new guy with a catahoula leopard hound? maybe haha

[thomasg]

my name is thomas, born and raised in CO but for now am in camp pendleton california. Im moving back home soon. Ive never raised hounds myself but was going to start when I move back home. I was waiting to buy a walker, when my wife came across a craigslist add for a catahoula leopard. The woman had no idea about bloodlines or what not just new he was pure breed. So as he was only 40 bucks I bought him. My uncles hunting buddys hunted leopard hounds so I figured why not. But now Ive learned there is a huge debate over this breed or breeds of dog. Now Im in the dilema of Im not sure what Ive got. I want to train him as a lion or bear dog but now am not even sure if I have a herding or hunting dog. Im lost here fellas, I have exactly 0 experience and am not even sure if I have a hound. Please any advice would be much appreciated. Especially if a colorado houndsman is out there to help Id take any advice given to me. Ill be moving back there as soon as my marine corps enlistment is up in october so local support would be nice.
Thanks,
Thomas

[Fitz]

I hunt Catahoulas here in Cali. I only run hogs though. They're pretty smart dogs, very athletic, can handle heat pretty well and are extremely loyal dogs. They're very gritty but tend to run fresh tracks although some will develop a cold nose. They won't usually quit if they're hurt like a hound will. If you got any more questions and I know the answer I'll help if I can.

[thomasg]

Ya not a whole lot of hogs in CO which is where Im moving. I guess Im hoping hes one of the ones who develop a cold nose. Id like to start getting into the sport of bear or lion hunting. This is my first dog for tracking. I have a gsp for birds but she didnt take much training just a couple dummy excersises and she was good to go. I know nothing about training these guys. My pup is only 9 weeks and I just got him so Im working on the whole learning his name and not pissing on my floor haha. But any training tips as far as when to start training him on tracking and treeing well in your case baying? not real sure that I even have the right dog for the job but I have always wanted to get into the sport. Ive heard people talk about these dogs saying theres the catahoula, the leopard cur, the leopard hound exc, I have no clue what this one is. Any way to tell? like I said all I know of hound hunting is what Ive seen on youtube and what Ive seen in the woods lol. I dont really have any experienced houndsman mentors its just me, my puppy and what I can put together from the internet.

[thomasg]

Please guys I would really like to get in touch with some kind of expert or someone in colorado who knows thes dogs or any hound hunting. I'm really a fish out of water here I have no clue what I'm doing. I really want to get into this sport but have no resources to start. If anyone wants to help a young vet out it would be much appreciated.

[Emily]

OK Quick breed lesson. Leopard cur and leopard hound are the same thing, and are basically hounds. Catahoula leopard dog is a different breed, a more all purpose herding dog that will do some tracking. Post a pic of the pup here and everyone will express their opinion. Probably a good dog, but not necessarily what you want for teaching you big game hunting. Catahoulas are smart dogs, and there's a guy in the high desert in eastern Oregon that uses them successfully as decoy dogs hunting coyotes:
http://www.shootersservicesunlimited.com/
My advice would be to get you a second dog, a started or finished hound, and be willing to pay up for the training. It will save you both money and aggravation in the long run. A good hound needs to be trained what NOT to hunt, and will teach you what to do if you pay attention. At least that's how I learned. A trained hound will teach the catahoula too.
With a pup, the most important thing in the first six months is to teach basic obedience and get the dog used to the sights and sounds it will encounter in the woods. Also, you want to teach it to associate gunshots with good things. A little loud noise while feeding is good--start with banging pots and pans and work up to shooting blanks. You want it to come when called, handle well on lead, not jump on strangers, drop anything when told to, ride in a truck/dog box without getting carsick, etc.
To find other big game houndsmen in Colorado, seek out experienced outfitters and ask advice. Most houndsmen are natural storytellers and love to talk hounds to someone eager to listen, especially a veteran.
There's a lot of good training advice on this site.
And thank-you for serving our country for us.

[Fitz]

There ya go! Good job Emily you did a way better than I could have lol

[thomasg]

Im not really sure how to put pics up on a reply. sound advice. If anyone knows how to do it Id be glad to show you guys some pictures of the little guy.

[Emily]

read this
how-to-post-pics-on-the-forum-t3.html

[thomasg]

this is my litle boy. His name is banjo. The pics with me and my bird dog are the most recent. He is growing fast, its almost scary. I've had him for 2 weeks and he has grown this much By the way yes those are american flag sun glasses lol.








well Im not sure if this worked but if it did he is a gorgeous dog and I have already grown close to him so I would like to hear your oppinions even if its to say my newby picture posting didnt work haha. Thank you all so much for your wonderfull advice. If any of you is in central colorado ( not denver) I would love to buy you a drink

[Fitz]

That's def a flashy dog! He's a red leopard. He looks like a Catahoula to me!

[Emily]

He sure is a good looking dog! Owner's not bad either (don't worry, I'm old enough to be your mother, maybe your grandmother...)
Good luck with Banjo.

Just an aside. A lot of guys on here don't approve of keeping hunting dogs in the house. Don't listen to them. The closer you are bonded with your dogs the better they will hunt for you. The real reason people don't want their hunting dogs in the house is the "too many dogs" problem: You tend to get emotionally attached to house dogs. Then you see a better hunting dog and want it, but you already have 3 dogs in the house..One has to go. How are you going to let go of a dog you're so attached to?
My bear hounds sleep in the bed with my husband and me. They hunt fine. Choose your next dog carefully. Once you have 3 or 4, you better choose the next one carefully! Otherwise, you'll end up living in a dog house full time, like me.

[VARMIT HUNTER]

I am a retired Marine and coon and cat hunt in OK, and i have 2- 1/2 Leopard/,5/16 Bluetick/, 3/16 foxhound that are 18 months old and doing pretty good your dog is a good looking dog but i am not sure if he is cur or hound or a cross but definitely catahoula/leopard for the most part. Now when i was a kid one of our stock dogs was a catahoula named babe but she was a pretty tough coon dog hunting with our hounds as well. SEMPER FIDELIS!

[thomasg]

well thank you for the compliment emily. I was on the phone today with mr randy aka grey fox on here and he's the owner of the leopard cur registery and he didnt see the pictures but from what I described to him banjo is most deffinately not a cur. im thinkin hes a catahoula with maybe some leopard hound in him. he may not be the ideal tree dog but Im kind of a stubborn ass when it comes to dogs. I got my german shorthaired pointer as a 5 yr old rescue and everyone said she would never hunt and she is the best hunting dog I have ever had. Im going to try to train this pup on some bear. Now..... how the f*** do I do it hahaha. I have never been on a hound hunt let alone trained one so I am more than lost. I got some really good advice from saltydogcatahoulas but Im still super new to this and need advice from anyone who will give it. I am currently in the middle of so cal so not a whole lot of houndsmen here, so I will have to probably wait to meet up with and experienced houndsman untill i get back to colorado. So for now all I have is you guys, youtube and my dog lol. OORAH right back at you mr varmit hunter. How did you get your catahoula to learn to coon hunt? thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback

[VARMIT HUNTER]

Take them to the woods and expose them to the game you want to hunt,my dogs go on just about every fishing trip,etc when they are little. That is how they learn not on a chain or in the pen.

[Bearkiller]