Blueticks for chasing bobcats

[Dads dogboy]

Blue Rose,

You live in Montana...? Then listen to Gary Roberson as he has Blues that can close the deal.

You need to listen to the good hunters in your area...Twist is one and I am sure there are others.

You must fit your Hounds to the type Country you are going to be hunting as well as your purpose for being in the woods.

Good Luck and Good Running!

C. John Clay
Dads Dogboy

[nmplott]

From what I have learned trying to catch cats takes special dogs and you have to be willing to weed through a lot of dogs to get dogs that can. I have one smokey river bluetick in my pack and he can catch but he is the only bluetick that I have kept out of 8 blueticks that I have tried. My plotts are the same way it has taken a lot of attempts to get the ones that I have, I have tried many different stains and these are the ones I selected because they can catch. My experience has been it is worth a try but you must be able and willing to cut your losses when needed.

[twist]

Blue Rose, Like I told you keep doing what you are doing and help the pup as much as you can by working with it at an early age you can help teach a pup alot of things but to teach them to become a GREAT bobcat dog you cant its either there or not. BUT ONLY TIME WILL TELL IF IT WILL BE A GREAT BOBCAT DOG and that will be told in the hills. It all depends on what the person wants in a bobcat dog. There are alot of dogs that can catch a bobcat every now and then and that is fine as long as they are satisfied with that but the ones that do it consistantly in my eyes are a bobcat dog I like to believe every time I turn out, my dogs are going to catch. (I am a dreamer ) nmplott hit the nail on the head great advise and cjc thanks for the kind words. later Andy

[Gary Roberson]

Thanks CJC. I will say that I feel the majority of blue dogs will never make great bobcat dogs. I think you really have to have to breed for certain characteristics that are not found in all blues. About 40 years ago, a gentleman in Henrietta, TX gave me a pair of registered blue pups, a male and a female. The male was angular, big earred and a little sloppy. The female was tight hided, very muscular and a beautiful dog. I let the pups run loose and they would be gone for days and they would cripple back home. One day, they showed back up and both of them were covered in blood. The pups were about 6 months old and had obviously caught a big coon on the ground that had whipped the heck out of them. This was the last coon the gyp ever barked at. I tried to get her on cats but she loved coyotes. I gave her to a wolf hunter to run with his running dogs. The man loved her as she would strike most tracks and would run in front of his walkers most of the time. I did get a couple of pups out of her and a running walker dog. These pups made excellent cat and coon dogs.
I wish I had that female again.
Adios,
Gary

[U.R.E.]

My 2 dull pennies....

I wouldn't waist to many years on "speed". The best one dog cat pack I have owned was a bluetick. She was PR. breed out of a fella by the name of Lonnie Smiley. She was the best box dog I have yet to see. I hunted her with the best of the cat hunters and she NEVER missed a track to my knowledge. She was not the fastest but she seldom made mistakes and could fix a loose like no other. She was smart as a whip.

The long and short of it is I have watched "speedy" run over hill and over dale opening all the way with nothing in front of it but hopes and dreams of a bobcat. I would love to have a pack of them just like her but have tried to reinvennt the wheel through my years of hunting and have learned my best best is to stick with pups from the guys that have many years on me.

Brains over speed every time.

Don

[Dan Edwards]

The long and short of it is I have watched "speedy" run over hill and over dale opening all the way with nothing in front of it but hopes and dreams of a bobcat.


Just cause a dog sucks ass dont have nothin to do with speed. I'll take a fast smart dog over just a smart dog with no speed. Speed catches and kills.

[U.R.E.]

I'll take a fast smart dog over just a smart dog with no speed.

OR that....

[Dan Edwards]

I'll take a fast smart dog over just a smart dog with no speed.

OR that....

HAHA! I owe you one o them someday partner.

