Communicating with Your Hounds!

[coyoteburner95]

load up means get in the box. "tally ho right here" and point to the track means "tracks right here" usually where the track crosses the other side of the road or when dropping a fresh set of dogs. and of course there is come on lets go and they will follow you to the truck, if they decide there done hunting the woods! lol

[Lil Joes BigGame hounds]

One thing I do a lot when walking the dogs or when we make a big lose while trailin is give the command "back". I make the pack walk behind me while im looking for a track. I will also give this if they are a little to rambunctious, it will settle them down and get their minds right.

[david]

If there is an award for an original thread topic, I think it should go to Mr. Clay. I have been coming here since '04 and we mostly re-cycle topics as new folks show up. But I can not remember ever seeing this topic on the board. It is really fun reading.

[sheimer]

I communicate with the hounds through words, body language, grunts and clicks, looks and overall attitude. Everyone does. They communicate with me through all of the listed above. Their "words" come in the form of different sounding barks with different intensity at different times, they position their bodies in ways to tell me what their emotional state is, they can look at you knowingly or completely confused, or they may just ignore you.

As CJC mentioned, treat them like your kids. I use the full English language and some Spanish to communicate with them. I have had more luck communicating to them this way. They probably don't know what I'm saying, but they know what I mean. It's a combination of all the methods of communication that a dog senses.

Over long distances I use either the tone button or the horn or yelling, depending on circumstances. And even then, sometimes they just know what's up without hearing a thing from me.

Sometimes this all breaks down and they will do whatever they want. If I don't have their attention, they aren't very receptive to instruction.....no different than my kids....or me. I'm actually more guilty of this than the kids or dogs.

Like Melanie said, they mind better than some peoples house dogs....most of the time.

Sorry to ramble,
Scott

[R Severe]

I agree with David on the award, very good topic.

I get amazed often on just how much a dog will talk to us if we will just listen. The only thing we have to do is start them on the path as puppys.

I don't have a tone on my old shock collar so my body and voice has to set a tone, they can definatly hear it.

[david]

there is a bunch more but i cant give out all my secrets. jc

I don't doubt that; knowing of the guys you grew up with. I remember Lloyd Basey would not say a word, but reach his hand out the window and tap on the door with the side of his fist. With taps he would tell Heidi to get down off the box or get back up or what ever else. It was almost like He did not want too much noise out there... maybe because he did not want to give out all those secrets you now hold.

I know there are still secrets being held, but I sure appreciate everyone posting on this. This really is one of the more fascinating threads. Too me it kind of warms the heart and opens up a part of the imagination that we might not reach into so much on here. It is about the relationship of human to dog; dog to human, and it is just cool to see how deep some of you have gone with it. It does not surprise me at all that two women made such significant contributions to this topic. I actually am kind of envious. My dogs know what "come" means; if they are tired and hungry.

It is amazing how little has been written on this, or maybe it is written in some book somewhere but I just never saw it.

I wish someone had the time and money to go around to everyone who posted and some of the old timers still living and make a recording of each of them in actual communication with their dogs. I suppose to capture the visuals, it would have to be a video. And I wish we could go back and capture video of those that have passed on like the Lees and other great houndsmen.

I have been blessed to have heard the calls from a few of the houndmen who have died. Vern Poole and Everett Manor could call their dogs in from a mile away and did not use electronics collars. I dont think either of their dogs ever wore electronics of any kind. I heard the calls, but eventually Everett told me the dogs would come from a mile, and leave a good track to do it.

I will be anxious to read about the Clay language. I heard it, but could not speak it. I have heard Spanish too. Doesn't mean I can speak it.

[Budd Denny]

GREAT THREAD!!!! I don't say a whole lot to my hounds other then when petting them up at the tree. I use the horn as recall and have a differant tune that I use when game is seen or I have the track when dogs are in a check. I also slap the outside of my truck door when roading hounds but all it means is I want your attention or pay attention. I have a hunting partner that when he gets in with the hounds on a race he will start whooping and hollering (has buggered a few cats out of the section). Each of my hounds know their name and when I speak it their head had better be swiveling in my direction.
Also all my hounds had better handle with out a leash weather beagles or big hounds.

[Unreal_tk]

For those who use truck horns or blowing horns, do you use different types of blowing of the horn to communicate what you want? I have used my truck horn a few times after my voice gives out, I always do 3 long beeps for a recall, which is similar to how I call them verbally. I say here here here name. Just curious.

