Hello from Boise, ID in America!

[JonBailey64]

I am very disheartened by the hunting hound scene in America today.

American Foxhounds are almost virtually extinct. At least my Google search would have me believe that. Finding a pup anywhere in the Lower 48 will be something of the Holy Grail. Walker pups also seem hard to find. Bloodhounds are unattractive. Black and tan coonhounds aren't that pretty. I don't especially like beagles or dachshunds. And Basset hounds are flat-out lazy and homely.

I like the looks of the tall and leggy American Foxhounds and the Treeing Walkers but where in the devil does one find a pup of such breeds anywhere in America? Google searches have not revealed much. They must be a top secret.

Nobody seems to want hounds anymore. Not many people are dedicated to breeding them it seems.

I feel that I would most likely have to travel to the former Confederate States from Idaho out West to find either a foxhound or a Walker puppy. Getting AKC-registerable pups will even be more of an uphill battle. Tricolor is my favorite hound color by the way.

Why do hunting hounds seem so exclusive and rare like a Rolls-Royce, Hope Diamond or a Rolex?

Why are they so seemingly hated and unpopular in America today? Foxhounds and Walkers certainly aren't breeds for the masses unlike Labs, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds and Poodles.

After all, America's Founding Father, George Washington, had 36 American Foxhounds, a breed he invented.

The American Foxhound should be Our National Dog.

There just aren't a ton of breeders that pop up when I Google 'American foxhound' or 'treeing Walker'.

I love those Walker and American Foxhounds. What can I do to help promote the popularity of the hunting hound in America again and stop these breeds from possibly becoming extinct?

Another thing, it's a shame that hounding black bear in California is no more for five years plus now...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BCVzr_xJYM

...and that only deer hunters in the American South can still enjoy the song of unleashed hounds in the forest on those famous deer pushes down below the Mason-Dixon Line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_mqB6lJcMY&t=377s

Fortunately in my home state of Idaho, game regs still allow a deer hunter to possess a leashed hound for blood-trailing but conscientious hunters never want to wound deer in the first place and we can still free-cast dogs on bear, lion, fox, coons, coyotes and bunnies here.

I have written this poem lamenting the plight of the great American hound tradition in hopes that hound popularity will someday pick up again before the Cry in the Woods is forever gone everywhere:


The American Hound Poem

Let 'em run, let 'em bay, let the FREE hounds bay,
From the South to the North, 'tis the American way!

Let em track, let em trail, let the HOUNDS prevail,
From the East to the West, dogs on deer is the best!

Let em hunt, let em tree, let the HOUNDS roam free,
From the coons to the moose, let the dogs run loose!

[kickemall]

"Why do hunting hounds seem so exclusive and rare like a Rolls-Royce, Hope Diamond or a Rolex? "

There are countless hunting hounds within the area that you are living in and many, many more in Idaho as well as other states.

"Another thing, it's a shame that hounding black bear in California is no more for five years plus now...

...and that only deer hunters in the American South can still enjoy the song of unleashed hounds in the forest on those famous deer pushes down below the Mason-Dixon Line. "


You can apply losing hounding bear to Or. and Wa. as well who lost that long before Ca. Yet Ca. still allows deer hunting with one dog per hunter so if you have four or five hunters you have a pretty good pack. Although I'm fairly amazed that we are able to still run hounds at all in Ca. for now.
I get what your saying but hound hunting in America is on the decline for many reasons but not to the extent that you make it seem.

[david]

Jon, there in Boise you are completely surrounded by very dedicated Houndsmen. And you are living in one of the best hound hunting states in the USA. People like me have hauled hounds across many states just to be able to hunt a few miles from where you live.
There are a lot of treeing walkers in your state (and surrounding states) that are UKC registered. To a hunter AKC is a joke, and not a very funny joke at that. It has been the ruin of many hunting and working breeds. It is a darn shame.

