain breeding techniques produce a better average result then most odd superstars are capable of.
I also believe american breeding practices of today are haphazard and faulty. Not saying some small programs aren t run well. Only that many unlike individuals are continually bred producing many of the dogs we have. The breeders of the past out a great deal of work into producing uniform animals. Because then a general area of usefulness could be expected of the breed.

[lawdawgharris]

Well said pegleg

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[macedonia mule man]

Testing

[macedonia mule man]

About 40 yrs ago, I decided to start a livestock and hardware supply and believe me when I say I received an in-depth education in dog and horse games. In the middle 80s through the middle 90s competion coon hunting was at a fever pitch. People hunted every week night and competition hunted all week end. Every Monday I listened to a rerun of the weekend hunts mostly from the losers. That’s where I first noticed a treeing walker hater. After about two years the walkers were dominating and entries were beginning to be mostly walkers. About that time the cur craze hit this part of the country which brought on the question about cur versus hounds. This brought on open night hunts with hounds mostly treeing walkers winning. That time period is the first time I heard the story describing a walker hound and cur hunt. The story is still told today, at least 30 yrs later, almost word for word. Walkers were dominate here and I think still are. I’ve been out of the conversation circle for a few yrs now so I don’t really know what’s happening. The curs I hunted with were good in thick coons but if you put them where they had to really hunt for a coon track it was a different story.

[al baldwin]

[macedonia mule man]

As far as trusting people to be honest, l learned you can trust most men with your wife, money,kids,automobile. I also learned you can trust most men to be truthful in (a) dog conversation but being truthful 100% of the time with no bias, I don’t think so.