[coastrangecathunting]

i will try to tell how i hunt and communicate with the dogs . when i get to my destination that i want to hunt i call each by name to collar them up. after collaring 8 dogs give or take a few i will get in the truck and start roading them . i will give a short whistle followed by lets go . after all have cleaned out i will tap the horn or say load up . all will load without me getting out or repeating myself . i will rig them all loose untill they strike something off the box or i want to road them for awhile . if i want to road them i will stop and give a short whistle followed by lets go. if we have been hunting for a couple hours and havnt started anything i will stop at a landing < where a yarder has pulled logs to , a big turn around at the end of a road> and get out , walk around stretch my legs and talk to the dogs as if i was talking to a baby. i will pet them up really good and it gets them really excited. as im roading them sometimes i will talk to them out the window if they come by me . i will say stupid stuff like hows daddys kid . get that kitty , are u gonna run a coyote today . in that same voice as if im talking to a baby.
if they do find a track to run a will not say anything just watch them to determin if is a cat or off game . my dad told me years ago to never sick a dog on anything . u never really know what is around at the time . u might be sicking them on a coyote or there might be a cat track there but 20 feet away might be a hotter trash track . if it looks like they are haveing trouble starting the track i will walk around with them and they will check the way im walking but thats about all i do is walk around . like someone else said if i see a cat cross the road ahead of the dogs i will say here here here . at the tree i will not tie them up . i will say talk to him and pet them . i dont sell hides so they dont mean nothing to me . when i decide to leave i will say lets go and start walking back to the truck. they will all head to the truck with me . as im walking out i will say come on , lets go ,every couple hundred yards or so.
when the hunt is over i will open the box and say get in the hole and they will go in the box . so the only time i ever touch my dogs is when i collar them up and when i pet them . uncollar them at the house and they go to there kennel.

jc

[coastrangecathunting]

if they smell off game or if i see off game run across the road i will say getouttathatshit.

jc

[CRA]

I communicate with my hounds mostly with my truck horn. When I walk hunt into the Rimrocks I have a hand held blowing horn, one made by a lifelong friend out of an old cow horn, or my more traditional fox hunting horn that's in my pack.

I mostly just give a few loud HYUP,HYUP yells to get my dogs off the mountain. I use some whistles followed by finger pointing toward a track or scrape when I want my dogs to try and root up an old cat track that they may have passed up. I have found that by a little encouragement and coaching sometimes I can get my dogs to take tracks that they will sometimes pass up.

If I want the dogs to cross a creek, I will normally throw a rock into the water and hiss them to cross.

I never encourage my dogs to tree, after I get to the tree and locate the game then I only encourage them to tree very little my yelling talk to'em or speak to'em while I pet them up.

My Dad had a way to seem to get any dog excited by just how he could hype the dogs up by his way of communicating with hounds. He just had a loud way to get hounds fired up! While we night hunted cat and fox he would squall like a coon squallier and flicker his light at the brush to get a pack of hounds fired up and show them where the game hit the brush. His way almost got the dogs to the point that they were goofy when they hit the brush. This would only happen when he would see a cat or fox cross the road.

My Grandpa always just pointed to the ground and said LOOK HERE, and every dog around would throw dust up to get to where he was pointing.

I hunt mostly by myself and I have found that I dont communicate with my dogs much. If I see that they have their nose down rooting around the lava rocks or sage brush looking a little catty, I will give them a little encouragement by saying Hurry Now or Look for'em! Normally this is all that's needed for my dogs to sometimes go too deep to find the track.

A honestly believe there is some good and some bad in hissing dogs. The good is I believe it encourages them to put their nose down and try and trail. The bad is ( its correctable with a Tri-Tronics) it can cause dogs to act raddleheaded and bark on tracks that they cant do nothing with. It also seems to me that hissing certain types of dogs it will cause them to get so hyped up, they will sometimes just leave the area hunting, wide and deep, almost like they are wild and reckless. Its correctable with a training collar.

Sometimes I think my dogs are better at communicating with me, or just sensing my body language. My dogs know for some reason if I'm going hunting or to work. I go out on work days and start the truck and they wont say a word, but I will do nothing different on a day I'm going hunting and they wont shut up. They just start pacing all over the kennel full of excitement. I have no idea how they can tell the difference but they can.

About discipline, my hounds cant take much discipline. If you go to the belt or cork they will probably be ruined real quick. Overdosing with the shock collar is another bad idea. Each hound needs disciplined on a case by case basis. Smart hounds that are super sensitive dont need much to get the point across.

Like Mr. Clay said never discipline a hound when you are angry. It could cause a major set back in their performance and bond they have with you.

[Dads dogboy]

Communicating with the Hounds goes back Hundreds if not Thousands of years. The Red Coated members of the Masters Fox Hound Association keep the traditions of Speaking to the Hounds through the Horn alive today. You can go to http://www.MFHA.com and hear the sounds of the Horn as the different commands are given both for the Hounds and for the Gallery of Hunters as well.