Check with UKC and the various breed boards they have on line. You should be able to find some breeders very near you. Stick with UKC for registered treeing walkers. Check out the Chase and Hunters Horn (and Perk on here) to gain more knowledge about registered tri colored fox hounds. But my advice is to find out what Idaho and the mountain state hunters are happy with and try to get some of it. They have been working out the bugs for a hundred years.

Good poem!

[david]

Here is an excellent example of registered treeing walkers bred up in the mountain state way:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=47879

There are several treeing walker breeders on this board, hopefully you can connect with them.

[Irish Jack]

I find it unusual that you are unable to locate a walker hound but have knowledge of anti hunting legislation in California.

Jack

[Irish Jack]

" I am very disheartened "

" Black and tan coonhounds aren't that pretty"

They must be a top secret

exclusive and rare like a Rolls-Royce, Hope Diamond

Nobody seems to want hounds anymore

it's a shame that hounding black bear in California is no more for five years plus now.

I have written this poem lamenting the plight of the great American hound tradition

These statements force me to ask two things 1. Are you (JON) a male?
2.Are you an ANTI-hunter here snooping?

JACK

[JonBailey64]

I find it unusual that you are unable to locate a walker hound but have knowledge of anti hunting legislation in California.

Jack

I have lived and actually deer-hunted in northern California, with a paid guide and his personal tracking hound back in the mid-1990's: Trinity County. I've also shot many ground squirrels in California with my rifle in the 1990's. I have not hunted since. Financial and career circumstances as well as medical issues have precluded it. I came to Boise from Sacramento two and 1/2 years ago.

I have not met or known any Idaho folks in the hunting community yet. I'm a newbie still in how hunting is done in the Gem State. I don't know how to find a mentor as I'm a middle-aged man. I may have to become a member of some local gun club.

I have a deep affection for dogs and always want them involved somehow on any hunt I carry a gun on provided the game species, common local hunting practices and the game laws support this.

My main big game interest is deer for meat, preferably does, and possibly a black bear boar for a nice rug via an outfitter should I someday become richer. A deer hunter can still possess a leashed dog in Idaho for trailing wounded hoofed critters. Any bear outfitter would supply the treeing Walkers.

Other interests in shooting non-feathered critters with guns for fun is: ground squirrels and coyotes. Decoy dogs can be use for 'yotes.

I have wingshooting interests as well: doves for starters and then maybe pheasants, grouse and ducks later on. Shamefully, Idaho does not have a R3 program yet to recruit middle-age hunters and provide mentorship.

No, I just can't scare up a Walker RUNNING hound puppy (or a July or a Trigg) for sale locally via Google search like I can a Labrador or a Golden Retriever pup or a Poodle. It may take some resources outside the World Wide Web to do so like getting to know people in the hound hunting community personally. It's becoming apparent to me that serious hunting hounds are as special as Ferraris are in the automobile market. Labrador Retrievers are Ford Taurus sedans, Goldens are Ford F150 trucks, Poodles are Toyota Corollas, Border Collies are Hyundai Sonatas but Walkers and Foxhounds are Ferraris and Rolls-Royces.

For the type of hunting I'm interested in for owning personal dogs, I don't need my own TREEING hound(s) after all.

PS- Even for bird dogs as retrievers there are serious dedicated professional breeders with special strains for serious hunters which are considerably pricier than pet-grade retrievers from BYB's listed in local classifieds. I have seen several such breeders in Idaho and California via Google search however. Dogs for birds are far more common than dogs for hunting mammals. Even so, the AKC still commonly registers such bird dogs.

[JonBailey64]

" I am very disheartened "

" Black and tan coonhounds aren't that pretty"

They must be a top secret

exclusive and rare like a Rolls-Royce, Hope Diamond

Nobody seems to want hounds anymore

it's a shame that hounding black bear in California is no more for five years plus now.

I have written this poem lamenting the plight of the great American hound tradition

These statements force me to ask two things 1. Are you (JON) a male?
2.Are you an ANTI-hunter here snooping?

