Foxdogs

[perk]

But again muleman plenty of men out there way more successful, smarter and better hunters/breeders than I am. And have better packs and individual hounds than me

[macedonia mule man]

Perk, do you think every time a dog puts a cat in his mouth he gets smarter? I had a hunter tell me he moved from one state to another taking the same strain of dogs he had been breeding for25 years. His catch rate tripled in 6 months. I believe he said he caught 72 cats the first year and had 17 month old pups doing what normally his 3 yr olds did. Same stock of dogs.

[perk]

His catch rate tripled? Or he caught 3x as many cats? Bc that's potentially 2 different things, I'd prob catch more cats if I lived in an area with more cats, but do not know that I would catch at a higher rate.

No catching a cat doesn't make a dog smarter necessarily, but usually makes a dog desire to catch increase if they have a good prey drive. And the more a pack of dogs actually catch game on the ground the better they get at finishing a cat off when it's ready to be caught, they learn how to catch the more they do, and packs that do catch more game do tend to be more efficient at catching game when it's that time of the race.

[perk]

I also think location and terrain affect the traits a dog may need, pack size, and difficulty catching

[macedonia mule man]

Perk, what do think makes the best race from start to finish, grey fox or cat?

[perk]

Depends on conditions. I can run a cat on frozen solid ground in January and dogs look outstanding and sound great, and not ever put near the pressure on a grey fox to catch him in those conditions, a lot of times hardly trail him.
In the summer when it's good scenting and lots of leaves on the brush to hold scent a gray fox race can be awesome and most cat races don't last long at all in summer due to the heat and their lack of lung capacity.

So just depends. Either one can be great and if your dogs are pushing the wind out of him and don't let him get a break both run similar and cover similar amounts of territory, maybe a cat a little tighter, but once a grey is broke down he's tight circles as any cat, both squat, both seek refuge... Greys (grown foxes not young ones in crops) usually last longer before being caught.