slowly loosing hope

[mpritchard]

Corey, just from what info you give here, it doen't sound like a trained dog would do you any good if all you can find is 2 trax all year. Sounds like you just need to try new area or change game!! If you find enough game, training your own dog won't be any problem as long as you do your part and put in the time.

[twispcougarhunter]

Corey, I just sold 2 trained cat dogs. One was 5 yr. old redbone been on about 12 bobcats and 20 lions. Sold him for 350 dollars. The other was walker female 5 yr. old been on around 40 lions and 20 bobs. Sold her for 500 dollars. Had them on this website last fall and no responses. Both were trash broke. Neither was papered so that's why we can't get thousands. I suspect you'll spend a lot more than that sending your dog off to get trained. Either one of these we sold would of trained your pups on cats. No rich people ever contact me to buy dogs so I never get as much at their worth. You might look around for an already trained dog for little money like the ones I sold. All my really old dogs I give to some young feller to train his pups and I know there are other guys that do the same. Those old dogs are bulletproof but SLOW and are only good for maybe one or two years at most before they die. Look around for one of those. They are out there I promise. Good luck. Bill

[robbyson99]

thank you guys for all your help and info. ive decided not to send my hound out west. heres the deal. he hates cats with a passion. ive put him on a few trainers and he will run em hard and hates them real bad. he wouldnt tree them and i lost the two that i have put him on. but he does run them. he cold trailed one bob real well with the old walker that i have but that walker is on his last year im thinking. hes so fat and slow that i just dont take him out. but he will run a cat. the biggest problem for me right now is that my bluetick pup will not run with the older dog. i ran coons all season with our coon dog and my pup and he would not go with her at all. the last time i had him out he ran with that old walker ive got but that walker is about 10 and very out of shape and probably wont be hunting very much after this year. i have a lot of faith in my bluetick. he shows all kinds of heart and was killing coons like a champ after they were shot out of the tree. i havent worked with him much but will be doing as much as i can from here on out. hes now 16 months old and i feel that he should start catching on real quick anytime now. were going out monday this upcoming week and should find a good track for me to follow. i could just let him go with that old walker ive got but i dont know if he would follow him or not so i dont usually let the walker out. im torn between walking my hound on a track or trying to get him follow the walker on a good track. dont know what i should do. but thank you for your help. and i probably will start looking for another running old hound. maybe one a little more in shape and a few years younger will help out alot. i really have been loosing hope but love the sport enough to keep at it. thank you all for your help.

[twist]

robbyson99, not saying your ten year old isnt done in but I have seen and hunted with older dog around this age that if kept in shape and condition with a little extra care will make young dogs look like a peice of crap on the track. Its just like humanes the old fat out of condition one cant hold up with someone their same age that have been condioning their selves. Sure there are always those certain one that age, just finally takes its toll but dont cutt your old dog out so fast. You might be suprised!

[Budd Denny]

Corey, I would take your old dog with you and if you find a good track walk it till the young dog can smell it and let the young dog go first, when he starts moving it a little put the old dog in behind him, the young dog should get the idea the old dog is there to help. Also by letting him go first I think they feel as though they own the track and will be less likely to give it up because there is another dog on it. When my Luke dog first started I had to put him on the track first other wise he would go looking for his own, I could never put him in behind others, now it don't matter he just wants the cat and don't care what dogs are in there as long as they get out of his way .

[robbyson99]

yea maybe ill try that. im sure ill find some tracks on monday. good snow where were headed. last year we went up there and found about 6 different cat tracks in the first few hours of the day. it should be ok. the snow is gonna be old though. we havent had snow for over a week now but i should be able to tell the old tracks to the new ones. my pup might just stay on the track if i take him on it first. my buddy isnt really in for the whole walking thing until a cats in the tree hahah so he can let the old dog go after i head in or something like that. yea i like that idea actually. it sounds like it might just work. thank you guys. hopefully i will have some luck and some good pictures to show after monday.

corey

[Bow]

jeff was never a speedy. get hem in shape road him cut him back on his food all it ever took to keep him in shape was about a handfull of food. my truck is broke down or i would bring my dogs to help you out. did you get my email?

[jeff]

Cory just curious, is throwing out a road kill or some beaver carcuss's LEGAL in your state ? some people think its cheating, but it sounds like you are in need of some help in a big way, just to come up with a track to start out. Thats like the easy part normally, but I know their are times when it does get tuff finding them, I know first hand, but you are in for a long long haul if you cant even get a track, I am purtty new at the hound part of it, but know the critter's and their habits.

If it is legal to bait them "Do It" where you found the two tracks this year, right on top where you remember the track being, even from years ago if you recall tracks, throw some out. it may be a week or two or maybe a day, but they will be back thru and they will eat on it adventually. Trust me I know walking out tracks aint no fun, but it sounds like you have been their done that, but I have found in my area the full belly'd cat makes for shorter walks forsure. might even help your hounds catch up to it a little, not that they need it, but right now I am just thinking what will help you out, as long as it is LEGAL AND ETHICAL and HUMANE for the critter. If you are allowed to use road kill deer, strip the hide off its behind/quarters, they eat more at a single sitting I find, when they are not messing with all that hide and hair.

The thing is right know when you find a track you may be at the start of the cats nightly jaunt/hunt, and then you must walk it, the bait helps you cause a good amount of the time at least in the swamps around here they wont go as far before they settle in for the remainder of the night.

But if they are out look'n for love well, flip a coin.

A gentleman I have been talking to a little just lately metioned he had pics of bobtails on his baits, AND YOU KNOW WHAT HE IS FROM MAINE ALSO, I just thought about that, so it is legal for ya to bait unless he is a outlaw, which i dont think he is at all, but check to be sure. but where was I,

oh ya "bait cams" pics, I asked if he would mind look'n to see the time that the cats visit, if it was somewhat consistent, and he said it was, the visits were the first two hours of darkness and the last two hours of darkness,was when they fed.

So anyways, sorry so long winded this is a critter that facinates me.
I call them "The Swamp Ghost"

Hope this helps some even a little would be nice.
Good luck to ya and keep us posted.

Jeff

[robbyson99]

thank you jeff. it is legal and i had a few around the house but nothing hit them. i put both baits out in random spots and the cats just never hit them. i found one track on the road of one of the baits but it was about a half mile from the bait. i havent checked them for awhile so i should get out there and get on it. probably the cats havent left the baits at all now. just my luck!!!! anyways thank you very much. we will be going out on monday and we will see what happens. agian thank you jeff for your help. we werent able to find anyone with beavers this year so i put out some deer parts left over from our deer season. should work if the cats found it.

[RUFUS]

I agree with Doogie, Jim at Cannon Valley Kennels is a great Dog-Man when it comes to Bobcat dogs, bought 2 plotts from him and are working hard for me in New Mexico

[liontracker]

There used to be a pic on here of a toad of a bob caught in maine that was the largest I ever saw, looked to be 55 lbs. They hung their bait in a tree to keep the coyotes off it.

[robbyson99]

yea i heard the other day that a big houndsmen here in maine shot a 45 pounder. would of loved to see that thing in a tree. must of been nice.