Bells on dogs

[Brady Davis]

I think they have their pros and cons. I had never used or seen them until a friend out here began hunting with me and he runs bells. Kinda cool to keep track of your dogs but I also have a hard time hearing far off hounds when you got a few milling around you and all you hear is RING TING RING.

[Eric Muff]

We have used bells around here for sometime,different guys for different reasons.Actually I quit using them for no real good reason,just stopped.
Dogs that run silent on track can be a handicap to some so they put bells on em to help keep track of em,I have had this prove true as well especially with young dogs who have not yet started to feel comfortable with being in the woods mostly in the dark.
Some fellas feel that the sound of bells will help to keep wolves away from the dogs while out on the trail.I have not had a dog attacked while wearing bells so would it would seem sensible to me but at the same time I know wolves will surprise you at their level of tolerance when it comes to men and equipment.
I know of many instances when these devils would only pull back out of sight but continue to howl and give away their location even after shots had been fired when moving in on the dogs.
I still own a dog that bears the scars of this type of behavior,the only thing that saved him was getting to the scene,the wolves were not about to quit.
I believe when wolves come in to get the dogs they will kill everyone they can find..........a bell just makes that easier.

[bignblu]

I have a hound that she trails and doesn't say much untill she knows for a fact that it is hot then she bays only a couple of times until she trees then she bays a few times. While modern technology gives us great things like tracking collars, I was wondering about putting a bell on her, to help locate her and to maybe jump a cat out of the bush.
is this a good idea?

I sold a big n blue pup to a man up in main, who offered to sell him back when 8 yrs old becuse the man had bad heart diease. I tried him out and found that his voice was pretty well used up due to being left at the tree
. His method was he would go to the tree if near by but if wayoff, he was unable due to his heart and he would leave old spot who would tree till daylite, every breath, then return to where he had been started,

I bought him for a stud, he was old, worn out but still a cooner. I put on a cow bell and he didn`t mind it a bit. When he treed he would sit and raise both fron feet of the ground with each bark and his tree sound was easy to tell. He was independant, did`nt like younger dogs getting ahead and would split off and tree his own--yeah, the bell was handy and enabled the old boy to the timber where he belonged. He was a nite ch and, for kicks, entered him when 10 yrs old, they made me take the bell off and, fortunatly we got into coon near by and Spot Won--I took his picture with the bell on. Bob Mattscheck