BigGameHoundsmen.com

chilcotin hillbilly wrote:I guess Oscar my 35 lb male is to small to run bear. I will have to tell him that!

For me a big bear dog is 70lbs. Even at 70 they can't get around the thick stuff.

I have a couple small hounds that seem to get along just fine. I guess next time I drop the tailgate I'll tell them your to small you'll never make it then laugh when I walk in to tie them back. Everyone has there own preference and if your feeding them it doesn't really matter. I have a few bigger dogs also and each has its own place. I might have a hard time starting one in the dry, dusty southwest just like those dogs would probably look at you like WTF when you put them in the Northwest brush. Every place is different, but put a bear in a brush hole with one way in and out and you'll find out what your feeding big or small.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

I agree with ya Hillbilly, the big ones will struggle more with the brush.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

I like a medium size dog . 40-55 female 50-65 male. But would take a small dog any day over a big 1 . Ur chances of gettin speed are way better. I don't need any lineman in my pack its not a football game.

My pack includes a 34-40 lb dog, three 50-lb dogs, and one 65-70 lb dog. The little dog holds up the best on long races, gets through brush the best, and gets out of the way fastest. He can't physically take the punishment as the bigger dogs can, but he makes up for it by getting out of the way quicker. I prefer a medium (50 lb) dog but would take a small dog over a big dog IF all else is equal. Of course drive, heart, grit and nose among other things come first.

Seen a lot of dogs go and have seen some big, small, squatty, beefy that I'd feed any day. I just evaluate them on how they do more than how they are built. With that said, it seems that a dog with a little more leg with a solid bone build and rangey look holds up better. I think you notice it more when they have to go through a lot of water. We don't have any rocks, but I'd bet a little dog could navigate those better.

If you're after a big bear it doesn't matter much anyway. He's not running away from any in-shape dog. It's more important that dog is sticking in there when the BS hits the buckwheat. I'll take any size linebacker over a step out of bounds wide receiver in that situation.

are you running bear or rabbits lol if a 100lb bear can get thru the brush why cant a 70lb hound.The bear broke the trail.

coop74 wrote:are you running bear or rabbits lol if a 100lb bear can get thru the brush why cant a 70lb hound.The bear broke the trail.

The 70 lb dogs can around the thick stuff, just not as fast as a small dog.

coop74 wrote:are you running bear or rabbits lol if a 100lb bear can get thru the brush why cant a 70lb hound.The bear broke the trail.

dogs work a bear from all the way around if possible when it is bayed .the thicker the brush the better the chance that a dog will be hung up and caught when the bear charges. a bigger size hound has more of a chance of hanging up while running thick stuff. a split second is all that keeps a dog from being stove all to crap by blackie. beagles can go easily where the rabbits go in the thick stuff that pretty much proves the point that having the right size hound for the terrain and game you hunt helps.

agreed small dogs get thru thick stuff easier,ive seen more dogs get grabbed from having too many dogs in their way,in the case of a charge.Where i run i need a well put together hound big or small with athletism.

I run a small 35-40lb walker female that is my grittiest dog, she can run harder and longer than any of my bigger 60-80lb dogs. She has no quit and has been hit a few times and still had to be pulled off hours later. When I need a dog to put pressure on game I throw her in.

I perfer bigger hounds, I have some smaller Walkers and Plotts but they dont seem to have the endurance or the speed of my bigger hounds. They are fast on a short race but in these mountains and thick brush the longer the race goes the farther back they will drop. Both work but I have two packs, I got one pack that I run all of my fast dogs and my other pack I run my slower dogs together, that way they stay packed together and it seems to be more effective that way. I think speed is over rated by alot of people, my slower pack seems to tree as many as my faster pack.

I have a male dog he runs 100 lbs, I also have a female that weighs 35 lbs. I also have dogs in between. Big dog is always there and does not have a lick of back up in him, neither does the small female. They have the desire and drive to get after game they are welcome at my house.
Darrel.

As long as it has the heart for a bear dog you'll be fine. Seen quite a few dogs that were 60-70lb dogs that were terrified of a bear. I prefer the smaller dogs here on the coast for agility

I have a 25lb bear killer that has never been touched... every other dog hase been injured, but this little hound is fast, elusive, and pretty rough. She is in as close as the other dogs or closer and works well.

^^^^^that dog is impressive