I know of five bobcat hunting books either completed or in process. None of them have been made available yet that I know of. I look forward to the day when there is a large selection of bobcat hunting books. I know when I was a kid learning to trap there were at least 20 books out there on mink trapping alone, let alone all the other animals. Yet when I wanted to learn to bobcat hunt with dogs, there were no books that I could find on the subject. Can't wait for the book on E. Finney Clay. I cant wait for any one of the books to become available.
Well here is an excerpt from my book on bobcat hunting. I should not be the one writing a book on the subject, but what else am I gunna do when I cant hunt?
This is for bobcat hunters. Well, really, it is more for people that would like to be a bobcat hunters. I do not have any immediate plans of doing anything with. If you read my posts over the past six or seven years, you will recognize the concepts, and even some of the sentences. I sometimes quote myself without giving credit to the source. It is copyrighted, so I may have to sue myself. But I will just live with those consequences since it wont do anybody any good sitting on my computer.
If you take the time to read it and want to make suggestions, additions, or corrections, fire away. If you help me make it better, and I use it, I can give you credit, but cant promise any more than that. I hope it helps someone. Here we go...
A bobcat hunting book
The Overkill Analysis
The Overkill Analysis
There are a few considerations with bobcat dogs that we don’t have to worry about with coon dogs. One of them is the specific regional needs we find in the bobcat dogs. It seems that every region, climate zone and topography could benefit greatly by having its’ own customized bobcat dog. A great coon dog is a great coon dog just about anywhere in the USA. Why the difference?
There are several reasons why a great bobcat dog in one region might not make a great bobcat dog in another region. One reason is a difference in bobcat sub species. They run differently and the track ends differently. In some areas bobcats will circle at times. In other areas they rarely if ever do. In some areas bobcats will climb trees readily and feel secure enough to stay there. In other areas bobcats rarely climb trees. Or they climb readily, but never feel secure in the tree and leave it if given the chance. This can also be because of a difference in the available trees. But some areas have thousands of trees including large conifers, and bobcats there would rather die than to climb a tree. For each of these situations, different finishing skills are needed in a dog.
Another reason for customized bobcat dogs is widely divergent climate. The great dogs of the South and Southwest sometimes don’t have enough hair to do well in the bitter cold of the North woods. A desert dog may need different tracking abilities than a snow dog or a rainforest dog.
But behind these reasons is a more foundational reason: many of our good bobcat dogs are just barely able to catch a bobcat. I will say it again, just in case you missed that: Many of our good bobcat dogs are just barely able to catch a bobcat. It would be hard to know this though since they catch them regularly. That is, they catch them regulary when the six factors are kept in balance.
The Six Factors
Consider these six points toward a cohesive bobcat hunt: 1) We find a dog that has the right combination of genetic traits for the given region and subspecies of bobcat. 2) We give that dog the correct amount of training and opportunity. 3) We make sure the dog is in good athletic condition, good health, and is stable emotionally. 4) We put the dog in the right weather, scenting conditions and topography. 5) We put that dog with just the perfect team mate or mates. 6) A solid relationship of trust exists between handler and dog, and the handler makes all the right handling decisions. Then, if we are lucky, we catch a certain percentage of the bobcats we put the dog on. The percentage of caught bobcats will be dictated by variations in any of the factors but especially in the level of giftedness of the dog and of the handler.
Most good bobcat dogs are always just on the verge of not catching a bobcat. If any one or two of the six factors listed above does not line up just right, we probably won’t get our bobcat.
Now if one of the factors goes off the chart in the favorable range, it might make up for a couple factors in the negative range. For example, factor #4: if we have soft snow up to the dogs’ chest and a favorable barometer and humidity, it puts factor #4 off the charts in the dogs’ favor. It may make up for the fact that the dog is not genetically gifted enough to catch a bobcat in less favorable conditions. It may even make up for a lack of training. In fact, with factor #4 that far off the charts on the favorable side, it may just make up for negative readings on all other factors. It could be our lucky day with Old Slow Moe.
