How many dogs?

[duke7581]

How many dogs is to many dogs to have in a bear race? Talking all pretty exp dogs not meaning pups messing each other up. Thanks

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Three or four is all a guy better need. Anything over 4 the odds of dogs getting tagged in a bayup increases the more you pile in. Mind you the more dogs you have the tougher the dogs feel and maybe you tree more bears. This mob mentality is what gives houndsmen all over the false scense of owning bear dogs.

[lepcur]

I think alot has to do with the type country you're hunting. If you're hunting the thick brush where you have to pry and or crawl thru I'd say 2-3 dogs is good, chances are good the bear will stay on the ground in this type terain and like said above, they won't be able to evade the bear when he charges a dog and end up getting caught. In the open timber the bear will tree more often than not and I say dump the tailgate.

[Redwood Coonhounds]

The last two sesons I've caught more bear than ever, and it increased this past year from the year before that... I ran 3 dogs. I'll be going into this season with 4 dogs. It think the right 3-4 dogs will do the job.

Heard tell past season between two packs of people, they had 19 dogs on a bear. Never did tree. But I do agree, if you have a massive amount of dogs, it'll seem like they are a lot more gritty... Try stopping one in the brush at night with 3 dogs. You'll see then what you have.

[ol'guy]

3 or 4 dogs are enough,the trouble with more {19} only 2-3 are the front runners they
catch ,the other idiots pile in guess who gets pounded "case in point"a freind of mine
treed a bear had 6 on him came down stove all 6 up {they are grity} all done hunting
for 10 days or more I think 3 are enough.

[outlaw13]

That is why a lot of people keep 6-8 dogs but run them as 2 different packs. 3-4 dogs on a bear is plenty most of the time. i don't think it hurts to have up to 8 when trying to work some pups but like someone said before 2-3 dogs are doing most the work.

[Hunter]

My ideal kennel would have 2 packs of dogs in it. In each pack I would have 1 straight, dependable dog, 1 or 2 up and coming younger dogs and a trainee. My problem is that I can't stand to see a dog get all excited in the lot and not take it.