Hound Questions

kyleds8

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Hello,

I've been getting into hunting with hounds and I have some questions for the houndsmen on here.

I have a 11 month pup who has recently switched on, lighting up on tracks whenever we're out. Previously she was dead silent, and kept within 200 yards of me (I was worried I had ruined her w/ too much training), now she's taking off baying tracks running quite a ways before I call her off. We don't have snow here yet, how do you tell what your dog's on when there are no visible tracks? Currently we're in between seasons so I'm calling her off tracks after she runs a bit, but I don't want to be sending her the wrong message, should I just let her run whatever it is? How close to last light will you let a dog run a track?

Second, I heard someone say it's best to keep your dog's outside, as they adapt to the climate and do better if they're lost for a night or two, sounds good to me and I want to setup to move the dogs out of the house, however I've got two concerns: cold and predators. What's your setup for your dogs living outside (no kennels) so that they don't freeze when it gets really cold and the snow is high? Every winter lions kill a few dogs in the town I live in, and this past winter I had a lion kill a deer in my yard, how do you keep your dogs safe from predators?

Many thanks,

Kyle
 

nidaho

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Wait for snow and put her on good tracks. I probably wouldn’t break her of trash for a while. Keep her on a chain. Plywood dog house with straw will be fine. Predators are not a concern you are chasing them with that dog.
 

Michael54

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Oct 18, 2019
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Any tracks you want her to run have to be controlled whether with a scent drag or a trapped and released live animal. Hounds are different in the fact that a hound can teach a hound. You can pair an old slow reliable hound with a young one and the young one will learn. If you want them outside build or buy a kennel and do it responsibly.
 
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kyleds8

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Wait for snow and put her on good tracks. I probably wouldn’t break her of trash for a while. Keep her on a chain. Plywood dog house with straw will be fine. Predators are not a concern you are chasing them with that dog.
will you run them on fox, coyote and raccoon tracks as well as big game?
haha i would hope so, but i’ve seen how close lions get to deer and my dogs are oblivious compared to wild animals..
 

Coldtrail

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Dec 9, 2019
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You'll prob get a different answer from every houndsmen. With pups I train handling in the summer, tracks in the winter. It's pretty easy for a hound to burn trash when you don't know for sure. I've found that to be a good trainer of hounds you need to be a glass is half empty type, assume the dog is doing the wrong thing until you prove otherwise and see for yourself. At 11 months i'd be working hard playing good track/bad track on the leash after every snow and I think they are old enough to learn to focus rather than just howl on whatever track they choose. Pat them up on the good tracks and a stern NO and get their attention on bad. If you are running cats/lions you will want a very straight dog. I don't believe they are ever trash proof, but make them as trash resistant as you can. I don't rough up dogs unless they have other bad habits that make them a pain like fighting at the tree, in the box etc. Then I explain to them that we shouldn't do that anymore. Also, don't be only a hot track runner, make the dog work an old track fairly often. It's not as fun, but dogs need to learn to do the work to get the reward.

I kennel mine, I feel it's better than a chain and helps the dogs relax. I built insulated houses, I like to think that the better they sleep and less energy the burn doing so lets me run several days in a row w/o them getting run down.

One dog is fun when they get it together, get in the woods and follow the dog and you'll learn a ton about the dog and game you are chasing. Good house, good kennel, good food, and lots of gas in the truck and miles on your feet. Go all in and "make" a dog, you'll have a blast. You can become a millionaire as a houndsmen, you just need to start with a $billion. 😁
 

Trial153

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I like a hound that runs a lot of the track and can trail one up and jump it. The way they start is the way they stay. I would show him tracks till he shows me enough to know what I am working with. I am not overly fussy with handling till I know if they are staying or going. If I can call them in when they arent running, lead em or heel em and send em down when I need to I am satisfied. Everything else will come in time.
 
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kyleds8

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You'll prob get a different answer from every houndsmen. With pups I train handling in the summer, tracks in the winter. It's pretty easy for a hound to burn trash when you don't know for sure. I've found that to be a good trainer of hounds you need to be a glass is half empty type, assume the dog is doing the wrong thing until you prove otherwise and see for yourself. At 11 months i'd be working hard playing good track/bad track on the leash after every snow and I think they are old enough to learn to focus rather than just howl on whatever track they choose. Pat them up on the good tracks and a stern NO and get their attention on bad. If you are running cats/lions you will want a very straight dog. I don't believe they are ever trash proof, but make them as trash resistant as you can. I don't rough up dogs unless they have other bad habits that make them a pain like fighting at the tree, in the box etc. Then I explain to them that we shouldn't do that anymore. Also, don't be only a hot track runner, make the dog work an old track fairly often. It's not as fun, but dogs need to learn to do the work to get the reward.