Here is another example of the same principle. Let’s say factors 1 and 6 are extremely strong. The dog is super gifted genetically; he has a good relationship with his handler who is also gifted at making all the right choices in a hunt. They might just overcome weaknesses in factors 2, 3, 4, and 5, add a teaspoon of luck and catch a bobcat.
But all things being equal, we are looking for a decent score in all six factors. We are looking for predictable consistency instead of good luck.
Coon Catching Overkill (EF1O)
Compare this with coon dogs. There are many strains of coon dog that require very little training except to teach them what animals not to hunt. Then, just hunt them a lot. There are many strains where a young dog might tree coon his very first time to the woods. Coon dogs often tree many raccoons in one hunt. You can take a really good coon dog out on most any night, in any type of weather, and in any part of the country where coon live and tree coon. For a really good coon dog it doesn’t matter if he is alone or with bad company or good company, he is still going to tree coon. One reason for this is the coon dog has a lot of overkill for the job of treeing a coon. He is way off the charts on factor 1: genetic ability for the job at hand. He can overcome extremely negative readings on some of the other factors. The poor innocent coon dog has: EF1O (Extreme Factor 1 Overkill).
An example of a lot of overkill would be shoveling the snow off your sidewalk with a D-9 bulldozer. Another example would be hauling a small tent trailer with a Peterbilt 387 Semi Tractor. In either case, they could get the job done. But they have a lot more power than is needed to do the job. They have so much extra power that it might even make things look a little ridiculous.
I feel the same is true of coon dogs. Think of McKenzie River Banjo. He was bred from coon dogs only. There is not one bear dog in his ancestry that I know of. That dog would stay out running or treeing on a bear for over 24 hours. It might be 48 hours before he would ever show up on a road. What coon hunt in the whole world would ever require that kind of stamina and desire? It is a tremendous amount of overkill. The strange thing is, he still had that deep, deep heart of desire from his foxhound ancestors, but he no longer had the physical conformation of the fox hound. His mind was driving his body into oblivion. It took days for him to recover his voice and begin to look like he was strong again. It didn’t matter to him though. Put him on another track the next day and he would give the same heart he gave when he was fresh.
Anything Beyond the Minimum Needed
Let’s consider something easily measured like size. How big does a dog need to be to be able to tree raccoon? Well, I myself have hunted with a little feist of 15 pounds that had no trouble at all treeing a coon. Fighting a 30 pound coon might have proven difficult, yet probably no more difficult than a 60 pound dog fighting a 120 pound bear. So if 15 pounds is our minimum weight needed to tree a coon, then a 55 pound dog has 40 pounds of overkill. If we could quantify the abilities such as speed, barks per minute on the tree, stamina, drive, and so forth; the coon dog has about 40 pounds of overkill in every single department in my opinion.
Conformation Lost
I feel this is why the coonhounds’ conformation has become so sloppy compared to the foxhounds from which they came. They are never driven to the point of breaking down physically when their job is treeing raccoons. Therefore, physical imperfections are never noticed or corrected. I see a fox hound standing at ease on its’ chain, and it looks like the finest coon hound that has been pinched posed pushed and shaped by its’ nervous bench show handler. For the fox dog, physical imperfections will show up immediately when the dog breaks down and is unable to keep up day after day.
So, you can see a problem with overkill in the physical conformation of the coon hound. Look at the amazing conformation of some of the tiny squirrel dogs. They don’t have as much overkill. Because of their small size they must be tight built and very athletic or they will not be able to do their job.
Maximum power is something that must be watched over and tested to its’ limits or it will diminish. “Use it or Loose it” as the saying goes. That, in my opinion, is one reason why most coonhounds do not make top bobcat dogs. It is not the only reason, but it is one of them.
Balanced on the Edge
Most decent bobcat dogs I have known have little or no overkill. If they use every resource they have to their maximum ability, they just might catch a bobcat. That is why it is hard to successfully move them to a new region or to a new handler, or put them with unfamiliar dogs. If any one of the six points described above does not line up, you suddenly go from a solid bobcat dog to a dog that cannot catch a bobcat.
