BigGameHoundsmen.com

Hey, now I dont feel like I got the most spoiled hounds in the world,,,,,great pics,,,,and cold come on up here Algonquin park area in Canada , hell ten below is warm during our winter, lol

I personally believe the best scent conditions for cats is -10F to 10F if there is good snow and no wind. I gennerally don't go if the temp is -10 at 4 AM as it will usually drop lower by daylight. The coldest I treed a lion was at -20F. If the temperature drops below -10F its just miserable and hard on equipment. I only put my dogs in the house if they are sick. Isn't it hard on dogs to keep the inside at 70F if the temp drops below 0 and then move them outside if the temp rises above 0???

so what your saying is if you find a track and it is below 0 ,go back to it when it warms up?the scent does not go away?i run bobcats in Maine and it can get cold.i am pretty green at is but i can do it.always trying to learn more.never had anyone teach me.just learn from school of hard knocks.thanks thunder struck

I have to say one thing you can do for your dogs if you hunt in places where they might be out all night in cold snowy conditions is to let them get a little extra weight. Around here dogs can get snowed in and it might take you a couple days to get them out. If they are already super skinny they are not going to have very many days of energy in them to hold up to the calories they burn shivering and fighting snow walking out. Usually by this time of the year the bears are fat and cats don't generally require the hard fast running for a long time like some bears do. So that little extra layer of fat on your dogs ribs and hips is not going to slow them down so much that they can't catch anything....at least it never slowed mine down...but it sure makes me feel better about the times they have had to stay out in the woods. And I don't have to spend 2 weeks feeding them back up again.
Also if it freezes all the time like it does here, invest in some heated water buckets...they are SO nice, no more ice duty 3 times a day and wondering if the dogs are dehydrated. They have internal thermostats and I plug them into another external one as well, www.horse.com has 5 gallon ones for decent prices. Someone on here said dehydration was a big killer during the winter that is 100% true, dogs can bloat, they can die of impaction and water plays a huge role in the bodies ability to burn calories effeciently. Also a dehydrated dog will eat alot of snow, this burns lowers the body temperature and wastes calories they could spend coming out or catching game.
As far as snow conditions, cold weather and cold dry snow will always make you think your dogs woke up retarded that morning. Somone mentioned when the snow is so cold and and dry that its squeaky the tracks are hard to run - I agree! Let that temp warm up just a little and the dogs will smoke it, just like a frozen track thats defrosting.I have also seen in the dry fluffy stuff where cats walk under brush and knock the snow off into their tracks behind themsleves...the instant disapearing cat act!

I am new to lion hunting and only running one hound,he had been on a couple dozen successful hunts before I bought him so he knows what a lion looks and smells like.Last winter he did real good the couple of times I took him out and all summer I ran him with the truck to keep in shape.The last couple of days here have been very cold and the snow is deep (2 1/2 feet).Today was -18c and I turned him out on a track that was made in the last 24hrs but he just wouldn't follow it he never opened up and it was like he'd never smelled a lion before I followed the track for 1/2 a mile with him on the leash hoping he would open up but frustration finally took over and I gave up.Is there anything else I could have done?

Liz ODell wrote:I have to say one thing you can do for your dogs if you hunt in places where they might be out all night in cold snowy conditions is to let them get a little extra weight. Around here dogs can get snowed in and it might take you a couple days to get them out. If they are already super skinny they are not going to have very many days of energy in them to hold up to the calories they burn shivering and fighting snow walking out. Usually by this time of the year the bears are fat and cats don't generally require the hard fast running for a long time like some bears do. So that little extra layer of fat on your dogs ribs and hips is not going to slow them down so much that they can't catch anything....at least it never slowed mine down...but it sure makes me feel better about the times they have had to stay out in the woods. And I don't have to spend 2 weeks feeding them back up again.
Also if it freezes all the time like it does here, invest in some heated water buckets...they are SO nice, no more ice duty 3 times a day and wondering if the dogs are dehydrated. They have internal thermostats and I plug them into another external one as well, http://www.horse.com has 5 gallon ones for decent prices. Someone on here said dehydration was a big killer during the winter that is 100% true, dogs can bloat, they can die of impaction and water plays a huge role in the bodies ability to burn calories effeciently. Also a dehydrated dog will eat alot of snow, this burns lowers the body temperature and wastes calories they could spend coming out or catching game.
As far as snow conditions, cold weather and cold dry snow will always make you think your dogs woke up retarded that morning. Somone mentioned when the snow is so cold and and dry that its squeaky the tracks are hard to run - I agree! Let that temp warm up just a little and the dogs will smoke it, just like a frozen track thats defrosting.I have also seen in the dry fluffy stuff where cats walk under brush and knock the snow off into their tracks behind themsleves...the instant disapearing cat act!

Good points Liz