Which Blue Line For My Needs?

[Spokerider]

I'm looking to add some blue to my pack, and have some specific needs I would like to have in the prospect. They are, in order of importance as I rate them;

1] Cat-minded, cougar specifically. I do not want to run bear, but do want to run the occasional coon........ and we have a crap-load of bear here.

2] Handles well and listens well, easily broken from trash. I freecast, and want a dog that hunts close in and checks back regularly. Yes, you can *correct* and shock them into hunting this way, but some do it naturally.

3] Intelligence. Some dogs have it, others are like a sack of hammers....... Which line is known for intelligence, being able to figure out difficult tracks in rugged terrain, and just having the insight to respond to any given situation requiring thought over knee-jerk reflex. Some dogs have the ability to learn, and others will never get it.

4] Methodical accurate tracking. I'm not fast in the boots, and so I don't need a dog that is uber-excited and blows through the track fast, fast. What I do need is a dog that is accurate on wet ground, a leaf sniffer or twig sniffer, one that is accurate to the tree.

5] Enough sawdust in the blood to stick to the tree until I get there.

6] Medium nose. I freecast, and want to catch the cat that day, not three days from now.

7] Smaller sized dogs, say 50-55 lbs for females.


So, with that in mind, which blue line is most likely to have these traits?

Thanks.

[mn. deep dark blues]

Camerons or Cameron x smokeyriver or Cameron x Buzz Anderson Have nose brains grit and enough speed to finish the job. These lines work good for me. But there are a lot of good blue lines out there that are good. For good grade blueticks there are a lot of guys out west that have hounds that are getting done.

[bay'emup]

I would rarely tell anyone to shy away from Camerons, but if you're looking for medium-nosed dogs you might want to look for some Hammer or Jet blood. Camerons are usually very cold-nosed. I have a male Hammer/Utchman cross that is more medium nose. These two lines have the same characteristics of speed, grit and everything else you're lookin for with a medium nose as well. Hammer breeding makes for some nice bear and lion dogs for houndsmen that don't have two or three days to bring an old cold track to tree.