Have you ever heard someone say “I’m going crazy, but it’s a short trip.”? Well, the trip from being a decent bobcat dog to a dog that cannot catch a bobcat is a very short trip. Most bobcat dogs I have known were always on the edge of not being able to do their job. I have moved some amazingly good bobcat dogs from one region to another, and they never again caught a bobcat unless taken back to their home region. I am not talking about an adjustment period and then they did OK. I am talking about years in their new location, and they never again caught a bobcat. The six factors never again lined up for that dog in that location with that handler. Who would have known those dogs were always on the edge of not being able to do their job?
I have never seen anything like that with a good coon dog. They are never perched so dangerously close to the edge of not being able to do their job. They are miles away from it, and will never fall over that edge until they just get too old to walk through the woods safely. EF1O: Extreme Factor 1 Overkill; Genetic excess for the job at hand.
There are a few considerations with bobcat dogs that we don’t have to worry about with coon dogs. One of them is the specific regional needs we find in the bobcat dogs. It seems that every region, climate zone and topography could benefit greatly by having its’ own customized bobcat dog. A great coon dog is a great coon dog just about anywhere in the USA. Why the difference?
There are several reasons why a great bobcat dog in one region might not make a great bobcat dog in another region. One reason is a difference in bobcat sub species. They run differently and the track ends differently. In some areas bobcats will circle at times. In other areas they rarely if ever do. In some areas bobcats will climb trees readily and feel secure enough to stay there. In other areas bobcats rarely climb trees. Or they climb readily, but never feel secure in the tree and leave it if given the chance. This can also be because of a difference in the available trees. But some areas have thousands of trees including large conifers, and bobcats there would rather die than to climb a tree. For each of these situations, different finishing skills are needed in a dog.
Another reason for customized bobcat dogs is widely divergent climate. The great dogs of the South and Southwest sometimes don’t have enough hair to do well in the bitter cold of the North woods. A desert dog may need different tracking abilities than a snow dog or a rainforest dog.
But behind these reasons is a more foundational reason: many of our good bobcat dogs are just barely able to catch a bobcat. I will say it again, just in case you missed that: Many of our good bobcat dogs are just barely able to catch a bobcat. It would be hard to know this though since they catch them regularly. That is, they catch them regulary when the six factors are kept in balance.
The Six Factors
Consider these six points toward a cohesive bobcat hunt: 1) We find a dog that has the right combination of genetic traits for the given region and subspecies of bobcat. 2) We give that dog the correct amount of training and opportunity. 3) We make sure the dog is in good athletic condition, good health, and is stable emotionally. 4) We put the dog in the right weather, scenting conditions and topography. 5) We put that dog with just the perfect team mate or mates. 6) A solid relationship of trust exists between handler and dog, and the handler makes all the right handling decisions. Then, if we are lucky, we catch a certain percentage of the bobcats we put the dog on. The percentage of caught bobcats will be dictated by variations in any of the factors but especially in the level of giftedness of the dog and of the handler.
Most good bobcat dogs are always just on the verge of not catching a bobcat. If any one or two of the six factors listed above does not line up just right, we probably won’t get our bobcat.
Now if one of the factors goes off the chart in the favorable range, it might make up for a couple factors in the negative range. For example, factor #4: if we have soft snow up to the dogs’ chest and a favorable barometer and humidity, it puts factor #4 off the charts in the dogs’ favor. It may make up for the fact that the dog is not genetically gifted enough to catch a bobcat in less favorable conditions. It may even make up for a lack of training. In fact, with factor #4 that far off the charts on the favorable side, it may just make up for negative readings on all other factors. It could be our lucky day with Old Slow Moe.
Here is another example of the same principle. Let’s say factors 1 and 6 are extremely strong. The dog is super gifted genetically; he has a good relationship with his handler who is also gifted at making all the right choices in a hunt. They might just overcome weaknesses in factors 2, 3, 4, and 5, add a teaspoon of luck and catch a bobcat.
