Curs for Bobcats??

[LCK]

LCK or others, I am wondering. Is the fact that you are catching more cats with curs due to better nose? Faster on track? ect? Or do you find that you are only working fresher, hotter tracks, and not turning out on those old, cold, low percentage tracks? I'm not looking for an arguement, just curious.

I like to have a very cold nosed dog along (spelled H-O-U-N-D). When you dont have high cat populations, it's tough to let a track go. I have never had a real cold nosed dog that was also a high percentage catch dog. I know they are out there, I just never had one. These are things that I have discussed at length in past years on other threads and the old shade tree. It always frustrates some folks, and I could be just as wrong as the next guy. But I beleive the reason curs catch more cats is because that is what they want to do: catch. They use everything they have toward that end. Curs have always been bred to catch things. Many strains of hounds at their foundation were bred to not catch, but to have a very nice long day of trailing with their beautiful voices and giving horsemen something to do. Every single hound I have ever owned, and I absolutely love hounds, but they are more interested in the trail then the animal at the end of it. In america, there have always been houndmen trying to reverse this and come up with some hounds that want to catch things. I think there have always been a few such folks in Europe as well. It is a tough battle. they are fighting hundreds of years of breeding by very rich and very knowledgeable breeders who just want a nice long day of hunting uninterupted by the bothersome dogs that catch things.

The comment about the old style plotts: People that have studied this thing a lot more than me say the old plott litters had leopard spotted dogs (called "calico" etc.) and they were "plott curs", and not "plott hounds" until a lot of hound blood was added and they wanted to be recognized by UKC. This is the exact same thing that just happened with the Leopard cur. THe old pictures tell it all.

Very well said.

[Charlie83541]

Thanks to everyone for all the valuable information that's been shared with me. I really appreciate it..
I posted a pic of Sally in the Cur Dog section, but thought that you folks might like to see her too..

Fortunatly I live in the stix so she gets a nice long walk everyday to investigate the smells of all the critters. She stays right with me and comes to her name when I call her. I'm undoubtably biased but I think this might be the smartest pup I've been around in my almost 60yrs.. I have very high hopes for her...

Thanks again.
Charlie

[mtncurhunter]

Good luck. That is a nice looking pup.

[Charlie83541]

Good luck. That is a nice looking pup.

Looks like her daddy..

[Rockcreek]

She actually looks way more like her momma!

[Charlie83541]

She actually looks way more like her momma!

Yea,,,, you're probably right Mason,, although I think her face resembles the sire. I only saw him once though, and can't say for sure..
Here's a more recent pic.



Few things are more entertaining than a Puppy and a Leaf Blower..

Mason's familiar with these dogs, but for those of you that aren't,, here's a pic of the Parents. Momma's on the left.


Charlie

[Dan McDonough]

David- The funny thing about the new Leopards at least the Jug bred dogs, is that they are the ones that are rolling out the best results. A very odd twist to a historical trend. I see a whole lot of dogs a few generations away from Jug that are not as good as their parents and grandparents and so it will go. I keep going to some of the big hunts to see if I can find a coondog as good as or better than Rachel (Jug daughter I bought from David) but I have not yet seen it.

LCK- Fire off any recent stories you have on Rocky (and Bitty too), I would love to hear how he is progressing. I've gotta say, that Jughead X Rachel cross is the best so far. You've got some serious breeding power (potentially) in Rocky. Also, I would be very interested to know if Rocky ever becomes a cat-catcher in addition to his having a good nose (if he hasn't already).

[BEARCLAW]

I have a cur hound cross and he seems to be exactly what most cur men describe. He is one half leopard, one quarter, Kemmer, and one quarter walker. Fast, fast, fast on a hot or jumped track. Not a great cold trailer but will hang in there with a dog that will, realy pushes a track, semi silent and uses his eyes and ears alot. Ran mostly bear and lions with him. He will come back when he knows when hes been beat on bear. Likes to come and check in with the boss. Havent run him on bobs but i think he would be lethal on a good track. Lots of good blood, camo jug, striker, and samson. Not a tall dog but he can jump like spud web. Wants to please his master. When its a good track most of my other dogs take a back seat.