As Mr. Dewey tells so well, the Hounds hunt with us not us with them….we too help our Hounds on occasion….yet we are not right with them in the woods, we have been listening to what they are telling us and trying to translate what the Hounds are saying into what the Bobcat is doing.

Well David, I will try to put what you heard in person into some sort of writable form…this should be interesting.

Now we use the same basics that others use COME, UP for up on the tailgate, Get UP for on top of the Box, Getoutofthere or Leavitalone for smelling a Sissoring (but not barking at it), a loud HEY or HUSH for being noisy in the box, Get in the Truck for loading at the end of a Race; HEYHEYHEYHEY let’sgo let’sgo when leaving a Stretch, Bay or Tree (never use or need a leash).

Then we get into the SPEAKING to the Hounds. Dad differs from other Houndsmen and is much more like Mr. Mike and the Bird Dog handlers always communicating to the Hounds as they need direction. He used to use his Goat Horn to send the command sounds to the Hounds, then his teeth went and the bridge the Dentist put in would not allow him to blow with the force that he used to use so he changed to a system of loud “Hollars”. I have modified them to fit my vocal chords and will try to write what they sound like and what they are for. Ole David will be laughing all over his Truck when he reads me trying to duplicate what he has heard.

When roading the Hounds and they get behind the Truck a SSSRRREET sicking them on whistle type sound followed by a short WWHHEE is the command to get ahead of the Truck.

When we have a Rig and the Hounds are drifting the Track but can not bark, and have been looking hard for 15 minutes or so, a command of a LOUD WWWHHOOOEEE is given about twice. This is to tell the Hounds that we are waiting on them to Bark, if they can not Bark as the Track is too Old or Bad, then come back to the Truck. It is a reminder to not fool around all night as we may be able to find another better Track. Many times however Ole Corky or Choctaw will answer us with a Bark, saying to keep our shirt on they smell the Cat better and will be Trailing shortly.

This sound is similar but different from the encouragement command of WWWWHHOEEEA. This is given when the Hounds are moving the Track but come to a BAD place in it and need a little encouragement to look a little deeper or hunt a little harder. It is also given when we have to pull a long way around to get closer to the Hounds as they are trailing a Cat to let them know where we are.

If we see the Cat cross the road and want to shorten the Hounds up on the Cat (we do not always do this, at times it is better to let the Hounds sort this out themselves) we Hollar Loudly WWWEEEE HEOW HEOW HEOW(this is Southern Cat Hound Speak for here here here) WWWEE and clap our Hands, Dad may have to shout loudly HEY to get the Hounds to stop barking an listen to me.

The Loud HEY is given when one of the Swinging Hounds makes a pickup way ahead of the Pack to get the Pack to hush for a second so that they can hear the pickup and get to him!

When wanting the Hounds to come to the Truck or Me the command is OOOOOOOEEUUUP given as loud as I can. Sometimes this is done in conjunction with the Truck horn.

When one of these Running Hounds Trees, encouragement commands are given; as while it wants to locate and Tree, there are 10 to 12 Hounds running around to make sure the Cat has not squatted or slipped out. This is a short WHEEE SPEAK TO HIM and may be repeated several times while I am on my way to the Tree. I know many of you were taught to sneak up on a Tree as the Cat would jump out, however when a Pack of Running Hounds has RUN a Cat up, the Cat is very reluctant to leave the Tree and too tired to even if it wanted to.

Now the final thing to describe, is to again quote Mr. Dewey “Never give a Command that you can not enforce”, this is why almost every Hound that leaves our Truck will be wearing a Tri-tronics “reminder” collar. These Hounds already know the commands they just sometimes need reminding that they truly KNOW then and to respond accordingly!

[slowandeasy]

cj, did your dad ever compition night hunt? if so did he hunt a hound named lizabeth?

[Dads dogboy]

Slow and Easy,

No, Dad has never even been to a Coon Competition.\

He has judged some Fox Hound Field Trials back east but never a Coon Hunt or Trial.

[al baldwin]

Good post guys enjoyed reading. Very good post David. Yes must say my old competitor Mr. Lloyd Bassey had hounds that minded very good. Those dogs were taken in by the fire to relax and get ready for the next days hunt after a hard hunt. Lloyd often told me he like to hunt on windy days. Explained the cats could not hear the dogs & treed easy. Lolyd also told me he never allowed his dogs to take a track two directions. Lloyd liked. hot tracks & if those dogs came off the box & went the wrong direction then turned the track he did not allow them to run the track. I was told he used kerosene with very good results to treat a hound that slipped a pad. Only hunted with him a couple times & remember that he hunted very fast cat crossing & quick to the next crossing. We sure liked a different style of hound, but I had respect for Lloyd as a hound trainer. Thanks Al Baldwin