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A buddy of mine here in central Utah Sam Naugle has got me hooked on hounds now so whats the minimum number of dogs you want in order to run on bear? i have 4 right now, two are with Cory huntsman getting a month of training in on cats so im gonna miss the first month of spring bear season, but im looking forward to the last month and everyone to come.

Thanks
Buck

4 dogs are plenty to catch bear. Some people don't run more than four at a time on a bear. If you get to many dogs on a bear especially dogs of unequal speed, races can get really screwed up if you get on a tight running bear in steep country.

^^^good advise. Pick Cory's brain he will get you started right.

so how old do yal recommend a dog to be before you run em on bear?

I would say whenever they are big enough to keep up with the big dogs, the two young dogs I have now saw their first bear race at 10 months, thats just how old they were at the start of season. My next batch of pups should be somewhere around 7 months at the start of season, and thats when they will get their first taste.

beardawgs did you find a stud to breed your female too, and if so when will pups be here. I have a friend looking for a redbone pup.

Yeah, I'm looking at two right now. Gonna go hunt with a red Matthes/Shockley stud first weekend of May. Thats the one I'm leaning towards for now, it likes bear on the ground and does good on bobcat. The other is a redbone from the same line as the bitch's mother. If I went with that one I could get em papered. That means more money for pups but I really want some Matthes blood, even if its been washed out.

Some say you should wait till your pups are a year old before you run them on bear but I don't have the patience to wait that long. The 2 pups in the picture are 11 months & 9 months old last summer they treed that bear by themselves after a 6 mile race. I knew the bear I was turning them on and knew that he wasn't mean.

Britney who is on the tree got killed by a lion this last winter

Britney at 9.5 months old escaped my dog box and treed this bear by herself after about a 3.5 mile race. I was pissed over her as I thought she was running trash so I didn't try to find her right away. I estimate that she had it treed by herself for an hour before I got to her.

dhostetler, thanks for your reply. sounds like she was well on her way to be a top dog sorry for your loss.