[Charlie83541]

Here's another pic.
My GSP thinks he's a Squirrl dog and spends about half of his day treeing Squirrls around the property so yesterday I shot one out for Sally. Naturally the GSP retrieved it for me, but soon gave it up to Sally. She had a pretty good time with it to say the least..



Charlie

[swk]

David, LCK and Nick Riley (or anyone else), what strains of leopards are you having good success on bobcat with?
Thanks, Steve

[david]

She actually looks way more like her momma!

Yea,,,, you're probably right Mason,, although I think her face resembles the sire. I only saw him once though, and can't say for sure..
Here's a more recent pic.



Few things are more entertaining than a Puppy and a Leaf Blower..

Mason's familiar with these dogs, but for those of you that aren't,, here's a pic of the Parents. Momma's on the left.


Charlie

Man, that is a handsome pup. And I might be a little blind but her mom and dad look like dandys. You talking about the pup looking like one or the other makes me chuckle because to my blind eyes they look like peas in a pod. They seem like they could be littermates, except most littermates do not look that much alike. Even the brindling is at the same angle.

I hope she makes you a world beater. Sounds like she is bred right. Good luck!

[david]

I have a cur hound cross and he seems to be exactly what most cur men describe. He is one half leopard, one quarter, Kemmer, and one quarter walker. Fast, fast, fast on a hot or jumped track. Not a great cold trailer but will hang in there with a dog that will, realy pushes a track, semi silent and uses his eyes and ears alot. Ran mostly bear and lions with him. He will come back when he knows when hes been beat on bear. Likes to come and check in with the boss. Havent run him on bobs but i think he would be lethal on a good track. Lots of good blood, camo jug, striker, and samson. Not a tall dog but he can jump like spud web. Wants to please his master. When its a good track most of my other dogs take a back seat.

Makes a bleleiver out of you doesnt it Bearclaw? It is impossible to explain shades of giftedness and the colors of cognition that you get to experience with a dog like yours. There are always things you wish they were stronger on, but then it is almost impossible to live without a dog like that once you experience it. Not that you need all your dogs to be that way, but you gotta have one in the pack. You sure catch yourself smiling alot. Thats all I can say. They make you smile.

[david]

David- I keep going to some of the big hunts to see if I can find a coondog as good as or better than Rachel (Jug daughter I bought from David) but I have not yet seen it.
.

Dan, There are very few dogs I have owned that I felt brought enough strength to their breed that I thought they should be bred. Rachel is one of them and that is why you have her. I was completely confident you would do what ever it took to find her the right dogs to be bred to. You have done it and are doing it, and I feel history will show she left a mark on the breed thanks to your efforts.

[david]

David, LCK and Nick Riley (or anyone else), what strains of leopards are you having good success on bobcat with?
Thanks, Steve

Swk, I have heard of some other strains of leopards doing well on bobcat, but will only comment on the ones I myself have caught bobcat with. They are dogs that go back to John Clark breeding and specifically to Wicks Camo Jug. I have owned and hunted four daughters out of Jug. One was a cull, and I believe it is because I did not get her until she was two years old. One was a good reliable dog that has caught bobcat, lion, coon and one gray fox. Two of them showed me talent in catching jumped bobcats unlike anything I have ever seen. One of those was the Rachel dog Dan mentioned.

They all had faults, and they all greatly frustrated me at times. But they had some traits that would be hard to live without once having experienced them. The main one I would call "the ability to locate a bobcat"... they could locate a moving bobcat quickly. And they could locate a stationary bobcat. That sounds like it should be easy. Often, it is anything but easy and often that is why bobcats are not caught.

[BEARCLAW]

David

Hey that dog im talking about is Floyd and he came out of one of your Jug bred females in Colarado. I picked up two and gave one to a friend. Cant remember the mothers name. I have yet too try a full blooded leopard but, the one I have seems to be a pretty good representation.

You still have that plott out of Jett?

Heres a picture of floyd at a bear tree.