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Slowneasy's commet about dogs leaving good to trash then back to good got me thinking.

Say you have a older track and you turn out. Dogs are doing well on it and boom take off. You get to the jump site and a different bobcat track that is hot there. Would you be upset or ok with them changing tracks and why?

Personally I wouldn't care as long as they caught the hotter cat track. Just a curiousity thing for me. I do think this happens more than most of us know.

That is a tough one. I have had dogs never leave the track that I put them on no matter what they crossed. Which is the way it should be for me. I have also had dogs that would always leave the pack and tree the track that they crossed giving me two cats at one time. Each to there own . Dewey

If a cats in the tree and the dogs are under it all is good with me. Andy

Dewey, I would have thought with your style of hunting that your dogs would have honored the dog with the hotter track. Was this before garmin or tri-tronics. Just curious what your reaction was at the time? One dog leaving the pack like that alone is un-nerving for me. Not meaning to put you on the spot, just curious about your thoughts. Thank you. John.

I want them to follow what I put them on. I have that one indepentent dog that has been off finding her own cat. I don't like it, but she's been catching em. So some guys would like a two cat day. Its been interesting. I'm going to try and work her into a pack dog.

I always assume they are going to run the best varmint track out there that they come across. I definitely wouldn't expect them to stick to a cold track and pass up hotter ones, exactly the opposite. Since I rarely hunt snow, and on those few occasions I don't follow them track for track through every brushy canyon, I just have to use my best guess at what really goes on.
Doesn't happen very often, but not unheard of to jump a critter out and end up with a different one in the next tree. Maybe of the same species or maybe of another, like jump a fox out and end up with a cat in the next tree.
On two occasions I have jumped out one fox and ended up with two fox in the next tree, spring time.
Pat

John: I not sure what you mean by my style of dogs I just hunt cat dogs? Any one of my dogs get a track, there going to take it no matter if others follow them or not. When they all have the same track they all had better be running for the lead. Dogs do what dogs do they just need to do it right to stay here. [ NOW THAT MAY BE ARROGANT TO SOME} it is just what I expect cat dogs to do. This was years ago when I run a pack with tree dogs and a half trig, half July and a Tant walker which go back to GOODMAN RUNNING DOGS. the half Tant was a slow dog compared to the others and was the one that always had a cat by her self. I have had three trees at once off one turn out that could all be heard in one place, all cats. Two trees several times. I don't feel that I have had a good day if I haven't treed three cats. Just kidding I have a good day every day I am cat hunting. Dewey

unreal, i think you may have misunderstood me on the other post. i said i have no tolorance for a dog that starts out on good game and ends up running trash. but when i trash broke in a much harsher way, did have smarter dogs when free cast start trash and switch to proper game. and with out an experienced ear some will be praising them at the tree unaware what transpired prior. take care

If it always ended at a good game tree, then I'd let mine run trash everyday.

Slow, this has nothing to do with trash. But just if you turn out on a very old track and you follow behind your dogs and a Different hot track intersects with it, which way dogs will go. Just was a curiosity thing. Just your post gave me the idea of this.

I dont think I have ever had a dog that would refuse a hot bobcat track because they were too busy grinding out an old bad track that they might not ever get jumped until tomorrow. I know there are people who think they should, but I honestly have never had or seen a dog like that. If I was a full time guide and trophy hunter, that is what I would look for and expect to find. If you spend weeks locating a trophy track for some one and the dogs switch off it to something smaller, that would be frustrating to say the least.
I have never been in that situation.

I think this must be a trait in the blood hounds used for man trailing. I am quite sure they do not switch off to every hotter human track they come across. It is an admirable trait. But I have never needed it enough to go looking for it or training my dogs for it. I can think of a lot more important ways to use my energy and their gifts.