yardsticks for catdogs

[Tim Pittman]

How many dogs get bred and promoted, using only ones experiences in his kennel of dogs? How many get out and hunt with others to see what is possible, beyond the experience or skill level? When I hear some of the comments on here I have to wonder what is really in some of the potlickers I feed, due to the standards I'm picking up on. To me, if you want to be better, breed better than what you have, you have to be open minded and look outside the box.

[Dads dogboy]

Very Well Said!

[Flip]

I agree most good hunters hunt dogs that are accessable to them there would be a lot better dogs in the world if some people got the right stock. What do u hunt tim

[merlo_105]

Hey Tim all the Potlickers your feeding can come my way...

[kordog]

im all for keeping an open mind ,but getting and aquiring better breeding stock is easier said than done.chances are if your a houndsman that hunts all season without success then ya your probably gonna find some better stock than you have.a lot of houndmen are tight with their bloodlines.its not like you can go to the hound store and say i will take a couple grade a catdogs to go and also i will pay the 100 dollars extra for the ones that reproduce. alot of houndsman do the best they can with what is available to them.on the flip side i also have seen people pass up breeding to better dogs due to close minded thinking or fools pride ,but to each their own.consider yourself lucky if you are a houndsman that has access to top notch bloodlines that are shared.

[cat hntr]

I believe in being open minded. I am always keeping an eye open for a line of dogs that catches cats more efficiently and in a style that I can enjoy hunting with. I see people get hung up on a certain breeds and never realize what they could really have. I enjoy watching other peoples dogs work and learning from other hounds men.

[LarryBeggs]

A person has to know dogs well enough to know if there is something missing in your dogs. Or weather the lack of catching is your own fault. And weather it is the dogs or you none of it works if they are not getting hunted hard enough. There are a lot of capable cat dogs sitting on the end of a chain.There are also a lot of packs that are missing something in them that never will produce without some new blood.

[mike martell]

I think you need to set the bar high and cull anything that fails to meet higher standards..... Larry raises valid points about Hounds, handlers and dogs. First you must understand your quarry, second, understand dogs. Then take a line of dogs best suited and work and improve as you find necessary. Why? Because every dog I have ever hunted lacked something... This is the hardest part....Improving on any line or strain of dogs. Process of Trial and error, just what keeps us all intrigued in this sport....Seems like you can never perfect dogs in their entirety even with the handler who knows hounds. cat hntr also raises a valid point about those hung up on certain breeds and strains and not willing to try something new or different. I think this is why many of the real successful cat hunters are where they are today because like Dewey stated....His dogs aren't his line of dogs...He just refined several other solid lines to make what best suited him!

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Mike

[JTG]

Hunting long enough and hard enough in different environments will show the strengths and weaknesses to some degree, however hunting the offspring and how well they perform is the true test of how well your breeding program is working. Instead of looking for something better than what you have, improve those you already have, because even if you find something better and you breed it to your current hounds, you may see improvement in the current litter however, on future litters chances are you will never see it again.
If the hounds you are looking at are way better than what you have, get rid of yours and start with there's and breed those related hounds.
Also a smart hound will learn where the cat's hang out in the area they are hunting, just like a fisherman knowing the good spots. So if you take your hounds to a different environment and they do not perform as well as those hounds that hunt that terrain it just means that they needs sometime to adjust.
Good hounds not so good hounds the main thing is to enjoy and have fun.
John, I did what you are about to do, but not to Maine or the east coast. Sounds like a great time. Good luck.
JTG

[al baldwin]

im all for keeping an open mind ,but getting and aquiring better breeding stock is easier said than done.chances are if your a houndsman that hunts all season without success then ya your probably gonna find some better stock than you have.a lot of houndmen are tight with their bloodlines.its not like you can go to the hound store and say i will take a couple grade a catdogs to go and also i will pay the 100 dollars extra for the ones that reproduce. alot of houndsman do the best they can with what is available to them.on the flip side i also have seen people pass up breeding to better dogs due to close minded thinking or fools pride ,but to each their own.consider yourself lucky if you are a houndsman that has access to top notch bloodlines that are shared.

Well said, every one has stated some valid points. Tim, assume you are worried about the genes from the Cody, Skinner cross, since every thing else came from Dewy. If that is the case rest assured niether one was perfect, but they did catch cats alone & both in my opinion, had a lot to offer to improve the breed or I would have not made that cross. If you wish to part with Suzy, sure want have a problem selling her. I have been pretty much retired and still get calls from hunters wanting to buy a good start & tree hound for bobcat. Good hunting Al

[Flip]

Hi guys I'm new to this site but just trying to help a little. I'm a grey fox hunter here in northern cal. And I own seven running dog crosses all which came from a man who breeds and sells nothing but the kind of dogs people don't usually sell.these dogs have caught me lots of fox 101 alone last year. These dogs have so much hunt in them and yet are very smart it's almost easy.lets just back up a minute ( commen sense is hard lacked in the dog training world) if your a dedicated hunter and understand what a young dog needs when your training one then u can't go wrong with these dogs. There's always going to be people who aren't happy in life but those of u looking for a nice young dog check out his website look at his young started pup videos and pay attention to how young they are good luck his website is three bear kennels.if I could figure out how to put video clips on here I could show u some pretty cool stuff.

[Dads dogboy]

Flip,

Most of the West Coast Houndsmen Know of, if they do not personally Know Mike Kemp and the Quality of Hounds he consistently produces.

I sure hope to see you at the West Coast Gathering of Bobcat Hunters next June 14 at Myrtle Pt. OR.

Keep after those Fox!

[Flip]

Thanks! I don't get out much but a friend of mine by the name of Jerry king went last year and said it was a lot of fun so hopefully I can make it next time. mike is a very good friend of mine we've hunted together for years and I've seen lots of good dogs in my day but he has developed a cross of dogs lately that would make most cat hunters excited so those of u who haven't crossed pathes with him in a while look him up. He has really put a nose on those high powered running dogs and its amazing how natural they can move a bad track. I like a very tough motivated dog that has to be an extreme athlete locate,trail and be able to catch a fox on the ground in tight steep brushy country and let me tell u mike has those pups for sale. Well merry Christmas to all of you

[Rod Vinson]

All dogs are replaceable if you can find one better!!

[catdog360]

If I need to open my mind Tim, then I'm still waiting for an invite down there to see your dogs hunt. Hint, Hint.

I have realized that what one reads and what their imagination comes up with is usually different than reality. For some reason I thought JC, Dewey, and DDBoy had silent style dogs. I always thought I had mouthy dogs, But I have watched some videos and all three have way more noise then what my dad and I have together on a red hot bear. I'm starting to think mine would be considered silent.

My point is I think we all need to open our minds and views and not only our imagination.

Mic O'Brien

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