i will have to agree with cobalt. the more dogs you have out the greater the chance of injury. dogs get more competitive with more dogs in the mix, they get more aggresive and will take more chances than they would if there is only a couple of dogs. it is like a feeding frenzy. i ran two dogs most of this spring bear season and during training season, we treed 20 bears in 26 days with just two dogs, hunting only on the weekends, and never had one injured. the only injury i had with my dogs from a bear was when i ran 4 dogs. they will run in on a bayed up bear alot closer when there is more dogs there, and that is when you get hurt dogs.
I have been hunting 4 dogs this year and 1 of them has more grit by a large margin than the other 3. As a result she got up close and personal with a bear that would'nt tree and she got killed on Tuesday. I guess 1 har puller and 3 stand back and bay types ai'nt a good combo. Might have to rethink my plan.