But all things being equal, we are looking for a decent score in all six factors. We are looking for predictable consistency instead of good luck.
Coon Catching Overkill (EF1O)
Compare this with coon dogs. There are many strains of coon dog that require very little training except to teach them what animals not to hunt. Then, just hunt them a lot. There are many strains where a young dog might tree coon his very first time to the woods. Coon dogs often tree many raccoons in one hunt. You can take a really good coon dog out on most any night, in any type of weather, and in any part of the country where coon live and tree coon. For a really good coon dog it doesn’t matter if he is alone or with bad company or good company, he is still going to tree coon. One reason for this is the coon dog has a lot of overkill for the job of treeing a coon. He is way off the charts on factor 1: genetic ability for the job at hand. He can overcome extremely negative readings on some of the other factors. The poor innocent coon dog has: EF1O (Extreme Factor 1 Overkill).
An example of a lot of overkill would be shoveling the snow off your sidewalk with a D-9 bulldozer. Another example would be hauling a small tent trailer with a Peterbilt 387 Semi Tractor. In either case, they could get the job done. But they have a lot more power than is needed to do the job. They have so much extra power that it might even make things look a little ridiculous.
I feel the same is true of coon dogs. Think of McKenzie River Banjo. He was bred from coon dogs only. There is not one bear dog in his ancestry that I know of. That dog would stay out running or treeing on a bear for over 24 hours. It might be 48 hours before he would ever show up on a road. What coon hunt in the whole world would ever require that kind of stamina and desire? It is a tremendous amount of overkill. The strange thing is, he still had that deep, deep heart of desire from his foxhound ancestors, but he no longer had the physical conformation of the fox hound. His mind was driving his body into oblivion. It took days for him to recover his voice and begin to look like he was strong again. It didn’t matter to him though. Put him on another track the next day and he would give the same heart he gave when he was fresh.
Anything Beyond the Minimum Needed
Let’s consider something easily measured like size. How big does a dog need to be to be able to tree raccoon? Well, I myself have hunted with a little feist of 15 pounds that had no trouble at all treeing a coon. Fighting a 30 pound coon might have proven difficult, yet probably no more difficult than a 60 pound dog fighting a 120 pound bear. So if 15 pounds is our minimum weight needed to tree a coon, then a 55 pound dog has 40 pounds of overkill. If we could quantify the abilities such as speed, barks per minute on the tree, stamina, drive, and so forth; the coon dog has about 40 pounds of overkill in every single department in my opinion.
Conformation Lost
I feel this is why the coonhounds’ conformation has become so sloppy compared to the foxhounds from which they came. They are never driven to the point of breaking down physically when their job is treeing raccoons. Therefore, physical imperfections are never noticed or corrected. I see a fox hound standing at ease on its’ chain, and it looks like the finest coon hound that has been pinched posed pushed and shaped by its’ nervous bench show handler. For the fox dog, physical imperfections will show up immediately when the dog breaks down and is unable to keep up day after day.
So, you can see a problem with overkill in the physical conformation of the coon hound. Look at the amazing conformation of some of the tiny squirrel dogs. They don’t have as much overkill. Because of their small size they must be tight built and very athletic or they will not be able to do their job.
Maximum power is something that must be watched over and tested to its’ limits or it will diminish. “Use it or Loose it” as the saying goes. That, in my opinion, is one reason why most coonhounds do not make top bobcat dogs. It is not the only reason, but it is one of them.
Balanced on the Edge
Most decent bobcat dogs I have known have little or no overkill. If they use every resource they have to their maximum ability, they just might catch a bobcat. That is why it is hard to successfully move them to a new region or to a new handler, or put them with unfamiliar dogs. If any one of the six points described above does not line up, you suddenly go from a solid bobcat dog to a dog that cannot catch a bobcat.
