sorry it had to be done

[coastrangecathunting]

Well I would like to first off say im sorry for doing this but it has to be done. I was raised with blueticks and know they catch game , big and small. I now run walker running dog crosses. The reason is the sound and time of the race. A bluetick seems to stand on there head to much for me. Also the running dog seems to last longer , hunting day after day after day. I have seen ole blue stayed treed on a bear for 3 days , so that has to count for something. The running dog cross sees to try to catch the animal it is running. Hint the trail hound compared to the running dog. Give me your reason for which you run either type of dog. hope this don't end in the cage.

jc

[cobalt]

If you like the dogs your running and think they fit you the best for the task you require of them then you've made the right choices from the information and experience you have. I'm happy for you. Do I think you know what your talking about. No.

[twist]

Now if you cross that blue dog with a walker I have seen some keepers but like you have stated jc they seem to be on the SLOWER side when you stay just blue! Andy

[al baldwin]

JC I think you are bored. Why would you think this could make the cage? This has been debated many times. In my limited experience with running dog blood I have not seen that they were any tougher than some of the tree dog stocks. I have seen some running dogs running behind a 70 lb. registered tree hound named Deacon that I used to own. The first time I seen it thought it was an accident but it occurred often enough that I soon knew better. Now I am talking about a running bear race, in my opinion that is a much better measuring stick in finding how tough a hound one has, compared to a cat race. I very well remember one race, another hunter said I/ve changed my mind this may be a coyote not a bobcat. About that time Deacon hit the road running with his head up and that big bawl mouth had changed to a short squeak and there was some running blooded dogs running behind him. Being young I was foolish enough to say we are about to find out, a few minutes later Deacon caught that coyote. Guess, my boldness was because he had caught yotes before when he had that tight a jump. Tom Barnett used to tell me look at those hind quarters on him, he is built like a race horse. Funny, I remember David stating any Al Renick bred dog he had ever hunted with could run, Deacon had Al/s blood in him, also just about ever old treeing walker line I had ever read about in him. I seen a few blueticks that changed my mind, about that old saying, all blueticks are slow. JC I believe , feed, condition & care that a hound is giving has a bunch to do with how tough they are, providing the breeding is behind them. Why do you think Lloyd Basey & George Nelson use to take those hounds in by the fire after a hard day of winter hunting. Also serious competition coon hunters always take their hounds in the motel room to sleep, to prepare them for the next day of competition. Sorry, I don/t always buy the hype. Al

[Warner5]

I just had a great idea, pick the best cat bred running dog, then the best cat bred blue dog. Breed them.

Give me all the pups

[Trueblue]

Well I would like to first off say im sorry for doing this but it has to be done. I was raised with blueticks and know they catch game , big and small. I now run walker running dog crosses. The reason is the sound and time of the race. A bluetick seems to stand on there head to much for me. Also the running dog seems to last longer , hunting day after day after day. I have seen ole blue stayed treed on a bear for 3 days , so that has to count for something. The running dog cross sees to try to catch the animal it is running. Hint the trail hound compared to the running dog. Give me your reason for which you run either type of dog. hope this don't end in the cage.

jc

Junk comes in all colors.Sounds like the junk you were raised with happened to be blue.

[Unreal_tk]

I don't think it really matters as long as the dog has the drive to do it. Are some faster than others? Yes, but that can be in any breed. Will I hunt any dog? Hell yes as long as it does what I want. I just prefer the coloration of the blue dogs is why I have them and everybody has walkers, might as well step out of the box and get something different.

[coastrangecathunting]

true blue, I would put plenty of the dogs I was raised with against yours. im not trying to get a pissing match, just shed some light,

jc

[mike martell]

John

Here is my opinion. Many Walkers are thin skinned and treeing is weak. Some think tree dogs are not necessary or desired for bobcats. I like a booming mouth, tell the world and give that high dollar hide a good head start, coupled with a dirty tough all weather hound and have had a difficult time trying to find a Walker that will rig when the wind and rain gets to whipping. I was skeptical of hounds crossed to running dogs and have seen the good over full hounds, to a point. As i grow older and walking is difficult, I kind of like tree dogs that stick until I hobble to the tree. I recently did just what you just stated and really like the results, not a bluetick but English. I also like a balanced dog that can switch hit on all game....Bobcat hounds and catching is over rated.I have seen many of those large 80 pound dogs that make no mistakes catch loads of bobcats. I never knew there was a straight hound for any species when I started hunting....I like to hunt and if a dog is a straight bobcat dog is not desired in my kennels. I know if you keep a pack of straight bobcat hounds your odds are better for catching a higher percentage of bobcats. I just don't care and enjoy a dog that is standing long after I'm done, not tucked under the rig deck.Treeing coons is perfectly acceptable along with the other junk in the woods....I concluded years ago, a dog with a lot of heart, no matter how big or small is where its at.Guess that is why I never have that many good dogs around.

