Trees, Bears, and Dogs

Ray Slayton · Post by **Ray Slayton** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 1:33 am

Got up Friday morning Sept 5 and worked on chores around the house. My friend Mike and his brother was up visiting so we decided to go on an afternoon bear hunt and get the dogs some exercise. My dog Bender struck, we always try to drive thru a strike and let the dogs work back if needed; sometimes he strikes before the crossing, we dumped Bender and Mike's dog Dixie to start. They went about 50 yards back and screamed out on a track, so we turned in Yogi and the yard dog Trapper. Our entire pack at this time, Bender is 3.5 yrs old, Dixie is 2.5, and Yogi is 1.5. They were screaming on the track and within 2 minutes out of hearing, i mean gone. We broke out the tracking equipment and found them after about 30 minutes, a little over 3 tenths in from the main road opposite from the dump site. They had run the bear at breakneck speed a little over a 1/2 mile in. we went to the tree and they had a nice sow treed. here are some picts.

More to come.
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Spanky · Post by **Spanky** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 10:28 am

very nice pictures and I reall appreciate the hounds your using. What line of walkers do you run?

Grzyadms4x4 · Post by **Grzyadms4x4** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:53 pm

Nice post and pics, thanks for sharing. One question though, do you ever run into any silver backs or wolves in your area?

Ray Slayton · Post by **Ray Slayton** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:50 am

I'm running two grandsons of Washburn's Buford. They are sons of my old Bender dog, out of Buford and Jolene. Gerry Washburn was nice enough to breed the old Bender dog to his Magic female. My buddy Mike has the old Bender (14 years old, same as my truck and one of my sons) in Arkansas and bred old Bender to a Heavy Finley River gyp he got from Rick- I think you used to run his line? Anyway, that litter is 1.5 years now and making every race a pop-up. Longest run was .92 miles to the tree on the GPS and had a road behind it-we only walked .32 miles in - poor bear didn't dare cross an open stretch of muskeg.

Ray Slayton · Post by **Ray Slayton** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 1:09 am

I had wolves come in 4 times last year, once to a bear tree. (Had to shoot) I only ran two hounds- it's easy to hear what's going on. I started Bender on bear alone at six months old- he's been with wolves all his life, every time he runs. When wolves come in, he comes in to me. You can hear wolves clearly over the sound a pack of one dog makes! Didn't have any come in to races or trees this year. This year the kids were bringing their yard dog, a brown shepherd /wolf typical Alaska mutt along, and he's started treeing good-maybe changed the dynamics? Anyway- no silverbacks here, just blackies. It's nice that way. You can't legally run brownies here, but to the dogs a bear is a bear, so where there's both you have to check tracks on every strike before you dump- and you will eventually make a mistake. I've been to a brownie bay-up, no fun if you're trying to not get anything killed or hurt. I saw old Bender get slapped unconscious, and I know a guy in Wasilla with dogs that treed a grizzly.

Harlan Vincent · Post by **Harlan Vincent** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 11:24 pm

nice bear, thanks for sharing.

1hogwild · Post by **1hogwild** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 11:38 pm

Good bear!!