Have you ever heard someone say “I’m going crazy, but it’s a short trip.”? Well, the trip from being a decent bobcat dog to a dog that cannot catch a bobcat is a very short trip. Most bobcat dogs I have known were always on the edge of not being able to do their job. I have moved some amazingly good bobcat dogs from one region to another, and they never again caught a bobcat unless taken back to their home region. I am not talking about an adjustment period and then they did OK. I am talking about years in their new location, and they never again caught a bobcat. The six factors never again lined up for that dog in that location with that handler. Who would have known those dogs were always on the edge of not being able to do their job?
I have never seen anything like that with a good coon dog. They are never perched so dangerously close to the edge of not being able to do their job. They are miles away from it, and will never fall over that edge until they just get too old to walk through the woods safely. EF1O: Extreme Factor 1 Overkill; Genetic excess for the job at hand.
continued...
Olympic Athletes and MMF
Consider an Olympic Athlete. Each athlete has the goal and dream of winning the gold medal in their event. They are sent to the Olympics because they have the potential of winning. They are sitting on the edge of making it happen. If all the factors line up for them just as the six cohesive hunt factors line up for the dog, they just might win. But they are always only one or two factors away from not winning. It is the same for the bobcat dog. Bobcat hunting with dogs in my experience is the Olympics of hunting with the locating tree dog. It is not a competition in the same sense, but it is very much the complete test of a dog.
In serious weight lifting, the muscles are pushed to the point of failure. Some call it MMF: momentary muscle failure. There is no way to know the outer limits of strength unless pushed to the point of failure.
Some years I have coon hunted all night and into the day nearly every day for a month or more. I still have never seen a coon dog pushed to the point of physical or emotional failure. Therefore, I never discovered the outer limits of the coon dogs’ strength and ability. Every bobcat dog I have ever hunted has been pushed to the point of failure: physical failure, mental failure, emotional failure. I knew exactly how strong they were. Those I experienced that came directly from coonhound stock were not strong enough in some areas.
Now, the whole point of pushing to MMF (momentary muscle failure) in weight lifting is to stress the muscle. Then, when it repairs itself, it is larger or stronger or has more stamina. Now, let’s consider a dog that is genetically close to the edge of being able to do his job as a bobcat dog. If that dog is pushed to the point of failure enough, eventually, he might be able to climb up and over that edge into the realm of doing his job. For most dogs I have seen in this category, it can take working them hard until somewhere after their second birthday. It will vary greatly according to the genetic giftedness of the dog, giftedness of his trainer, and the amount of opportunity given.
Let me repeat one sentence: “There is no way to know the outer limits of strength unless pushed to the point of failure”. Put another way: there is no way to know a dogs’ weaknesses until he is pushed to the point of MMF. (I am speaking of momentary muscle failure, or momentary mental failure or momentary motion failure or any other point where a dog might reveal his weakness in a necessary trait). There are many breeders who do not know what their dogs’ weak spots are. I know this for a fact. We must find ways to test our dogs fully and know them fully before we breed.
. Supercali Fragilistic ExpialiCatdog?
Are there any bobcat dogs whose abilities could be seen as overkill for bobcat hunting? Yes, there are some. Maybe not when considered as a whole and complete package. But I know of dogs whose abilities in certain areas exceed those needed to catch bobcat. One example of this is the Running Walker fox and coyote hound converted to bobcat dog. Those competition Walkers can run 12-15 miles an hour for eight hours a day for several days in a row. That kind of speed and stamina is overkill for any single bobcat race. It would be nice to have for the marathon weeks of hunting though. They have weaknesses in other areas, yet in this trait they posses overkill.
There very well could be dogs which, taken as a complete package, are overkill for bobcat. The treeing gray fox dogs of some regions may be exactly this. I do not have enough personal experience with them to make this evaluation. There may be others also. If there are, those who hunt them are not talking very loud.
