Dogs that bark at a bush

[al baldwin]

Everyone likes something different in dogs, or so it seems. I have never had a problem with a dog that gets fired up and barks because a cat has left scent on a bush. Ofcoarse I don/t like them to stand and bark. Spike, a son of the skinner dog , would sure get fired up on such a bush. charge around like there was a red hot track, for a bit. Some times would be no more than just scent on that bush. Other times would produce a track that he had to trail a long ways to jump. Sure had nothing to do with spike being a false tree dog. Considered him to be a poor tree dog & if spike was treeing meant a very good chance the cat was there. If the other dogs grabbed a tree too soon, good chance spike would find, the track going out & pull them with him. Also skinner treed cats that spike did not tree on. Tenor squall that I loved. Lots of first time hunters with spike, asked as soon as he barked. What dog is that? Spike had very good track speed. Ran only a few coyote in his life time, but if a young dog started one & spike joined in coyote best be ready to run he caught a couple coyote on the ground in some rough ground. Spike,s mother was a small built female i bought from Larry Hoehime (SP). Found out later she was from a cross Dave Fuller made & had trigg in her. Reba was a track staddler but had a exceptional nose, & used well at getting looses out of the roads & etc. Had a very nice voice & used it. Discovered as a young dog she was trained by Roland Wilson. Reba had the ability to realize when those old grubb tracks left a road. Numerous I saw her turn & hussle back up the road, find where cat left & pull the pack back on track. Reba also barked on those bushes & treeing was her weak spot. Not apt to get false trees. I could take spike, skinner or reba in to an area and know if I needed to return later to hunt for a cat that was using those bushes. Kept Reb a couple years, sold her for the 2500$ I had paid, to a friend he had told me if you decide to sell call me. I did & he arrived very soon. He bought dogs in past & knew I sold on impulse. With a heavy heart, sold spike at 8 +, told buyer he was weak on the tree for 2000$. Buyer was very pleased with spike, said treeing was never an issue, the worst thing about spike he said was he took cold tracks too far to jump. Told me one of the neatest sight he ever saw was once when spike got out on one of those old tracks alone, & he witnessed spike jump & overtake a nice tom in open ground. Go figure, he had small trees for the most part. If spike had been better tree dog, would have been tough for what I liked to fault him. But none are perfect. Comments welcone, negative or positive NO HARDFEELINGS! Hope you enjoy Al Baldwin

[mondomuttruner]

This is what I signed up for, nice honest story. thanks for sharing...

[Warner5]

x2 mondo. Al, very nice honest enjoyable read. Here is a story that should fit your topic. I have this old female that barks at one spot too much, I was down on her all of last season, but this season I started to see her for what she is in a good way. she is a track stradler, at times slow on a cold track and too open for my liking. Before this season I didn’t really have room for an open, track stradler at my house. But with that said since then I have heard some very enjoyable and productive cat races this season with her in the mix. I believe she is the first decent track stradler I have owned, Drifters have always got it done for me, leading me to believe they are superior for bobcat dogs. I don’t know if that’s right or wrong, and a discussion for another time. But on the right cat in a thick, nasty brush hole. My drifting dogs and that old stradler dog would really complement each other. The drifters would circle the brush hole hoping to jump the cat sneaking out. But as you all know many times the cat will sit, and this is where the old girl would show her worth. She would dive right into the brush hole, moving step for step where the cat had been. Rootin and a tooting, barking to beat the band she was making the cat move and it didn’t take the other dogs long to realize it. Circling and looking, trying to put the cat in a bad spot. If you can imagine it sounded like bobcat ping pong. Yes there was a lot of off track barking and a fair amount of baying where the cat had been, but they made it work and caught 2 of 3 races that ended in a spot like this by seasons end. One was a briar patch with an old fence through it, and the other was a very thick rhododendron pinnacle formed at the end of 2 draws that came together. The cat that beat them was a very tough seasoned cat she used an over grown poison oak patch to wear the dogs down(between Siebold’s & Grant’s). For dogs last season I worried about what I didn’t have. But this season I learned to stop worrying about what I didn’t have and enjoy the dogs I did have. I caught less game this season but I learned twice as much and had way more fun. I am sure better dogs would have stopped 1 of those cats before it reached the brush hole, but I didn’t have better dogs. I guess, it turns out I don’t mind some barking at a bush some times. If that’s what it takes to get Bob out of there. Thank you. John.

[mondomuttruner]

Another great story.......thanks Warner.. sure wish I was a better story teller...