Al.

Jim Hickey ended up with a dog named Deacon that was Al Renick bred in about the early to mid 80's. Could that have been the same dog? He also owned a dog named Jasper that was a running dog crossed to a treeing walker from down south if memory serves me correct.Lloyd Basey was an influence with Jim back in those days and that is where that shane dog come to play that is bred in to J.C. and John's line of dogs....I thought Shane was a better bear dog than he was on bobcats. Those names ring a bell? All about the same era....Nice dogs. I bear hunted Jasper too and he was another bay dog and could also tree bobcats.Deacon was old and used for breeding only a few times, Jim never hunted the dog.I think the reason the dogs back then were so good and switch hit well is because we hunted harder....Lol!

Thanks, Mike

[Trueblue]

true blue, I would put plenty of the dogs I was raised with against yours. im not trying to get a pissing match, just shed some light,

jc

Oh I'm sure your dogs would smoke this pack of tortoises that I got.

[al baldwin]

Mike, Deacon that I speak of was from a cross that George Nelson talked me into making from a female named Bell . She was a daughter of Shepards Oregon Deacon & shepards Oregon sugar and one heck of a bear hound. Really no thanks to me I was looking for bobcat hounds. Tom Barnett used to tell me , you have no idea how good a bear hound bell is, wait until you try to replace her. The Renick was on Deacon/s sire side, a hound that George N elson told me was as good if not the best bear hound he had ever owned. He owned a bunch of them. Deacon was as good as Belle but got more holes punched in him & some times did not bark as much in a bayeup. Belle barked steady like she was treed, only way could tell treed or bayed if she was moving. Both bayed up tight on the bear. I killed a large bear late one day that Deacon & Chub had bayed upon a rock about as high as my head. They had spent hours baying that bear before holding it on that rock long enough for me to get to them. After I got the bear killed I noticed a large amount of blood on Deacon. The bear had taken about half of one of his ears off. That was a son & grand son of Bell. The bear had killed a sheep, on a ranch, so, I cut the bear stomach open to insure I had the correct bear. A big surprise on top of the stomach there lay that half ear. Kept that ear for years. However, knew I could not afford to get Deacon proper care when the bear really torn him up. So told Fred Riley, I was going to sell him on a Saturday following that hunt. Ted Mc neely, local rancher & timber owner, knocked on my door early monday morning and paid me for Deacon. Hard thing but felt it was the fair thing for Deacon. Ted had lots of money and could afford vet bills. Remember Ted asking how I arrived at my asking price, & knew he would have paid me a lot more money, but I had set the price. Always been too sentimental about my dogs. Think ,Ted kept Deacon until he died, know he caught a bunch of bear with him and got his money back many times over, as he also bear guided after buying Deacon. If that Deacon had half an ear gone could have been the same deacon Jim had, knew Ted let others use him in his old age. Deacon had to be a little lucky to live that long. Every good dog has their days & I have seen Deacon running behind some of those same running blooded dogs. Will write about shane later. AL

[cobalt]

JC- I'll shed some light, trueblue has more integrity than anybody I've hunted around and as for his dogs, they are nothing you want to bet against in the bear woods.

[mark]

I know the place and the bear that will shed some light too. If their are any takers.

[merlo_105]

Right now Im running 3 blue dogs, and one redbone when I can get him from the Ex... I do not have a breed I prefer over the other I want dogs that want to hunt no matter the condition there in or the weather there hunting in.. They suite me fine and they have plenty of speed. The Redbone and two of the Blueticks are pretty quik and are ran with running dogs often and there right there with them or passed them. The blueticks are all smaller built dogs which seems to help them with being able to hunt more often with out having to be laid up for a couple days. All that matters is finding something that works for the person hunting the dogs...

[mike martell]

Al,
Thanks for the information. I don't remember the missing ear but that is going back many years, great story!!!..... I got the wheels of time a rollin....I remember hunting with Bob Shepard and some dogs back in the late 70's. Bob had a man who hunted and handled his dogs on bobcats etc, he was around thirty years old and I was around twenty or so. They were bobcat dogs and I had little interest....All I could think about was catching bear and killing coon for the high dollar hides, back then a guy could make some good money hunting coon...Can you imagine that today?

I would love to hear more about that Shane dog. I will look and see if I can find a picture of him. I remember killing a huge bear on the ground with Jasper(Jim always screwed up the dogs names and called Jasper, Chester) and shane and several other dogs with a 22 magnum. Boy did that get ugly quick! This is why I push to get our hunting back. I'm done hunting big game and have no interest in going back like the old days. I just think it is the right thing to do for all the young hunters who never had the chance to see a good bay dog or lion hound work. Good times in a great State to hunt all tree game....

Thanks, Mike