Consider an Olympic Athlete. Each athlete has the goal and dream of winning the gold medal in their event. They are sent to the Olympics because they have the potential of winning. They are sitting on the edge of making it happen. If all the factors line up for them just as the six cohesive hunt factors line up for the dog, they just might win. But they are always only one or two factors away from not winning. It is the same for the bobcat dog. Bobcat hunting with dogs in my experience is the Olympics of hunting with the locating tree dog. It is not a competition in the same sense, but it is very much the complete test of a dog.
In serious weight lifting, the muscles are pushed to the point of failure. Some call it MMF: momentary muscle failure. There is no way to know the outer limits of strength unless pushed to the point of failure.
Some years I have coon hunted all night and into the day nearly every day for a month or more. I still have never seen a coon dog pushed to the point of physical or emotional failure. Therefore, I never discovered the outer limits of the coon dogs’ strength and ability. Every bobcat dog I have ever hunted has been pushed to the point of failure: physical failure, mental failure, emotional failure. I knew exactly how strong they were. Those I experienced that came directly from coonhound stock were not strong enough in some areas.
Now, the whole point of pushing to MMF (momentary muscle failure) in weight lifting is to stress the muscle. Then, when it repairs itself, it is larger or stronger or has more stamina. Now, let’s consider a dog that is genetically close to the edge of being able to do his job as a bobcat dog. If that dog is pushed to the point of failure enough, eventually, he might be able to climb up and over that edge into the realm of doing his job. For most dogs I have seen in this category, it can take working them hard until somewhere after their second birthday. It will vary greatly according to the genetic giftedness of the dog, giftedness of his trainer, and the amount of opportunity given.
Let me repeat one sentence: “There is no way to know the outer limits of strength unless pushed to the point of failure”. Put another way: there is no way to know a dogs’ weaknesses until he is pushed to the point of MMF. (I am speaking of momentary muscle failure, or momentary mental failure or momentary motion failure or any other point where a dog might reveal his weakness in a necessary trait). There are many breeders who do not know what their dogs’ weak spots are. I know this for a fact. We must find ways to test our dogs fully and know them fully before we breed.
. Supercali Fragilistic ExpialiCatdog?
Are there any bobcat dogs whose abilities could be seen as overkill for bobcat hunting? Yes, there are some. Maybe not when considered as a whole and complete package. But I know of dogs whose abilities in certain areas exceed those needed to catch bobcat. One example of this is the Running Walker fox and coyote hound converted to bobcat dog. Those competition Walkers can run 12-15 miles an hour for eight hours a day for several days in a row. That kind of speed and stamina is overkill for any single bobcat race. It would be nice to have for the marathon weeks of hunting though. They have weaknesses in other areas, yet in this trait they posses overkill.
There very well could be dogs which, taken as a complete package, are overkill for bobcat. The treeing gray fox dogs of some regions may be exactly this. I do not have enough personal experience with them to make this evaluation. There may be others also. If there are, those who hunt them are not talking very loud.
Re: A bobcat hunting book
What about the cats that have never been ran? Do the same rules apply to the cats that have never heard a hound strike to the cats that have been pushed by the Clay hounds? I'm asking because it's coincidental that I am hoping to achieve this very thing and just posted about it. When my dog can tree coons in her sleep, would putting her on a cat track push her to go above and beyond, but still within reach because the cats havent been ran?
Re: A bobcat hunting book
Others can answer better than me tomtom. But I would say, absolutely put her on cats if you have them. Your dog will love it and it will be good for the dog.
Dont do it if you want the dog as a coondog competition dog.
I would be shocked if it caught the first or tenth one you put it on. There is a big learning curve. But if the dog is smart at all, it will get better and better. Eventually, the dog may show you it has what it takes. On the other hand, I hear all the time about coon hunters in some regions treeing cats the dogs are "trashing" on. They always say the cat jumps before they can get to the tree. It is pretty much the standard answer for when their dogs leave the tree on a track. So all I can say is put your dog on bobcats because you will never know till you do.
When I converted my first cat dog from coon hunting she treed the cat on about her 100th try. She treed another one on about the 200th try. Then things got a lot better after that.
