Gritt in your cat dogs

[BlazeNBrat]

David, BINGO!! Thats the type of dog that is ideal here. That type of gritt is becoming more important to me every year. "Smart" ground combat! Not to little and not to much is good.

I've got an older walker bitch that you can say has a bit to much gritt on the ground. She gets to be expensive trying to keep her healthy after to many of those. alost died on me last winter from the cat scratch fever. She's a good enough dog but I think she's a bit stupid to cannon ball a bayed cat.

Sorry, I didnt mean for this to be a trick question. Just was curious how important it is for your dogs (where you hunt) to have enough in your face gritt to hold a cat. Some places might not need that at all?

I'm seeing quite a variation in dogs and how they conduct them selves with a cat on the ground. Seeing some that really use their head and others that loose their mind. This is a category that is kind of "after the fact" but anymore, not over looked.

[slowandeasy]

this has been a really funny topic to me. and again was a little reluctant to reply. their are so many that get the wrong information on this trait. i have heard silly but prevelant statements such as when i show a pup a coon the first time. they better be fighting it or i don' t want it. and thought there would be many insisting the same. dad always said to me. we are big enough to harvest what ever we happen to be hunting, and don't need help from the hounds. they just need to do their job. if it trees stay treed, if it bays it stays bayed until we arrive. so i guess ya know where i stand. just didn't think i would have as much company take care

[slowandeasy]

South Texan, check your PM

[david]

Here is a bit of information that I got from an animal behaviorist. It kind of shot holes in my belief that the smartest dogs will not be the aggressive ones. He makes more money than a Veterinarian dealing with rich folks' dog problems. He also is a very successful bear hunter and has some fine Walkers. He said some of the smartest dogs he has to deal with are the aggressive ones. He said the smartest dogs know how to get what they want, and if that includes aggression, then you got it.

So I guess what we need is smart dogs who know how to get what they want, and what they want is a bayed cat!

[box rocker]

Sence of urgency is the attitude and process of treating key business or personal matters as if one's life depended on it.It is determination to stay focused on results and deadlines until the task or project is completed. I think sence of urgency describes what I'm looking for in my hounds more so than gritt. Maybe it is the positive reinforcement in training but I have never had a dog that lacked gritt when a cat was in it's face but I have had a couple that lacked the sence of urgency to put one there.

[mondomuttruner]

Slowandeasy...
I like how your dad thinks....I try to live by the same rule!!

[al baldwin]

Prefer dogs not attack a bayed cat, cat bites are very prone to infections. Also knew a hunter that had a nice hound with a bite in joint, that gave the dog problems for life. But if one is bitten two cc of Dura- Pen, ASAP, has sure made life easier for some dogs & prevented vet bills for me. Only need to give every 48 hours. I am firm believer. Hope this helps someone. Just my experience. Thanks Al Baldwin

[BlazeNBrat]

Al, good to know! I've been learning quite a bit about how to doctor the dogs, especially having the ol' kamikaze around I found out if I treat the wound right away it NORMALY doesnt move into infection. First, for minor cuts, I just let it bleed out a bit, then clean and irrigate with anibacterial soap and warm water solution, then pack wound with triple anibiotioc ointment. The bad ones, I do the same and give oral antibiotic, like clavamox or amox..

Shit happens, dogs get banged up when cats stay on the ground, just the nature of the beast it seems like. I just would like to see more of the ground smarts. I dont see any need to try and sink teeth in before WE deside to harvest it. On the same hand how can a guy cull a dog just because it gets to rough with bayed critters? maybe some day I'll be lucky enough to be that picky. To me a smart dog will completely handle the situation and come out with hardly a nick.

[Nolte]

On the same hand how can a guy cull a dog just because it gets to rough with bayed critters?

Easy, sell it to bear hunters.

I agree with much of what guys have already said. Gritt to me is how much the dogs sticks when the animal is stopped and ready to tangle. Grinding out tracks and working on them is more about how persistant and focused a dogs is.

I like them to just stay close, bark and let me get in there to decide what happens. That usually isn't an issue when it's a big cat, but sometimes a guy can't get in quick enough on those little ones. I've seen some tough bear dogs who miraculously caught big cats when all the stars lined up that would NOT tangle with it. They gave it plenty of space after the first go round of kicking feet and that little spotted blur latching on to them. They figured out real quick that there wasn't any getting away when he decided to come at them.

[david]

Nolte, I have seen a dog down from a great bear dog that you know of. He just goes in on a big cat. I have not seen a cat he would not go in on. I have not seen a cat he would not kill and no harm to himself. He could not catch a cat to save his life, but once caught, he would arrive on the scene like coming down field to tackle the receiver on the kickoff return. And not a scratch on the dog that I ever saw. The dog was well over 70 pounds though. Seeing what you don't want in a bobcat dog can sure help a man define what he does want.

[Nolte]

David,

I'm pretty sure I know the dog. Pretty sure after being a "coon" dog most of his life he's tried that on a few bear and it hasn't worked out well for him. I also know that a few of the related dogs that were over the top tough and I'd bet would be the same way if cat hunted. That is if they could catch one. Most were just used as bear dogs. I think that level of "tough" is pretty rare though. One might be that way but the next dozen won't. Or at least here you aren't getting many chances to find out.

[TRW]

Fox hunt as many dogs as you want for a week at night but the same ones and in a few days you will see plain as day what grit, speed, endourance and all the things that make a hound tough after a few nights you will see what you have as far as how a dog carries a track picks up looses uses his mouth. I think in my eye its a place to put pressure on every dog because the front three dogs don't always have the track till a lose. For all you young guys you want to make hounds and have no way to get started find the fox and start calling them fox they will show up in a road in mins if not move on they will show up. Then just put em down the rest will come with time migh have to pick up a tree dog but they will start striking the fox in just a bit no better trainer and it won't cost you five gs for a good dog to train with. And on top of that you will be after game that trees rather than hoping a big buck doesn't come accross the road with some young dogs trying to stretch it. Then when you get a chance hunt with some one that catches a few sit back and wach.

[dwalton]

When you train a dog for fox wouldn't you have a fox dog. Maybe it would tree a cat if you could get it on one. Dewey

[TRW]

Well you might be right there but I say you load your dogs amped up and mine on the same box we would have a heck of a fox race lol

[dwalton]

Your probably right Ted. Mine could be talked into it. Dewey