Newbie Questions

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:07 am

I have a few questions. Im looking into getting a couple of dogs to run lions with. The thing is i have a family and so i would be looking for a dog that is good within the house w/children and one that didnt bark a ton preferrably. What breed would everyone suggest? Also, whenever i see pictures of hounds at homes they seem to always be chained up. I am wanting a dog that wont wander off and get lost on a scent trail if we go camping. These may seem like dumb questions but i am really wanting a family dog especially leaving my wife at home all day alone i would like one that would watch her and the children. thanks guys.

bency · Post by **bency** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 2:27 am

i would get any hound for the most part but get them as a pup so that way they can bound with your family, and about the barking part, get some bark collars to hush them up, i havnt seen a quite hound yet.

easttenngator · Post by **easttenngator** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:12 am

Going to be hard to teach a hound when in the wood either hunting or camping when it can and can't hunt.
I have seen herding dog this way but they seem not to have the same inner drive that a hound does.Please don't think I am picking on working dogs cause I am not. But being around both I see they are not the same.
But if you want to try this i wish you all the luck in the world and let us know how it turns out.

Gator

Spanky · Post by **Spanky** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 9:57 am

I have raised several in the house and they were all better hunters in my opinion because of it. As for hanging around a campfire well once they hit the ground they are not lap dogs. They are hunters and there natural instinct is to go find that track.

Biggest thing is getting a hound as a puppy. A that point you can pretty much train it to do what ever you want depending on the brains of the hound and your ability to train it.

bowhunter7 · Post by **bowhunter7** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:44 am

I've got young redbone male and a young plott female that are starting to come on right now. Before the switch flipped they would stay close when out in the mountains, but now as soon as I turn them loose they are looking for something to run. My opinion is if you have a good dog he's not going to hang around the campfire. There may be exceptions, but I feel a good dog will have too much hunt in him. Most well bred hounds today have had a lot of the meaness bred out of them. Gritty on game but gentle as can be around people. All of the hounds I have (redbones and plotts) and all of the hounds I hunt with (walkers) are great with kids. My suggestion; get you a golden retriever for the camping trips and chain you up some well bred lion hounds out back.

WFGinNM · Post by **WFGinNM** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:07 pm

You might want to look into the cur breeds. I use Camus Curs and have recently added a leopard to my pack of barking meat. These dogs have no problem finding, working, and finishing a track. I raise them in the house and move them out to the yard when they start their biggame training. They are part of the family and have the disposition of a working lab when at home, and train and handle similar to a lab. I'm not putting down hounds, I've had a few and the curs seem to be more what I want in a dog.

Good luck,
--Bill

rockop · Post by **rockop** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:07 pm

i have a black and tan female that lived in the house for three years. you'll be hard pressed to find a better watch dog than a hound. but you must spend a lot of time to train them to not run when you dont want them to. she was my first hound so i spent TOO much time with her. so when it was time to go she had a hard time leaving my side

but she did finally figure it out. now im the only one in our group that has a hound that can be called off a grumpy bear. she's no world champ, but no vet bills :lol:

as for children my little one used to pull ears and tails and not so much as a growl out of any of them. bigggest prob. is they tend to knock them down when the kids were real little.

Melanie Hampton · Post by **Melanie Hampton** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:43 pm

Most of my hounds have been raised in the house. I prefer them to the ones who weren't.. Don't know what it is, but I find them more personable, easier to train and better mannered.

As for watchdogs.. Hounds are great watchdogs. I was out of state this past weekend at a field trial. Due to me being stupid, I got heatstroke and was really sick that night. We were staying in the hotel with the dogs and my 10 year old niece took my male Walker out for a potty break. I was watching from the window. It was just after dark and I was watching some man with a flashlight peering into and at people car window. I watched him watch her for a couple minutes and take a couple steps towards her. I was just flying out the door when I seen and heard Brisco (my dog) growl at the man. Nothing spookier then seeing a hound lift up his lips, stand up all his hair and let somebody know that he will bite their ass... That guy turned around and left. Good choice for him, because my dog would have bitten that man if he felt Janelle was being threatened and he must have to have even growled at him in the first place.. Brisco is a super friendly dogs, kids can mess with them all they want. He is house broke and likes to lounge on the couch if given a chance. But you don't mess with his family AT ALL...

As for camping. Our hounds do go into the wilderness with us. With tracking collars, and our tracking equipment. For the most they stick around, but if they smell something they are normally supposed to tree, they are gone...

Hounds can make great companions. They are not like owning any other breed of dog IMO which is why I don't recommend them as just pets. But hunting hound can also make a good family companion. We have walkers and blueticks, but to each his own on their preferred breed...

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:55 am

thanks for your help,

aftering doing some searching i have come down to either a bluetick/walker hound or a black mouth cur. I live in arizona that is where i would be doing my hunting. what are the differences in lion hunting with a hound or a cur?

Emily · Post by **Emily** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:13 am

Hounds are great family dogs. Our redbone sleeps in the bed. I do take him camping, but I tie him to a tree when we sleep, after he's done hunting. Keeps the bears out of camp!
However, I stopped using a tent. He kept trying to get in or out and pulling it down.. Now I use a hammock and a simple cover staked out from a rope above me. It weighs less and is more comfortable, and the hound can sleep beneath me and not get lonely. :roll:

Jabber · Post by **Jabber** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 12:00 am

I have tow walkers that stay in the house with us and, they are our part of the famly. I have seen kids lay on top of them and put fingurs up there noses and not once any sine of agression. When we go camping they usualy close, or if they run they are back in a couple of hours I do tie them up at night though.

nmplott · Post by **nmplott** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:47 am

I would say get some pups. I have the plott pups that since they were babies my four year old grabs them by the ears, pulls thier loose skin, plays with their tales and they love it. All little kids play with them and they enjoy the attention...in fact my wife won't let me take them for a walk with out her (wink wink). Hounds are natural hunters so if you want a dog that wont leave a camp site after a scent you probably wont want any kind of hound, cur or gun dog. However if you do not mind containing your dog while you camp the hound is the best choice for a family dog in my opinion. No-bark collars can help curve barking problems if correctly used so do not let a little barking discourage you from owning a fine hound. since you want a lion hound do not overlook the plott.

fordman · Post by **fordman** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:17 pm

What are the differences in hunting with a cur or a hound. i am farely new to this so i dont know that well. It seems that most people have hounds for big game hunting. Is there a reason why?

Bearkiller · Post by **Bearkiller** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:38 pm

I'm not a cur expert and of course there are good ones out there, however, a good pack of hounds will catch game behind a good pack of curs. I'm not in arizona but with the heat and trying to hunt dry ground I don't know why you'd want a hot nosed cur dog. I've had a few and they were nice dogs but when we wanted to get a track going the curs were waiting for the hounds to bark. Also if raising a hound in the house around the family was the best way to do it there would be WAY more hounds in the house. It may work for some people but to say you'll get better dogs is rubbish. If you spend time with your dogs, inside or out you'll be fine. Your best bet is to find someone around you that catches game and hunt with them to find some dogs.

WFGinNM · Post by **WFGinNM** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:04 pm

I wonder why everyone thinks curs are hot nosed???

--Bill

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