BigGameHoundsmen.com

two types of bear dogs Rocky Marciano,great fight once a year
Cassius Clay type hit @run do the same as Rocky dogs BUT you
get to hunt the next day,most time given fair chance they will tree on they own
I do not tolarate back up, also don't want stupid. nuf said

the bear will often dictate the type of grit a dog shows. put them on a big walking clown they may swing from his ass. get after an old sow that will run them down and catch their asses you may see the same dog turn chicken shit. people often forget to judge the bears they are after before bragging on their dogs

That is a pretty good point that I mostly agree with Fox. I have seen it before. Also you talk about stupid dogs and intelligent dogs. Intelligent dogs become smart dogs by NOT getting killed until they have an opportunity to learn.

Case in point: I had a little year old Plott Tick who I would consider pretty darn smart. She picked up on things quick, she learned to handle pretty quick; just an intelligent dog. I had her on several bears last summer that didn't turn and fight. I saw her twice swinging from the a$$ end of a bear and she got used to just grabbing hold and not getting hurt. That is the first thing she learned. The first mean bear she got on she dove into a brush pile with only to have her guts ripped out. She was "gritty" by nature. To gritty for my liking.

Of course this recital of what happened is most likely not completely true. I wasn't there for most of the event so how could I know what happened. We think we know how gritty our dogs are or what our dogs are doing but really...how much do we really know of what goes on. All we get are fractions of the chase and not the entire picture.

I DON'T have any desire for even smart dogs that come in kamakazie. One: they don't tend to last to long. No matter how smart they are they still make mistakes and get into trouble. Two: I don't make enough money to afford them.

Intellegence for dogs comes by experience. Real bear dogs mean different things to different people. I want a real bear dog in the "gritty" department to be a dog that has enough drive to stay consistently close and bite when the opportunity presents itself NOT one who makes the opportunity happen if you catch my jist. Dead or severely injured dogs don't catch bears and good bear dogs are hard to come by.

Others will have different opinions I am sure; but this is mine.

Fox hunter should change his user name to bear hunter.

I would way rather get on a 4-500lb. fat ass boar than a 200lb. lightning fast pissed of sow. She'll hurt, kill, or send alot of "bear dogs" back to the truck.

my $.02