Cold Trailing

[dhostetler]

It is tough to have good honest strike dogs. Most good cold nosed strike dogs are babbly and occasionally need to be yelled at. It takes a lot of hunting to recognize a babble versus a strike. I usually rode my dogs for a couple miles before putting them up so they clean out and get a little bit of there excitement knocked off. They seem to settle down better after that.

[merlo_105]

Why is it that it's hard to have a good honest strike dog? And most good cold nosed strike dogs are babbly? Most is a very broad term.

[dhostetler]

Merlo, I have hunted with quite a few different hunters on bare ground using strike dogs, everyone of them yelled at there strike dogs for being babbly. Yes there are probably good strike dogs out there that will ride the box for 8 hours without a peep, I just haven't seen them.

One of my best cold trailers is pretty tight mouthed on a cold track and will not open on the box but is my best start dog when my more mouthy dogs strike. The best strike dogs I have seen were also more mouthy on a track. I just think more mouthy dogs are just more liable to get excited and bark stupid on top of the box.

To me an honest strike dog on top of the box that opens only on actual scent day in an day out is hard to come by. Yes if you are hunting in areas with a lot of game if you look long and hard enough you will be able to find some kind of sign that you can assume they hit but if you are honest with yourself can you really be sure that is what they struck.

[South Texan]

"Most" good cold nose strike dogs are "loose mouth" or "easy to open" which equals babbley.

Other dogs in the pack are smelling the cat scent too but your loose mouth dog opens first so...he gets the strike.

I've seen in the daylight where the hounds were whipping tails on a bush that cat had sprayed. This start dog that gets all the strikes sees them whipping up the road and breaks and runs to them knowing they are smelling cat. He opens before he ever gets to them so he gets the strike.

That's a loose mouth dog and I don't like'em and correct dogs for doing this.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[merlo_105]

If I went 8 hours with out a strike I would find somewhere else to hunt. I don't know much about Montana's Cat population or the road access where you hunt. Where I do most my hunting we have lots of roads so when you have good rig dogs babbly or non babbly you should be rigging a lot. Especially if there hitting cold stuff. If that cat side hill's above the road they should be able to hit that track multiple spots maybe not making it deep enough to the track first two strikes but the third only 100 yards past the second they might be able to make it. I rig a lot of tracks that are multiple hundred yards off the road. So think in a good populated area with good roads how much a cat is with in a couple to a few hundred yards off the road. Then in the snow you see where at cat is hunting a road or right off the road and is in and out of the road multiple times the dogs should rig it multiple times. Just cause you can't see the track on bare ground makes it hard for some to believe. All my dogs will rig there own track obviously some better then others lots of times so and so hits it before this dog or that dog then next time its that dog before this dog. So if I put one dog up you would be missing some no matter what. If your starting 95% of your rigs then your probably not rigging as cold of tracks as one thinks.

And for your tight mouth dog being your best cold trailer always out front, why is that? Probably because she is working a clean track and ain't helping her friends behind her who have to trail up a stomped out cat behind dog stink Once she starts opening your track probably progresses faster and then there packed in and then she ain't your fastest dog anymore she's probably right with them. How close am I. Most people think there tight mouth dog is there best and only reason it is cause they have a clean track and there slowing the rest down. You sit that dog out a time or to you might see your cold track progress faster from the get go. Just food for thought.

[merlo_105]

An example about a Month ago I was out with a friend we struck a track had 14-16 dogs on the ground Him having one tight mouth me having one tight mouth dogs trailed wasn't progressing as fast as both of us had thought both us cussing are tight mouth asses we watched as they came under us two tights out front rest working the track 80 yards or less behind them as soon as the tights made a bobble where the rest got in the mix that track pace picked up times 3. I see it time and time again

[dhostetler]

What I meant about my cold nosed dog was referring to being tight mouthed on a cold track as a reference. She does not open on top of the box one problem may be is I rig loose on top of the box, so on a hot strike my race starts before the truck stops, if I would tie her it may force her to open on the box. She is my best start dog for long distant strikes. Last spring she started a bear .6 mile from the top of the box. What sucked with that one she was the only dog on it and ran it in a roadless area treeing it by herself in a couple of hours.

I run multiple species in various states, so any species in the cat or bear family is fair game to me. In my area of Montana finding more than one overnight bobcat track in snow a day is a very good day.

[merlo_105]

So she is tight mouth on the Box but opens on a Cold trail? The dog's I were referring to are tight on the Cold track, But open on anything that's warm or moved out and full open on jump

[dhostetler]

Yes she does open on a cold trail just not as much as my more mouthy dogs. She is one of my more tight mouthed dogs.

[mondomuttruner]

Merlo, heres a scenario, When those tight mouthed dogs bobbled the track, thats where the cat circled around a bit to bed down for a spell then got up and continued. The track may have been an hour fresher after that spot that the dogs took it out better.

[mark]

I figure the dog that finds the actual track and leaves on it with the "come on guys i got it bark" is the one that started it, not the dog that opens first. Robby i know what you are saying and it drives me nuts too but on the other hand i sure like that kind of enthusiasm in a dog and the fact that it doesnt want to take the backseat to anyone and knows the other dogs aint lying. Lol

[merlo_105]

mondom, When I wrote it out I read back and thought someone is going to think well it bedded down or they jumped it and took a second to get the out or what has it. That wasn't the case Both tight mouth dogs are very hard casting dogs they over shot the track casting for it and that gave time for the others to slide in and keep it going. The tight mouths swung right back into the pack. And from there they trailed it another mile or so before jumped.

[dhostetler]

Merlo,

Here is a challenge for you go a week without hunting. Put your dogs up on top and spend 3 hours rigging an area that you know has no cats and see how quite your dogs are.

[merlo_105]

Dhostetler, I go three days mine turn into crack heads. Most times dogs babble like that there false striking so they can get down and road if they strike and they come off looking then there is something there or they think something good is there

[dhostetler]

HaHa my dogs are in the same boat after several days of not hunting, I rely heavily on roading to get them to settle down, to rig off the box.