I thought snow was supposed to be easier!?

[MadCatter]

Well, I've had the girls out twice in the snow we got last week, and nothing either time. We cut fresh tracks and put them down. They would try and follow the tracks for a ways, but eventually come back. And they never barked once. It was like they knew something had been there, but couldn't smell it. It was almost like trying to trail a two day old track.

The first day it was cold! I thought maybe they were having a hard time due to low temps. But today it started out near zero and warmed up to 40.

I put them down on a track that looked fresh (and wasn't there the day before). The track went into a cattail slew bordered by cottonwood and tamarisk. I could hear and see them moving through the cattails, but they never opened and came back in about 10 minutes.

I loaded them up, went a few hundred yards and cut another track. Same result!

We finally went on a long walk, with one on the lead and the other hunting around for a couple miles. We cut several sets of tracks. Some were frozen into the ice (older), and some looked really fresh (this mornings). I could point the tracks out to the dog on lead and she would try to follow for a ways. But once again, both dogs acted like the track was old, never barking and not getting excited.

I will say that there were tracks everywhere from deer, coyotes, pheasant, etc. Might have been sensory overload with all that had been down through there. At least we didn't have a deer race! Although, I did smack the dog on the lead in the nose a couple of times for putting her nose down and pulling on a deer track.

Now granted, my dogs do not see as much game as some of you, nor do they have the experience. But I had better luck last year when it was bone dry. At least we had some good races until they lost it in the dust.

So I need you experts advice. Why do you think they couldn't trail in these conditions?

Travis

[NorWester]

If your looking for an expert in not being able to run in tough winter conditions, I'm your man
I can provide lots of reasons but that will come out like a laundry list too long to type

However I'll touch on a couple that immediately come to mind.

Wild fluctuations in temperatures can really screw up the scenting.

I've had more than my share of what I call "5 bark days" where the hounds can actually jump the game, but can't move it. Some of the worst are days where the temps were well below 0 F but had warmed up to something decent.
Didn't seem to help.

Another thing is, and you pretty much answered your own question, the dogs need experience running in crappy conditions to be any good at it.
If you only get real tough running conditions once in a blue moon, I wouldn't worry about it.
If this scenario is all too familiar ya better get out in it every chance you get with dogs that have been bred to hunt in those sort of conditions and terrain.

[MadCatter]

Thanks NorWester. Your right, in that we do not have those conditions a lot out here. I took the dogs out in the same spot this morning and we had two good races. Ran the first one almost two miles. I think the girls got smoked being a little out of shape. The second one, we ended up on some private ground, not real hot anyway. Called them out to the road and left.

I was wondering about hunting down along that swamp in a basin, with the cold air setteling down in there may have caused some issues. It was much warmer today, starting out at 24 degrees. They had no problems picking up scent, even though most of the snow melted yesterday.

It was good just to hear them actually run one! I think somebody else said it in another post, "I need to remember that if they could smell it they would run it".

Thanks,
Travis

[twist]

When the temps get cold it makes it for some pretty tough trailing in snow conditions. Alot of guys will not agree but not just any old cat dog from any where in the country can do it unless they have been tought to do so. I have seen bobcat dogs from out on the west coast that have put up alot of cats come out here and not be able to cold trail a cat track in the snow and the same goes for a good snow dog to be taken back there. Just because there is snow doesnt meen its easier. later, Andy

[Waterway]

Saturday was the first day of our South Dakota bobcat season. All we did was embarrass ourselves... I agree with twist on snow and hounds. Snow sure helps me to find tracks but I am not sure it helps hounds that much. This year I have one veteran and two eight month old pups to run. Danny was quick to find a fresh trail and soon had the cat on the run. I thought all was well because I could here her in a patch of cottonwoods almost a mile away but she quickly went quiet. I followed the trail as I went toward her and soon found an answer. Danny is a bluetick but not typical. She is hot nosed and fast and mostly silent. She had been drifting the track rather than running it. As she approached the timber she had apparantly become comphident the cat was going there and went straight there. I called her back and started the track again. It went fast and we found that the cat had been sitting and watching us about three hundred yards away while we were getting back on his trail. He then went into the corral on a third ranch and then doubled back to the second ranch where we thought he had gone in a large pile of logs and limbs that had been pushed up to provide a windbreak for cattle in a winter feeding area. When I got there the dogs were locked down hard in one spot and Dannyhad worked into the pile. I even heard a growl! Long story short I work with a chainsaw etc. for a hour and fially came up with two bgig old coons!! I haven't a clue where we lost the bobcat and I was bushed by then!
Like someone said, we don't have enough time in the year to run cats of any kind. Its illegal in this state to run mtn. lions with hounds so if one stays legal he must go out of state. Our bobcat season is only two months long so running coons and stray cats is most of our year.

Mel

[MadCatter]

Thanks Andy and Mel. I appreciate the insight. I was frustrated as hell yesterday, but feel a lot better after this mornings run. I'll keep after them and hopefully soon they will put one up and keep it there.

Travis

[cat and bear]

Some good answers here, I always felt that dry ground or snow was two different dogs, If you use the same dog, you train twice, a good bear dog on dirt, has to learn snow. I've seen dogs tree a cat on dry ground, and cant follow on snow, like it wasnt even there. Temp, snow conditions, type of snow, moist, or dry, desire, is all factors. Like someone said, if its really cold below zero, and dry snow is the toughest for a dog to trail. Then add deer, and coyote in the mix, if he can jump a cat in that, you got a cat dog for snow. The other very important factor I've noticed in a good cat dog for snow, is they will also follow by sight, each step. Especially in bad conditions, or terrible scenting. They also cold trial very fast, by sight. Works great until you get into some deer)). LOL. Then they have to scent trail, but you hope he made some ground and more scenting by then. LOL.

[pegleg]

waterway if your cat season is two months long and your dogs are running cats your doin good my question is do you have a training season and what do you do if your dogs are running cats out of season