Wow... to Cat hunters

[merlo_105]

And of coarse there has to be that guy who doubts or trys to turn something around... And for the speed comment I say speed is nice and we all know it is. I do have one crazy fast dog, but I also have a dog that aint so crazy fast but she moves a track good. And in the nasty timber they run together... Now I want some speed cause rule of thumb is gonna say that dog is gonna be athletic and not clumsy and having dogs that are running logs and so on I think the athletic dog is gonna do it better. I like that people are so confident with there dogs there willing to put there life on the line... Jeese.... Everytime I put my dogs on the ground Im more then confident im gonna be walking into a tree. Or at least hoping... Not saying anyone is a Bad trainer nor am I saying im a good one but my dogs handle and they track like pro's and locate like champs and not one of them is Two years old.

[twist]

Merlo, hae no doubt you have some nice dogs and have done your job as a handler but I think the way you have come across as saying it doesn't take much of a hound to make an outstanding bobcat dog just a good handler is very false yes a good handler can help a hound of this calibur of a dog that can catch some cats but not an outstanding or pro bobcat hound, they are few and far between Jmo. Andy!

[merlo_105]

I agree for the most part but my dogs arent out of amazing stock yes one is of good breeding but the other two I have no idea what is in them but both them dogs can catch cat on there own on a regular basis. Im sure a dog that has better breeding and is born out of catdogs has a better potential of being great... But you can sit and wait alife time for a dog or make one happen... What is the difference between a caught cat and a caught cat with a top notch dog.... Im not saying any hound can do it some hounds cant find there own butt... But if I took a hound that wants to hunt and trained him up right and put him on cat and then took a born catdog and just threw him in with other dogs he aint gonna be all that great yes he has the potential to be great but your gonna be hunting him alot before he can possibly catch his own cat. Yes if he was trained there could be a awesome outcome. !!! people want that dog that does it all so they dont have to do anything...

[al baldwin]

I agree for the most part but my dogs arent out of amazing stock yes one is of good breeding but the other two I have no idea what is in them but both them dogs can catch cat on there own on a regular basis. Im sure a dog that has better breeding and is born out of catdogs has a better potential of being great... But you can sit and wait alife time for a dog or make one happen... What is the difference between a caught cat and a caught cat with a top notch dog.... Im not saying any hound can do it some hounds cant find there own butt... But if I took a hound that wants to hunt and trained him up right and put him on cat and then took a born catdog and just threw him in with other dogs he aint gonna be all that great yes he has the potential to be great but your gonna be hunting him alot before he can possibly catch his own cat. Yes if he was trained there could be a awesome outcome. !!! people want that dog that does it all so they dont have to do anything...

Merlo you seem like a nice guy & don/t doubt you are a good trainer. Problem is you cannot train a dog to excel at catching bobcat if it is not in their breeding. You have been very lucky to get that number of young dogs that excel at catching bobcat. GREAT FOR YOU AND YOUR HOUNDS. RESPECTFUL Al

[merlo_105]

That could be the case I got lucky and I do no doubt that. Im not claiming to be a good handler or trainer I just dont think a person can say a dog cant catch Cats if it aint in there breeding a hound is a track animal a Bobcat lays down a track its that simple dont matter what hound you have or where it came from it has the potential to catch a cat. Yes one out of proven Cat lines is gonna be easier and most likely adabt to it faster. But people have been hunting cats for a very long time and catching cats with all kinds of hounds and other breeds. The people back in the day were much better handlers then the average guy now and they caught cat. Yeah some of them old timers worked on breeding better dogs to excel but they started off with Hounds not cat hounds

[al baldwin]

Merlo did not mean hounds had to have parents that were trained cat dogs to catch cat. Infact have known of hounds that made good cat hounds & their parents were bear dogs. Just saying need to give the breeding of your hounds a little more credit. The best line of cat hounds all need some training as pups. That little bluetick female has some of the very best breeding in her lineage the bluetick breed has to offer. And I have seen some bluetick that were bred by coon hunters that sure caught some cat that did not tree easy. And there is a sign at the entrance of my place saying Walker Flats. That is another thing those cat you caught were they in areas were the cat had not been dogged? Were they in a catching snow? Don/t matter if they were very good to catch any bobcat with dogs that young. Count your blessing & wish you the very best. Al

[merlo_105]

Hey thanks and I get what your saying and I agree 100%, your right... The cats I have caught have been mostly dry ground with a couple snowdays not to many. Im back home in the PNW so these dogs are running steep hills with lots of brush and nasty blowdowns nothing nice nor easy and there doing great. I have had a few easy cats, the cats back in west virginia werent hunted so it wasnt all that bad but a cat is a cat and they know what to do to get away. Very first day I was back in the PNW I took the dogs out where the cats are ran alot and caught one cat and only ran that cat that night so wasnt bad for dogs that been in a box for three days