It is not a sport for the faint hearted. You gotta want it bad. So go for it if you want it.
Dont do it if you want the dog as a coondog competition dog.
I would be shocked if it caught the first or tenth one you put it on. There is a big learning curve. But if the dog is smart at all, it will get better and better. Eventually, the dog may show you it has what it takes. On the other hand, I hear all the time about coon hunters in some regions treeing cats the dogs are "trashing" on. They always say the cat jumps before they can get to the tree. It is pretty much the standard answer for when their dogs leave the tree on a track. So all I can say is put your dog on bobcats because you will never know till you do.
When I converted my first cat dog from coon hunting she treed the cat on about her 100th try. She treed another one on about the 200th try. Then things got a lot better after that.
It is not a sport for the faint hearted. You gotta want it bad. So go for it if you want it.
Re: A bobcat hunting book
David: Great post. Can't wait until I get to read your book. You have thought a lot about this and have shared things that most hunters would never think of. I feel most hunters even the ones that call themselves bobcat hunters have never hunted with a well trained pack of strait bobcat dogs and they may never want to. There is a lot of hunting out there other than bobcat hunting that is far easier to do and enjoyable. As you know it can be a long hard road to training a strait bobcat dog. Take care Dewey
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Big N' Blue
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Re: A bobcat hunting book
David, Thanks for your post. I have always been interested in what you have to say.
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Dads dogboy
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Re: A bobcat hunting book
Great post David!
Your Book will be a treasure trove if info for the Seasoned Bobcat Hunter as well as the Novice!
Keep after the tires between the ditches and keep us updated when you can.
The Opry concerts are on the way...Computer CD burner died....wife got a new computer for her Bday.
CJC
Your Book will be a treasure trove if info for the Seasoned Bobcat Hunter as well as the Novice!
Keep after the tires between the ditches and keep us updated when you can.
The Opry concerts are on the way...Computer CD burner died....wife got a new computer for her Bday.
CJC
Re: A bobcat hunting book
David,I remember a quote you made one time that stuck with me.Wish I could remember the whole thing but I remember the important part.Maybe you could use it for the title of your final chapter."Following hard after the Lion of the tribe of Judah".I hope those words can be used as a summation of my final chapter.Look forward to reading your book.
Miles
Miles
Re: A bobcat hunting book
david,
Good read looking forward to more.
Your point of "Most good bobcat dogs are always just on the verge of not catching a bobcat" struck a chord with me. I don't have much knowledge about good bobcat dogs, but I think this philosphy has such a carryover effect to all sorts of "catches" with dogs. It seems in any sort of memorable catch big or small, there are small minute decisions that turn into the "make or break" moment of the deal. You don't realize them at the time but when you look back you think if I didn't do this, the entire deal ends in failure. I can run through dozens of these instances in bear, cat, or yote hunts I've had in the past. Likewise in probably hundreds of other unsuccesfully hunts, these decisions were wrong and we didn't connect. Or they happened in a situation where success was improbable at best anyway. I think the more miles you put on the dogs and yourself, you figure out which "decisions" work more often or at least other tactics that might pan out when hope is all but lost.
Good read looking forward to more.
Your point of "Most good bobcat dogs are always just on the verge of not catching a bobcat" struck a chord with me. I don't have much knowledge about good bobcat dogs, but I think this philosphy has such a carryover effect to all sorts of "catches" with dogs. It seems in any sort of memorable catch big or small, there are small minute decisions that turn into the "make or break" moment of the deal. You don't realize them at the time but when you look back you think if I didn't do this, the entire deal ends in failure. I can run through dozens of these instances in bear, cat, or yote hunts I've had in the past. Likewise in probably hundreds of other unsuccesfully hunts, these decisions were wrong and we didn't connect. Or they happened in a situation where success was improbable at best anyway. I think the more miles you put on the dogs and yourself, you figure out which "decisions" work more often or at least other tactics that might pan out when hope is all but lost.