[roscosrokons]

I think speed is a good quality to have in a bobcat dog. And I think that a bobcat dog also needs to be very smart. But I think that the main quality a bobcat dog must possess is persistance. He has to be relentless and never quit pushing the track forward. I realize it takes a different type of dog for different conditions and area's, but when it comes right down to it the dog always has to keep the track moving forward. I have two blueticks that are more than capable of catching a bobcat by themselves and have proved it time and time again. But if you run these two dogs together all bets are off. Sure they might catch the easy ones, but when you have tough conditions or just a plain nasty cat that doesn't want to tree, I have had way better luck with just one dog. I think they get DADD[thats dog attention defficit disorder]Ha! Well anyway just trying to make conversation and stick up for the blue dogs a little. Ha! Ross

[Dan Edwards]

I think speed is a good quality to have in a bobcat dog. And I think that a bobcat dog also needs to be very smart. But I think that the main quality a bobcat dog must possess is persistance. He has to be relentless and never quit pushing the track forward. I realize it takes a different type of dog for different conditions and area's, but when it comes right down to it the dog always has to keep the track moving forward. I have two blueticks that are more than capable of catching a bobcat by themselves and have proved it time and time again. But if you run these two dogs together all bets are off. Sure they might catch the easy ones, but when you have tough conditions or just a plain nasty cat that doesn't want to tree, I have had way better luck with just one dog. I think they get DADD[thats dog attention defficit disorder]Ha! Well anyway just trying to make conversation and stick up for the blue dogs a little. Ha! Ross

There are many places and ways that one dog can run a track better than two and two better than three and three better than for and......................I hop you get my drift. HAHA! Anyhow, I agree with that a bunch but it just aint always so but I know exactly what you talkin bout.

[Hipshooter]

I have had one bluetick cat hound.
She was spayed & a good start dog & tree dog.
& she could keep up with the running dogs on a straight track,
but on a loose she would bark off track & mess up the other dogs.
I sold her for $1750.00 & she turned out to be a bear dog.
Did not have the fault on bears.
She would stay with a mean bear.
He sold her for $2500.00
Only bluetick I ever owned.

[Blue Rose]

Thanks everyone for all the good advice its nice to hear everones opinion. Sounds like there has been some good bluticks in everyones packs it will be exciting to see how my will turn out. Shes got a good trainer named twist.

[david]

Sounds like there has been some good bluticks in everyones packs

Well, almost everyone

Sure would like to have a good one. I sure get tired of looking at red, white and black. Give me some of that blue. It matches the sky.

I know you will have a great time out there with your good blue. We wish you the best, and keep us posted.

[Liz ODell]

Well the title of this post is blueticks for 'chasing' bobcats but personally I always expected mine to be catching them
At any rate there are good cat dogs in every breed, but I've never had a problem finding a bluetick that could catch a cat, snow, bare ground or briars. As long as I could find a cat that is...sometimes hard to find where I hunt so I expect mine to be able to cold trail and seal the deal once its jumped. Some dogs seem to be more naturally 'cat minded' than others but with all breeds the more you get them on the game you want to catch the better they'll be. I have found over the years that my more naturally cat minded dogs start to run tighter and tighter mouthed as they mature to where sometimes they only bark once its jumped. Not alot to listen to all the time but you can be about 99.9% sure that you will end up hearing them caught somwhere.
As far as how many dogs on a cat track I've seen that if the dogs are used to working together it doesn't make much difference how many there are but if you mix packs and have alot of dogs out you are way more likely to have some shenanigans of all varieties.

[blueticker]

I run all blue dogs on bear and cat, i know theres lots of good dogs in each breed but these blues that myself and to other guys breed and run are the best i've seen and im not trying to brag. I've hunted with walkers and plotts and all the others. But nothing stands up to the nose, speed, grit, and treeing abilitie that these blues have. Nose is the number one thing i look and breed for " before you can catch it, you have to jump it " but it really comes down to what color you like. these hounds go back to the lee brothers stuff from out west and have had other crosses mixed in of blue dogs.