Training Question

[Hounder-]

I'm having some issues this summer and looking for tips/suggestions.

So I run my dogs on bears in the summer/fall and then bobcats and coyotes in the winter. I like this as I don't like dogs sitting bored for a long period of time and it gets them lots of running.

Doing this usually leads to 3-4 coyote chases during bear season, but I can live with that. The dogs generally get in a "bear groove" and do fine for my standards. However, this year everything changed.

The main concern is two 4 year old dogs that have been doing decent for their age. Their first 3 years they ran plenty of bears and definitely selected for them on cold tracks etc. However, this summer about halfway through training season (after running and treeing a few bears) they got on a couple coyotes. I didn't think it was too big a deal, figuring it was my 3-4 a season. However, it just has not stopped since. They are now selecting them out of baits (even when I put them on a clear bear track out of the bait). They are switching from cold bear tracks to coyotes, even on baits that did not have a coyote track in them (find them somewhere in the woods I guess). I do not think they have left a hot bear for a coyote but at this point it would not surprise me. They still run bears but at this point I can only put them on hot tracks and cold tracking is something I really want from my dogs.

It just seems the flood gates have opened and now the dogs think "Oh Hey we can do this in the summer? AWESOME!".

Just wondering any suggestions from people. And the "don't run coyotes" answer is the obvious one but I do enjoy running my dogs nearly year round so I would prefer other suggestions.

Shock them on coyotes in summer? How can I get them re-focused? Let their brains "re-set" in the off season and just pound hot bears into them the beginning of next season (as this season is nearly over)?


Thanks for any suggestions. Any idea is welcome!

Sorry it got long, just tried to give enough information.

[mondomuttruner]

Are you seeing the coyote their running or just assuming their running a coyote?

[1bludawg]

Now that's a interesting problem .My first inclination would be that they're getting bear whipped but if they're still treeing the hot ones that must not be the case.My second guess is you must have numerous coyotes in the area you hunt .When the dogs are coldtrailing a bear they come across so many hot coyote tracks that they can't resist running one,after all that's legal game for them.You might try to encourage,praise and REWARD the dogs for running bear but don't do it for the coyotes.Let them run the yotes ,just don't encourage it.Sorry but that's all i can think of if you want to run both animals .a

[Hounder-]

Seeing tracks Mondo, no doubt about it.

And yea bludawg that is kind of what I have been doing, but think the fun of a coyote run is encouragement to them to keep running 'yotes at the moment, haha. And no, they should not be bear whipped, they both have had their run ins, but nothing this year that would have switched their thinking. I do not doubt they prefer coyotes over bears but like I said they have always run bears, including this summer. And yes lots of coyotes in our area but no more than any other year but LOTS more runs this year.

Thanks for the replies.

[1bludawg]

Hounder,see if you can find or buy a dog that is bear crazy,that would help.Also you could take one dog that really likes a bear and break it off the yotes .Try one of the bear strains,plott,bluetick "etc".

[box rocker]

Have you tried to run them separate. You might just have one that likes them and one that likes running with him. Coyotes are very territorial they may be looking for a fight. maybe your baits to close to the den or the middle of their turf. Might try moving the bait? Try running a different time of day. Good luck!!

[Ker_man]

Are you baiting with meat? I have come to the conclusion that if the dogs don't fear the bears they will prefer them. I also like to run coyotes and bears with the same dogs. I think that if you start to kill a lot of coyotes it might become a problem in bear season.

[jschwoeg]

I was having the same issue this year and it was getting worse as the year went on. Then I decided to quit running the yote crazy dogs on bear, and make my four year old plott a straight bear dog. And the yote crazy dogs are just guna be for yotes. So inturn im guna have a couple cold nosed straight bear dogs, and a couple cold nosed straight yote dogs. And the rest ill run on both. It has been workin good for me so far. Good luck

[Hounder-]

No baiting with meat here Ker_man, but coyotes still love to come into the baits. We did have a good winter killing coyotes and that thought has crossed my mind. However, other guys in the crew had dogs on more coyotes than me in the winter and they are not having my issues this summer.

Ya jschwoeg I think that is what started my whole issue. Have a young coyote crazy dog that probably started the first coyote chase or two this summer. So I stopped running him. The problem is the other dogs are now running coyotes even when the coyote crazy dog isn't in there. Like I said before its just like the floodgates opened up.

Thanks for the replies all. Like anything I think its a combination of issues. Hoping next summer to start it off "right" and get them in a bear groove early. And not run the coyote crazy dog etc.

[waktasha13]

Me and a buddy are looking into getting a dog or two to hunt bear hear in arizona but have never done it was wondering if anyone knows if there are any dvd's out there we could watch to get ideas on how to train them for bear.

[bowtech36]

So much information on this website on training dogs of.any breed on any species.