Traps

[Joe Bliss]

Figured I'd throw somethin out there. Just wonderin how many of you houndsmen have ever had one of ur pups step in a trap if so what come of it . A buddy of mine told me he has actually heard of someones dog gettin caught in a snare.Didn't turn out too nice

[brandon]

Joe
I trap much more than I run dogs but I also have my dogs with me every time I check traps and have caught every dog I've ever owned without hurting a single one. Now you have to take into consideration that I'm usually very close to the dog whenever I catch one or atleast know where to go look to see if they've got into one some distance away from me. It's not the impact of the trap jaws on the animals foot that causes damage (atleast not in animals with leg and foot bones larger than a rabbit or house cat) it's the struggle that animal puts up that strains tendons, joints, and muscles and this is influenced by many things. Including each individual animals' attitude, weather and TEMPERATURE, TRAP CHAIN LENGTH, TRAP JAW DESIGN, WHERE TRAP CHAIN IS ATTACHED TO TRAP(IT SHOULD BE ATTACHED AT THE CENTER OF THE BASE PLATE, whether or not the animal in the trap is being bothered by other animals such as curious livestock gathering around like it's show and tell - usually causing the animal in the trap to fight harder, and the amount of time that the animal is in the trap. I also snare all my dogs off and on throughout the year and haven't lost any yet but then again I'm usually in the immediatte area and can release the snare before they choke down. But, snares if not checked regularly and properly maintained can be a hazard to many animals not just dogs and predators. With that said snares are also a very, very effective tool when used with some common sense and discretion.
I really hope that the bridge/fight between houndsmen and trappers doesn't become a heated debate on here due to the fact that we'll will all LOSE in the end!! Dogs and traps and snares can all be used but communication, respect, and common sense go a long way towards keeping non-target animals from being caught whether the non-target animal is a dog, deer, or "fluffy" the affectionate neighborhood tom cat.

[houndnem]

Ive lost two of my best dogs to traps. I have also had a number of my other dogs get trapped with only minor injuries. it's all timing. the ones that get out the day they get caught are fine. if they spend the night and it's cold say bye bye foot. if it's longer than that it's bye bye leg and sometimes it's bye bye dog. trappers have the same right to be out there as us. some use good sense and some don't. some try to trap where hounds are less likely to be. some check their traps often and make sure you get your dogs back in time to save them. but some trapp right where hounds are gona be and don't check the way they should. that's when you get dead or three legged dogs!

[sheimer]

I had my female get caught last year. I could see her on the garmin and she showed "treed" but she sounded really wierd. I got to her within 15-20 minutes and let her out and she was just fine. Needless to say, the hunt was over for the day, but she had no lasting injury.

Scott

[Longspring]

I trap and run dogs all winter if I can . With the bobcat craze up here , you really have to watch it . There are only so many places you can get a rig so chances are , be it rim or bottom , there will be traps . I have seen guys put a dozen sets in a 100 yards of a draw . It's like they say ..." if you are trappin' there , bring your own rock" .The worst are those sob's that throw bait in a bucket with a 330 in front . I don't think any hound would pass it up ,and no hound would survive a 330 . Trappers will walk a bottom or a rim , so look for their sign before turning out the dogs.

[dwalton]

I have had dogs in traps for days before track collar, some damage was done but never lost a foot. The new 4 coil traps is over kill and will hurt a dog in a few hours. I trained my dogs to be trap shy by setting and catching them myself. There needs to be care taken by all. Get to know your trappers. I have had them come and get me and check traps all night looking for a lost dog. Dewey

[Brent Sinclair]

Best thing you can do as a houndsman is find out who is trapping in the area you plan to hunt, that's not always easy but make that effort.
As trappers we should attempt to let the hound hunters know where we have traps and snares, that's not always possiable either.
I run lions and trap wolves right in the same patch of timber and every time I run hounds there is a chance of getting one caught in a trap, but I'm willing to take that chance if I can kill wolves that are likely harder on hounds than most traps are (other than wolf traps and snares...)
No trap is over kill when it is set for the target animal you are after.....but there can be a time when you catch something other than what you have set for ,no different than a hound trashing......it's going to happen.
Trappers need to snare in areas where lions do not travel, in all the yrs I have trapped and run hounds I have never caught a hound and I have never trapped or snared a lion, yet I hear of it more all the time...
I trapped this wolf today right where I am lion hunting, with the wolves in the area I do not turn out on a lion, but I will set as many wolf traps and snares as I can to catch them when they are in the area I hunt lions....I saw another hunter in the area and saw where they ran a lion with wolf tracks all over the road where they drove in...AFTER I told them I had traps and snares in the area????

[jasonrinebold]

I had 2 dogs get caught in snares runnin a bobcat. The guy who had the snares out was all leagal as was I he was blind setting trails with camlock snares. The 2 dogs were caught about 15 yards apart. They sounded treesd but I could tell something just wasn't right, I figured they were in a hole are just having trouble locating the cat. When I got them I had a lot of trouble getting the cams on the snares to loosen up. The only thing that saved the dogs is the were wearing tracking collars, shock collars and regular collars. The snares caught up in and sucked down on the other collars. LUCKY LUCKY me!

[BigGameHunter]

Amen to Houndnem. Lost two dogs to traps and had several more caught and be fine. The over nighters are killers. The foot ends up the size of a softball and eventually everything just falls apart. A buddy of mine spent 1500 bucks to amputate a dogs leg caught is a trap overnight. They are no good. I stay away from a few of my favorite areas this time of year until the trappers pull out. Better safe than sorry!