bobcat training scent

[redbonecurhunting]

Okay, thanks. I just dont see how my dog would follow a dry coon pelt trail, when he doesnt have a whole lot of drive towards a caged coon in the first place, I am going to order walk with wick here soon, then i will not have to pester people on here, thank you for your time!

[twist]

Turn it inside out and soak it in water. Andy

[houndogger]

Here is a fun little experiment to try. Get the neighbor kid to piss in a bottle and then pour some on a towel or anything else that will absorb it. Then work your pup on it for as long as it keeps you entertained and then have the same neighbor kid walk down the road for aways and then take your pup out and see if it will trail the neighbor kid up.

Your box still blowing up when you drive by the Mc Donalds bathrooms?

[dwalton]

Training scents do they work? Like any thing with hunting dogs there are many different opinions. I think anything you young people do to train your dogs is good, the more time you spent with your dog the better it is for you and your dog. Do training scents work to teach a dog to trail a certain animal? Here what I have experienced, Over 40 years ago I worked a litter of pups on bobcat training scent. At 6 months old they would trail an hour old trail and tree like campions. Come fall I started hunting them with my older dogs, by 2 years old all of them were culled. They had no ability to trail and tree live game. Just three years back I had two litters that were out of top dogs. I bought some Grawes bobcat training scent to start them with. Not a one would open or trail the drags. I put them up and got my dogs that have been on hundreds of bobcats and walked them to the drags. They all went to the drag trail and smelled of the scent , not one took the trail and no one gave tail or acted interested in the scent. These are dogs that will strike a three day old scratch or piss bush from the rig just to get down and smell it with no intention of trailing it. Here something else to think about. I have watch my dogs trail a bobcat up to where it was caught in a trap . No one barked at the cat and all came to me. My dogs will not bark or show interest in a caged animal. They will not run in a field trail race. You all can make this mean what you like for me it means that there are different types of dogs out there that are bred for different purposes. Mine are bred to be track smart, intelligent,to move a track fast and to hunt with me for me. Each to their own, pick what you like to hunt with for the way you hunt. Be it bobcat, lion, coon, bear or boar. Their is always a difference in opinion and that is the good news. Dewey

[al baldwin]

I commend you Dewey, that is a well written post & glad to see you trying to help a young hunter. Remember guys, we all had to start some some time, after years of hunting we sometimes assume beginners should know more. If fact I still find myself learning some things, I thought would not happen. I have only used Grawes Bobcat training scent one time, nephew laid a scent trail, turned the dogs out & walk them to that trail, four experienced bobcat hounds trailed that scent, only two opened on trail, however they did work to the tree & eventually treed on the tree with the drag in it, these were strait cat hounds. I have to assume that scent must have smelled like a bobcat. Can say for sure Grawe makes some of the very best lures for trapping coons, bears, coyote, beaver, & cat. Do I think you can make bobcat dog using Grawes bobcat scent? NO, but in my opinion it could be used on young hounds to get them started on bobcat. Hunt has you like. Al

[al baldwin]

xxxxx

[dhostetler]

dwalton, I go to field trials and I have the biggest problem getting my dogs to go more then 200 yards in a field trial race. Last weekend my one dog did go on a coon heat and got first tree but flat refused to go on the coon final. I figure there are probably people at the field trials that think I have the most worthless dogs out there. I still go to field trials, I like to support hound clubs and enjoy visiting with hound guys I see only at the field trials. We have a $1,000 bear blowout race every spring, with a $25.00 entry fee per dog. The prize is split $500.00 for first line and $500.00 for first tree. Two years ago my one dog made 1st line, I entered her and another dog and out of 54 dogs turned loose my 2 dogs and 2 other dogs wouldn't go, so I ate my $50.00 entry fee. A guy their who had gotten a pup from me went on the race and I told him I don't understand why pups out of my dogs do a lot better on field trials then my dogs do and he told me he thinks the problem is I hunt to much.

[dwalton]

It is probably that you do hunt and hunt smart dogs. Dewey

[southern fox]

Dewey I believe every young hunter should read your post several times to understand that there is nothing that resembles live animals , and smart hounds, with smart hounds being first ! if a hound has his or her pedigree right , it should be no problem to make one perform ! all they need is plenty of hunting and feed them plenty of game , a hound will not make setting in the pen he has to be used , me myself never have wanted to use any kind of sent to try to start a hound ! hunt them regularly every week as much as one can and if they have it , it will show very quick .

[JTG]

When you use the real deal, that is scent off a live animal at a very young age you imbed a command into to the puppies brain. Professional dog trainers understand this concept based off of Dr. Pavlov famous stimulus response. From when the pups open their eye’s, I expose them to real bobcat scent on a towel or rag from a trapped bobcat. I sit with them and encourage them to pull and tug on the rag and at the same time teach them basic commands. Pumping them up with praise to reward them, after a few minutes, I feed them and sit and play with them.
My older hounds remember this process from years ago, bawling and wanting to get into the action. I have kept detailed records for years, does it work, you bet.

[mark]

I have heard a couple guys over the years claim that they would hunt a pregnant female as long as she could possibly hunt because when she was smelling cat and getting excited that the unborn pups would become excited also. I have no idea how much scent would be absorbed into the pregnant females system (if any????) but if it does could it be a little like "crack baby's" ??? I have very little experience with drags and scents as it just never worked in a positive way for me. I have seen and hunted with dogs that were worked hard on them at a young age and some up to an older age. My question to guy's with experience with scents and drags is do you think it brings out more positive hunting talents or more negative hunting talents in dog?

GOT TO GO!!!!!! Dogs just blew up on another Micky D's toilet. Better let em feed up!

[merlo_105]

I have also read where One Coon hunter in West Virginia would do the same thing he kept records of the mother's and pup's that he hunted when she was pregnant, then went and made the same cross and didn't hunt the mother when pregnant, The pup's came out half as good. Testing the theory right now with a friends dog..... I think if good scent is used or just anything that can be trailed could possibly help. I haven't played with enough dogs and scents to make a worth while observation. My most well rounded dog was trained and worked on scent's. I think a person can tell some things like over running a track and how they look for a loss and also I think scent used right can help with locating. The big test is going to be getting my July treeing early.

[merlo_105]

Also imprinting a pup early with good scent or game helps I believe, as JTG stated. I like tying pieces of Hide in the kennel on a bungee system just in reach of pup's they get a mouth full of hair with tension and get a nose full of smell good.

[dhostetler]

This idea of running pregnant females on game is a bunch of BS in my opinion. I raised 2 litters bred out of 2 good bear dogs. One litter was born in July and the other was born in August. The female was run on a lot of bear and no cats when pregnant. None of those 2 litters made what I consider good bear dogs but they did make good cat dogs.

The attention span on a pup is so short that I really question the effectiveness of introducing desired scent to them at a very young age. When I raise pups I put a hole in the kennel so as soon as they are big enough to walk they have free range of the yard. They are exposed to scent from anything that comes through my yard before they are weaned, this includes deer,barn cats, skunks, packrats and who knows what else. I have deer eating grass right up to my kennel on a regular basis, so any pups I raise are probably exposed to deer scent before they open there eyes. It has always been easier for me to break pups off deer then moose or elk.

[merlo_105]

Just cause you breed two good bear dogs don't mean your going to have bear dogs. I was talking with a friend on the east coast who catches over 150 Bears a year He bred his two best dogs three times every pup in every litter was culled. Also my pup's are raised inside so the only odd outside smell is Cat so maybe it's better imprinted IDK.