Bad Trailing Conditions

[floridacathunter]

Interesting thread. Just my observations, in my country, with my hounds, past and present. Weve had some that would turn around on there own, after going backwards on a track. Seems like a cold track or bad scenting conditions,make it worse. We've had some that,I believe, would have backed a track all the way back "to Mama", if they could have smelled it that cold. Please allow me to say right here, we have had our share of sorry hounds, and a few we liked. I think, especially when road hunting, hounds seem to take "the easy way out" regardless which way the track is going. In other words, if the cat is coming meeting you, down an open road, and turns off into a thicker type terrain, they are more apt to take a backtrack, than if the direction of travel is reversed, We are blessed with a lot of sand roads and good tracking conditions, and thanks to Tri-tronics we are usually able to determine a backtrack, and turn the hounds around fairly quick. Never been fortunate enough, in 60 years, of cathunting with hounds, to own a hound, that absolutely,under any conditions, would not take a track backward at all. Just my thoughts, I'll hush now. John

[South Texan]

Thanks Mr. John,
Appreciate your input. My hounds will also go backwards as well as forward. I have had hounds that was sure better than others about turning around (on their own) and coming back to the right end of a trail. I guess I'm as much to blame as my dogs about taking a track backwards. I have trained them to do it (accidental). So many times thru the years the dogs might trail off the road (I'm strictly a road hunter) maybe 150 to 200 yards and get bogged down, just can't move it any further. No matter how hard I look, I can't find the track to determine if the dogs have the right end of the track or not. So....I go to thinking they must have it backwards, it's gotta be the other way, so I call the dogs back and send them the other way. They'll find that end and again might trail out 200 or 300 yards and get bogged down on this end too. So I go away scratching my head and a wondering which end was right. I know at times I must be pulling them off the right end and sending them backwards.

A prime example of them getting bogged down and having the right end has been proved by the help of the Garmin Astro. I have seen them trail out 200 or 300 yards and make a loose. No matter how hard they look, they don't seem to be able to find track away from there (a certain spot). With the Garmin system I can see that they keep coming back to this one spot, trying to find the track away from there. Out of curiosity I'll walk out to this spot and at times I have found where the cat has stepped into a cow trail and walked down it (found the track). Now as long as the cat was just walking across country the dogs could trail him, but when the cat stepped into that cow trail (bare dirt) that's where they made their loose. Now...I have walked them down the cow trail far enough to where the cat turned off and started across country again and the dogs would go back to trailing on him.

A few years ago a friend and I were running a cat one night. Had the cat nearly run down, he was in the short rows, running in a small area that wouldn't cover an acre, but it was thick country. We had easied in amongst them and they had been running the cat for 15 minutes all around us. The cat was squatting and hiding from the dogs by this time, we had heard the cat growl a few times as a dog would root him out of a hiding spot then the race would be on again. Then all of a sudden NOTHING. I figured the cat was just right there hiding, somebody would find him in a minute, but still NOTHING. I bet the dogs wasn't 50 steps behind the truck and right off to the side of the road where they made this loose. After about 10 or 15 minutes I told my hunting buddy I was going to slip in where they made the loose and see what I could see. As I stepped off the road and out to where they had made their loose, I come upon a deer pen. Here in this country lots of land owners keep out high protein feed for the deer. To keep the wild hogs and javalinas out of the feed they build a pen out of hog panel that is about 3 foot high and maybe 30 or 40 yards square. The deer just jump over to get to the feed. The interior of these pens will have natural brush in them so the deer feel safe while eating. Well... as I come upon this deer pen, I saw a dog keep going back and forth down the side of this deer pen, this particular pen was awful thick with brush on the inside. I thought "Surely that cat isn't in that pen". But this dogs actions had my curiosity up, so I went and opened the gate to the pen, called that dog over and hissed him in there. I could tell the dog was excited as he went thru the gate, he went straight to the middle of the pen and jumped the cat out and the race was on again. Then went on to catch the cat.

I told that story just to say this, there are lots of reasons out there in the woods that causes a dog to make a loose (not all the time, but sometimes). Sometimes we just don't know till we go out there and see. Then sometimes we still don't know after we look.

As far as calling my dogs back after they make a loose and just can't move the trail any more, and me thinking they have the backtrail. I'll probably keep doing it and I'm probably wrong. There sure could be a reason for that loose and they have the right end. Probably most times I'll never know. I'll get off of here. Adios Robbie

[floridacathunter]

Hey South Texan ,hope your missing those fires and bad drought, sure looks like tough times on the news. I never thought of it as "training them to back track", when I called them back, heck, I's just trying to have a race, but your sure right. I probably won't quit doing it either. Cat hunting ain't no job anyway, but it sure is fun. I find, that the older I get, and the lower I set my expectations, the fewer disapointments I have. Then, if these sorry old "hides" do happen to get one struck, jumped, run, and caught, in spite of our mess-ups, we're all tickled. Good hunts to all. I'll hush now, John

[South Texan]

Mr. John,
I'm missing the fires, they are probably about 150 miles northeast of me, they sure look bad. Lots of people have lost their homes, I sure feel sorry for them.

As for the drought, I'm sure caught up in that. I don't think I have to worry about the fires here. Not enough grass left here on the ranch to burn.

I'm like you on calling the dogs back, to send them the other way on the track. Just trying to have a race. But...I guess the reason neither of us will stop doing it, is because sometimes WE are right. Robbie

[tomtom]

Sure is hard right now. The old ranch is gone from the fire in Bastrop. I dont live there anymore but my neices do. The old ranch house is still standing. As luck would have it, my bro-in-law had a backhoe rented, and used it to fire break a couple acres around the house. All the happy hunting ground is gone. Thousands of acres of prime running country is gone. Piney woods, post-oak pastures, briars and bottoms, all gone from the fire. I cant count the people I know who lost homes. You want to help, but what do you do?? Help them move stuff they aint got?? Pretty bad right now. Sheriffs parked on the road shooting high fence animals suffering from burns the owners didn't cut the fence for. Tons of livestock gone. And thats no joke about the pastures either. Looks like a desert in places that are usually knee deep in coastal.

[Shorty]

TomTom,
I'm very sorry to hear that. I know there's not much that anyone can do, however if there's anything I can do please let me know. I'm in Cotulla so I'm a ways south of you but willing to help.

A lot of S.Texas doesn't have livestock on it anymore. This is due to the deer hunters and raisers bogus beliefe that cattle and deer can't raise together. Without the livestock there is several years of old feed stacked up and waiting for a spark. When that spark comes it makes for a hell of a fire (as you have seen on the news) and nearly unstoppable. Something just has to be done to force these deer hunters to graize their land. JMHO

[Gary Roberson]

I am with South Texas. Just don't have enough fuel to get a fire really going. We are selling most of the cattle as we can't afford the high cost of feed. The bad thing is that there just does not seem to be any end in sight and now we are heading into winter. It did finally cool off here Mon. night. It was 42 on Tues. morning when I dumped my potlickers. I nearly froze to death!
My sympathy goes out to all the folks around Bastrop as well. I am sure all the needles from the Lost Pines of Texas made for a hot fire.
Adios,
Gary