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so what do think a catdog is . what is your interpitation of a catdog. tell it like u see it , lets say u are saleing a catdog what defines it as a catdog. i think there is a wide variety of a catdog , mostly because of different areas. in my area i dont care if they rig or not , but if they start a cat track that they can move 3 hundred yards in conditions that favor the dog they should catch that cat 7 out of 10 times before i would call them a catdog. any dog will chase a cat but how good at starting,trailing , puting enough preasure to tree or catch , locating and treeing . if a dog cant do all these things i wouldnt call it a cat dog . sure some will do some of these listed above but so will my terrier. matter of fact he will do all listed above but he wont catch 7 out of 10. i can see how this could turn into an argument and i dont want that so everyone get along and give your honest reply. i dont own a catdog right now but i have had a couple in my life.

jc

J C I believe the # cats a dog can catch depends a whole bunch on what cats you are running. I sold a hound to hunter this past winter, told him she was just medium hound. She boxed, grubb decent, medium speed on jump, fair tree. Had a couple dislikes I told him about. Gave him three week trial, he bought the dog. I was very pleased when he called me at the end of the season, gave me an upbeat report. Made a comment along the line he was surprised I had not given her higher marks. I am very glad she has a good home & is well cared for, nothing worse than sending a dog to someone who is unhappy with that dog & wife did not want to part with her, feared she would not be taken care of. No I probly don/t have any thing better than her. Buyer feel free to correct me if needed. Of coarse I realized there are a lot better cat dogs than what I have, owned some better ones myself in the past. Thanks Al Baldwin

A cat dog to me? I could probably go on and on about specific traites I look for and how I want the dog to use these traits. But the dogs I have raised and trained that became top notch cat dogs seemed to break the mold, making me scratch my head and leaving me to wonder. Even more so now that I'm older. For this area when a guy has found a true cat dog it will be the only dog he needs. Hunters will come from all around to see this dog work a cat track. Fun to think about, kinda like winning the lottery. John.

I am still looking. To me they need to be able to start most tracks take the cold trail at a real steady pace and be able to run heads up with blistering speed once the cat is jumped and be able to locate and stay treed until I arrive. Speed speed speed if they can do all the above with blistering speed and tree every cat is what I am looking for, havent found it yet Andy

Here in south Texas it might be a little different. As seen on this forum many times, it's hard to find that perfect cat dog, a dog that has all the traits that make a perfect dog.

Here the dogs are road hunted with the entire pack on the ground. Now... we hunt a pack because there are individual dogs within the pack that are specialized in some of these traits that it takes to make a perfect cat dog. One dog might be a hunting machine that will really find a cat, another might be really cold nose dog that can really keep an old cold track moving, then you might have another dog out swinging ahead of your trailing dogs that is a real jump dog. Now all these dogs are broke and specialized in what they do best and I would call any of these dogs "cat dogs".

Lots of times, hunters will call wanting a good start dog, jump dog, or trailing dog. A dog that will help make a difference in their pack.

It's easier to make a perfect pack (dogs with different talents) than it is to find that one perfect dog. Then every now and then you'll come across a multi-talented dog, you can then just name your price, if you would want to sale him.

I have described to the best of my knowledge as to what I think a south Texas cat dog is. Some sure may disagree. Robbie

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South Texan roading dogs is my favorite way of hunting. I think dogs get a lot more exposure to off game, exercise & do a better job of getting correct end of track in the beginning. I too road all the dogs, with two mile range e-collars, tracking collars & some older dogs to let you know what dogs are trailing why not. Nothing more enjoyable than takeing out brushy old logging roads on a four wheeler with a bunch of dogs. Of coarse I don/t want strange dogs in pack that have not been hunted that way. Like to start taking pup as soon as old enough to keep up with me. For years would only take one pup at a time. Ecollars all dogs changed that to two young ones. I believe dogs do not live long enough to be turn-in dogs. Also in total agreement with way to find the total dog is combining the best one can afford. In earlier years could not afford that many dogs & at times manged to find one or sometimes two dogs that caught some pretty tough cats. Not easy to find & sure not as enjoyable to listen to as a pack. Cats can be so scarce & have to cover so much ground in some areas box dogs a big advantage. Plus hunting to & from hunting area some times produces a race. No longer put dogs on box, holes where dogs can scent from the box works well & prevents injury that I described in earlier post. Good sharing. Thanks Al Baldwin

When those tough seasoned cats start popping up, thats when you know there is something special going on. John.

Well i would say i have coon dogs that catch some cats but when they do they seem to think their pretty spiffy. but one day i hope i can say i have a cat dog untill then ill just keep puttin my time in trying to catch them damn things

to me what makes a cat dog to me is desire to catch cats, not run, but catch, this type of dog will start its own tracks trail and once jumped, will run to catch without regard to its own well being.only one thing matters that cat speed, brains, treeing and locating ability, all traits everyone wants myself included but without the desire to catch you can run but probably wont tree many cats.