Re: A bobcat hunting book
David,
Thank you so much for this...as a guy who's just trying to glean every crumb of info I can on how to make a good pack of catdogs, this is like a feast! Appreciate guys like you letting us learn from all your hard-earned lessons and increasing our MMF : )
Thank you so much for this...as a guy who's just trying to glean every crumb of info I can on how to make a good pack of catdogs, this is like a feast! Appreciate guys like you letting us learn from all your hard-earned lessons and increasing our MMF : )
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Twopipe
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Re: A bobcat hunting book
David,
I was just thinking this morning that you had been kind of absent from here recently and then much to my pleasant surprise you have this wonderful thread on here!!
I am doing this from my phone but, when I get to a computer I will send you an email.
Take care of yourself,
Allen
I was just thinking this morning that you had been kind of absent from here recently and then much to my pleasant surprise you have this wonderful thread on here!!
I am doing this from my phone but, when I get to a computer I will send you an email.
Take care of yourself,
Allen
A good dog hunts wherever he's set down.
Re: A bobcat hunting book
Boy. Thank you all for the comments.
I studied guitar for awhile. I had my hero. He showed up at one of my concerts. I saw him, so that was hard. After the show he came up to me and said he wished he could do what I was doing but he really had no idea how to do it. I will never forget that compliment.
Well, to have my heros show up on here and give me compliments as you guys have done is equally amazing. Thank you.
Newby, you are who I was 33 years ago. You are the reason I decided to write a book. There is not much in it for Dewey or Dads Dog Boy. But I am just hoping it will save folks like you and me a lot of time and heartache. I mourn the loss of the great bobcat hunters who never left one written word of wisdom. I am not even a bobcat hunter any more, but I sure want to save you from some of the mistakes I made when I was.
The good news for you and me both is that there are other books in the works by and about other men and their dogs. It is a good time to be alive!
I studied guitar for awhile. I had my hero. He showed up at one of my concerts. I saw him, so that was hard. After the show he came up to me and said he wished he could do what I was doing but he really had no idea how to do it. I will never forget that compliment.
Well, to have my heros show up on here and give me compliments as you guys have done is equally amazing. Thank you.
Newby, you are who I was 33 years ago. You are the reason I decided to write a book. There is not much in it for Dewey or Dads Dog Boy. But I am just hoping it will save folks like you and me a lot of time and heartache. I mourn the loss of the great bobcat hunters who never left one written word of wisdom. I am not even a bobcat hunter any more, but I sure want to save you from some of the mistakes I made when I was.
The good news for you and me both is that there are other books in the works by and about other men and their dogs. It is a good time to be alive!
Re: A bobcat hunting book
David, you have always had a nack putting your thoughts into words. I always liked your perspective on cats and dogs. Thanks for sharing with us.
Re: A bobcat hunting book
Boy, if I ever do get it printed, I hope you guys wont mind if I quote you as references.
It is fun hearing from some folks I have not seen in forever.
One of the things included in the book is old letters I wrote and received back in the early to mid eighties when I was trying so hard to get established with the right dogAs.
Here is part of an amazing letter from David Benepe. I wont put all of it right here, but it floors me how much time he put into writing it to someone he had never met before. I hope I can figure out how to put pictures of the letters and the envelopes because they are cool. He wrote it out on yellow paper. The envelope has a hand drawn cat track by the return address.
After you chew on this one, I might surprise you with one you will like.
Here we go. I hope you enjoy it:
It is fun hearing from some folks I have not seen in forever.
One of the things included in the book is old letters I wrote and received back in the early to mid eighties when I was trying so hard to get established with the right dogAs.
Here is part of an amazing letter from David Benepe. I wont put all of it right here, but it floors me how much time he put into writing it to someone he had never met before. I hope I can figure out how to put pictures of the letters and the envelopes because they are cool. He wrote it out on yellow paper. The envelope has a hand drawn cat track by the return address.
After you chew on this one, I might surprise you with one you will like.
Here we go. I hope you enjoy it:
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