JACK

No, Jack I'm not an anti-hunter snooping around here to cause trouble. I am actually interested in hunting and want to learn more about it. I did not have the privilege of being raised in a hunting family or in a hunting community. I had no mentors as a boy. I can't actually participate in this sport now because of health issues. Meanwhile I can still try to learn about it as much as I can. I need to find out how to get to know hunters in my area for possible learning and mentoring.

Yes, I am a male. You should hear me sing baritone.

When I said it was a shame that CA outlawed hounds for bear I really meant well. I wasn't trying to be sarcastic or funny.

No, not all dog breeds "trip my trigger" to look at. Even, so, I do prefer dogs that are handsome looking. Even hard-core hunting ones. And I have seen a lot of handsome deer-driving hounds hunt in the South on U-toob videos. I saw a lot of handsome hounds tree bears in California on video before that state shut that practice down in 2013. To me the American Foxhounds and all their various strains are the handsome ones. My grandfather fished and hunted before my time and said bloodhounds were homely. They have their purpose in law-enforcement to hunt down criminals and fugitives and find missing persons. Grampa was a Nixon Republican, a work-ethic-of-a-mule union hard-hat and a World War II army veteran. My grandfather thought foxhounds handsome and proud dogs.

My mother was anti-hunting and did not want my grandfather to mentor me by actually taking me out hunting. My father hunted rabbits as a boy with a .22 and he raised in the Georgia countryside but my mother softened him up somehow and he tried to dampen my interest in hunting when I was age 13. My grandfather gave me some of his Outdoor Life magazines when I was 13 and my mother did not want me to read the hunting articles: only the fishing ones. But I could not help the temptation to read the hunting articles. I remember the ones by Jack O'Connor which I liked the best.

I feel the American sport hunting and shooting sports community needs to aggressively outreach to a diverse population. It needs all the revenue it can get from hunting license sales, duck stamps, gun sales, ammo sales, guide fees, outfitter fees, taxes on hunting equipment sales, etc. It needs all the money it can muster. It needs this revenue to support continued wildlife and habitat management for our nation's posterity.

It needs to recruit more adults and older people and not just reach out to youth alone. It needs to recruit more city and suburban hunters. Most children who take up hunting are raised in a hunting family or community anyway.

Here is an interesting article from Outdoor Life on what needs to be done to save American hunting:

https://www.outdoorlife.com/why-we-are- ... -to-fix-it

“Most people who learn to hunt are woven into communities who give them that momentum. The type of people I teach don’t know anyone else who hunts,” says owner Murphy Robinson, a 35-year-old former vegetarian. “They aren’t friends with people that hunt who are going to reinforce that. So we’re creating that group within this program.”

[jmhallenbeck]

Jon,

I too grew up in a family who wasn’t at all involved in hunting, not against it but just not an activity anyone I knew participated in, so I can understand the struggle of trying to learn on your own. You can do it, it just takes more time I suppose but along the way you will meet plenty of folks excited and willing to help someone new.

My advice to you would be to take sometime to explore this forum and site, read the articles and posts, there’s plenty of folks breeding good dogs and doing all the things you claim to be going by the wayside.

In my personal experience I’ve found that shutting my mouth and listening to what more experienced folks have to say or watching what they do is the quickest way to get to where you want to be.

Good luck and congrats on getting out of California, ha

[TrevorC]

Jon ,
There are many houndsman here in idaho and quite a few within less than an hr of boise . Why would you need an outfitter to hunt black bear ? Their everywhere here . I’ve met a few houndsman out here in SW idaho but not many have i met live in Boise . Very liberal town as i’m sure you’re aware of . Those type of people tend to frown upon hunters and even feel worse about people who run dogs on cats and bears . I’m sure if you dig deep enough you will find some . Hell keep your eyes peeled for dog boxes in pick ups that’s what i do lol