I kennel mine, I feel it's better than a chain and helps the dogs relax. I built insulated houses, I like to think that the better they sleep and less energy the burn doing so lets me run several days in a row w/o them getting run down.

One dog is fun when they get it together, get in the woods and follow the dog and you'll learn a ton about the dog and game you are chasing. Good house, good kennel, good food, and lots of gas in the truck and miles on your feet. Go all in and "make" a dog, you'll have a blast. You can become a millionaire as a houndsmen, you just need to start with a $billion. 😁
thank you for the great information! I'm having such a good time getting out w the dogs even if we aren't catching anything idk if i'll have time for elk...
 
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kyleds8

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I've got three dogs right now, all starting off, what's the minimum dogs you'll let out on a lion track? I'd prefer to start them one at a time, but not if they're gonna get thrashed by a lion.
 

Coldtrail

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I have stopped running everything else and run only bobcat & lion for the past 20+ years, I have done plenty of successful lion races with 2 hounds and I think I could have done just as good with one dog as long as long as it was the right dog. I think that running a "pack" on anything that needs to be cold trailed a long ways is asking for trouble, but I know plenty of hunters that do it. Bobcats I never use more than 3, more often 1-2.

The caveat to that is that these days I'm not filling tags every week & just having fun. I hunt solo 99% of the time and am in wolf country too, so running 1-2 well handling dogs makes life so much easier than trying to deal with a split chase or half the crew doing a trash run. If hounds tree in wolf country you need to be at the tree not chasing down trash runners or you may find a blood bath when you get there & be shopping for new dogs.

The "thrashing" is usually more dependant on the hound than the lion, so try to get a feel for what you dogs want to do with a caught critter. There are exceptions to this, but I've owned hounds that would gurantee me vet bills after every hunt, and others that were rarely in a scrap that did the job just as well. Nothing wrong with a gritty hound, but you gotta question a dog that needs stitches after every hunt. When I was keeping a big pack I could drop scent in my yard and have dogs get excited in the kennel, but have had a few that would try chewing through the chain link to get to it. I thought that really made them great dogs... but they cost me thousands in vet bills over the years and I stay away from those types now.

You'll likely find with 3 dogs that they prob all are good and bad at different things, it's your job to figure that out and build your team accordingly. The do it all track to tree dog is a once in a lifetime find, (despite what guys are saying about the ones they are selling on the hound hunting sites) that's why most houndsmen have multiple dogs. You as the owner are part of that team as well and need to figure out your role and how that role will compliment your dogs. A good handler is an athlete of sorts & can work wonders with average dogs, and a bad handler can screw up the best dogs. You'll find that you will be learning things as long as you have hounds in your yard, that's the fun part of having them. Good luck!
 
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In the winter during there work time use a good feed around 28% protein I was able to find some good deals on diamond I think i used the white bag buying 5 bags at a time from a local feed store.
Even with good food the will loose lots of weight during season.
3 dogs is more then enough for cats.
Build a plywood house double layered with foam insulation between. If you want them to work hard they need rest as well.
 
Joined
Nov 16, 2017
Messages
8,161
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Central Oregon
In the winter during there work time use a good feed around 28% protein I was able to find some good deals on diamond I think i used the white bag buying 5 bags at a time from a local feed store.
Even with good food the will loose lots of weight during season.
3 dogs is more then enough for cats.
Build a plywood house double layered with foam insulation between. If you want them to work hard they need rest as well.
 
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I've definitely been through letting them run tracks without snow and having a rough period of trash breaking after. I think it's great for their drive but makes it very difficult if you want them to be a straight cold trailer. And what if that was a lion track he was just screaming that you called him off of? I've never called a dog off of anything just because they were getting a certain distance away. I think you have to be very careful you're not teaching them not to range or away from you. I just catch them at roads with or without tone depending on if they're doing something they're supposed to be. I also have a lot of roads where I hunt so that works. My dogs stay on chains with barrels in the summer. Pretty nice setup a row of pines gives shade and I have them staked on long chains. When it gets cold enough the water doesn't thaw during the day they come into the shed. They all share a divided box inside the shed. Box isn't insulated but it's chicken wire dividers so they are all sharing their heat in one box. Have electric in there for heated water bowls. I didn't have to feed them much more than in the summer but we didn't hunt all that hard last winter compared to summer bear season.

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Cur dog

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At 11 months set him up for success with good tracks in snow if possible this will take more effort on your part but should not take many and it will build his confidence with trees and the trees will build your confidence in your dog for the dirt work later. He will need your help sorting things out at first. But once a hound knows for sure what game you want he will want to please you. You are a team so have fun playing the game.
 
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