What Characteristics Make A Fast Bear Dog?

[Smiley]

I used to think voice had little to do with a dogs ability to move. But early on I used to attend field trials regularly . I seen many dogs that would start off both dead even then they get towards the end the see the coon up the pole and every time that dog that opened it was like he stumbled and would drop 6 or more inches to the other dog who remained silent the bawl mouthed dogs dropped more than the chop mouthed dogs per bark/bawl but the chop mouthed dogs would drop more times as they barked more. I firmly believe that a dog that is very open cannot use its full track speed potential they for many reasons .

Intelligence nose desire ( running to catch) and conformation , now that is a combination for running a track at full speed . You get all these things to line up and you will have dogs that cannot run fast enough to keep up with the dogs that are running the track.

[rhromm]

Leg length and speed are not necessarily proportionally related.

Comparing fox hounds to tree stock often provides some of what you are looking for physically.

[Smiley]

Leg length and speed are not necessarily proportionally related.

Comparing fox hounds to tree stock often provides some of what you are looking for physically.

Your right there but seem you are going to get a lot further along using adequately legged dogs than short legged ones .

[TnBearHntr]

I think the main thing that makes fast dogs fast is heart. If a dog doesn't have a burning desire to run a bear down and catch it then its not gonna catch many runners. Im not sure if its born or trained into them but some dogs want to catch bear and some want to trail them. Not saying heart is the only thing that goes into it but id rather have a short legged flat footed dog with heart than a well built dog without it... jmo

[Smiley]

yes some dogs can and do make up for poor conformation and other short comings with heart desire ect. or whatever you want to call it .
Just remember that faults or short coming will eventually catch up to the dog they are making up for physical short comings in some way and that takes a harder toll than if they have all the physical tools to begin with .

[dhostetler]

I think the main thing that makes fast dogs fast is heart. If a dog doesn't have a burning desire to run a bear down and catch it then its not gonna catch many runners. Im not sure if its born or trained into them but some dogs want to catch bear and some want to trail them. Not saying heart is the only thing that goes into it but id rather have a short legged flat footed dog with heart than a well built dog without it... jmo

I agree 100%

[Nolte]

Not trying to offend anyone, but I see hunting ability as a learned trait, not a bred trait.

Well you must know a lot more than me or had much different dogs. If they don't have a certain amount of gameyness in them, they won't ever be a dog. They might go with and be there, but that is different than contributing.

As for body type, I don't specifically breed for a body type. But it seems in this country the fast dogs have a little more leg, are toned up pretty good and appear lanky or rangy. I've also seen some big bruisers and little peanut dogs that were real fast. I usually just evalute them after I see them go. The fast ones are usually up front.

[mark]

If hunting ability is a learned trait, then the answer to having a fast bear dog would be to go and get a Greyhound and teach it to hunt..... Wouldn't it?

[Bearkiller]

If hunting ability is a learned trait, then the answer to having a fast bear dog would be to go and get a Greyhound and teach it to hunt..... Wouldn't it?

Why would you bring facts to a mindless internet "debate"? haha I suppose lung capacity would be called into question but if it's based on training and not genetics, then what difference does it make?

[slowandeasy]

now i understand where my problem has been. all this while i have been paying super close attention to genetics. i was unaware i could just go down to the pound and pick up super stars!

[Mackdog]

Slowandeasy,

Kinda funny, most of the guys that hunt around my parts, hound hunters that catch a lot of game year in and your out, don't buy from breeders. Ever heard of grade dogs? Or maybe some of the pioneers that treed game before coonhounds ever made it to the West? Probably not.

You are too lazy to train a hound. You'd rather buy it from a breeder that has a fancy line so you don't have to do the work. And your proven line must make you feel pretty good about your crappy dogs. Theres a lot of time, effort and knowledge that goes into training a hound, it don't happen over night. Ask any hound hunter that has consistently treed game for more than a few years. You ever tried a pound hound? Let me guess, they are worthless junk that will never hunt. You are the person that creates stereotypes that give true passionate hound hunters a bad name.

All I wanted to know is what physical traits people thought make a fast bear dog. Maybe you didn't make it through highschool, if you need help reading let me know.

phys·i·cal   
adjective
1. of or relating to the body, as distinguished from the mind or spirit
2. of, relating to, or resembling material things or nature: the physical universe

[larry]

Mackdog,

This is my opinion. Males 55-60 lbs, females 50-55 lbs. Big Deep chest, give the heart and lungs room to work. Long legs, the further a dog can reach forward with back legs the more ground it can cover per stride. Lean and stream line, muscle takes energy and oxygen, so unneeded muscle is a waste, and less lactic acid. Nice rounded muscled ass end, need those muscle to drive. Light boned, extra heavy bone is weight that is not needed. Tight feet, no reason to run a loose dog just to break its feet down. Good nose, a dog that can run a track with is head level to the shoulders is important. Chop mouth, a ball mouth dog is spending time barking and not running or smelling. Chop on track about every 5-10 seconds. A babbling dog is wasting time barking and not paying attention.

This is what I breed for in a dog. Big loose dogs or barrel chested squaty dogs don't work where I run.

This is my opinion only and may not be worth .02 for others.

DITTO!

[Jason wall]

X2!!

[Nolte]

Kinda funny, most of the guys that hunt around my parts, hound hunters that catch a lot of game year in and your out, don't buy from breeders. Ever heard of grade dogs?

I agree with your premise but it's contradictory with what you said before. That hunting was a learned trait, not genetic. If it's learned, you "should" be able to take any old long eared dog and with some work start catching game.

Now if it is done as you describe above, well then you are already selecting dogs that have a higher probability of having the right stuff in them to begin with. Grade dogs usually only have one basis for being bred, they catch stuff. The monentary benefit to breed any old grade dogs ain't much, so it's usually done for results. Not sure if a guy can say the same about a dog with a fancy pedigree, the intentions are usually blurred a bit with green glasses.

[Mackdog]

Nolte,

I was just getting frustrated trying to get the opinions I was after. Gotta figure out a non-offensive way to get subject based opinions and not let people get under my skin. Thanks for the constructive feedback