[twist]

Yes there are hounds that can be taught to catch cats and there are some that can't be taught. Some dogs that make GREAT lion, bear,coon are not GREAT bobcat dogs and vise verse pure fact. A hound has to be exposed to the game they are desired to run and yes that's the handlers job to do that and with time it may work or it may not but without trying one will never know. A TRUE GREAT BOBCAT DOG IS BORN NOT MADE they all need exposure! Andy

[cobalt]

I think that a lot of new to the sport bobcat hunters think because of what they've been told or read on forums like these is that there is some miracle bobcat dog mentality (or kennel, or strain) that will be the sure fire solution to their bobcat catching needs. Bobcat dogs are MADE, like all game catching dogs. You just don't throw a dog out in the woods and "poof" your running bobcat. Merlo has proved that!! But if you are a crappy trainer, maybe you NEED one that's born (or more likely, bought). A person needs to get a dog with drive and tree to have a chance. The dedication of the owner coupled with a lot of dog training savvy is the main ingredient. It is no fluke, as much as a lot of you would like to think, that merlo_105 has had so much success with his dogs. He is a real dog man (I suspect) and the only way he won't have good bobcat dogs in the future is if his dedication slacks. As long as he has decent prospects (which he must recognize), he will make cat dogs.

[twist]

Cobalt, agree totally with all dogs need exposure but fact is some are naturals and some aren't the ones that are naturals will make better hounds. Just like if men all practiced at basketball they could be taught to get the ball up and down the court and to make a shot every now and then and yes when asked they can say they know how to play the game andthen cameJordon, Bird, Magic and so on they where born to play the game, yes they had to practice also but they were born with the gift and no matter how good the average guy who can make a basket thinks he is he don't compare but yes he can still make a basket but is he as good as the pros who where born to play? Jmo Andy

[dwalton]

I have been gone for a couple of days wow a good post has got people thinking or maybe just talking. Mario thanks for posting and answering peoples post. Any dog with the right trainer can make a cat dog if it has any desire in it. The key that I see is your back ground in other dogs you have learn how to teach a hound unlike most people that just hunt a hound. Speed is not what it takes to catch bobcats it is track smarts and proper training. If most of these hound men did not already know it all, maybe they could learn something from you. I would like to ride along with you sometime. I have yet to see someone that I could not learn from. Even the ones that don't know what they don't know. Good luck and hope to see more post from you. Dewey

[slowandeasy]

I will just say this. The number one breed standard in any registry or if you just plain keep your own records. Reguardless of wether the hound is colored pink, should be.

1) THE HOUND SHOULD TRAIL QUARRY AS FAST AS IT'S NOSE WILL ALLOW IT'S LEGS TO RUN. WITH OUT INTERFERING WITH THE RUNNING OF THE RACE. WITH THE INTENT OF OVERTAKING (EATING) CAUSING TO TREE, BAY, OR GO TO GROUND.


This should be wether you are trailing anything from mice to elephants!!! If you accept less shame on you. But do not try to BS people into believing it takes some kind of magical hound to get results on any type of different game. If you accept mediocracy you are the blame. NOT ANY SPECIFIC BREED. NUFF SAID.


Take care, Willie

[twist]

Dewey, agree like I have said a lot is in the handlers hand but you for one knows the difference in a dog that can catch cats and a GREAT one that catches them. I know you have had ones like I am talking of we have talkedof them before. They all don't make the grade if that was the case it would be just to easy. Andy

[dwalton]

Willy: You are right. Dogs that out run there noses will cause game to be caught, if caught, at a longer time frame than one that sticks to the track. Two of the best bobcat dogs that I have ever owned were slow dogs. I have seen several times hunting with someone we had to catch the fast dogs to allow the slow dogs to catch the bobcat. Everyone thinks[ even thou most of them have never hunted with my pack] that I have running dogs for speed. Not so I have then in my dogs for soundness, tuft [ able to hunt day after day] but most important the way they move a track, no barking off track,staying on a track moving it fast. I do not want a drifting dog. One in there is not a bad thing all of them you won't catch many bobcats and yes they all need to be able to tree there own bobcat. So are just better at different pats of the game than others. Dewey

[dwalton]

twist: There are or have been some great dogs out there that take very little training. They can be hands above what they have been hunted with but there is always a better one out there. As far as a natural some take that very little hunting to produce but they have to be hunted. The more they are the better they get. Willy to become really good they have to be hunted by themselves which is where a lot of us go wrong. I know I hunt a lot of dogs the good ones have to prove themselves by just catching bobs when everyone else has given up on that track. Dewey