Dan McDonough wrote:I would like to hear about other's experiences with hounds that had 1/8 to 1/2 sighthound bred into them.
So I spose I should put this in the coyote section or coon section, but since you asked here... This is interesting stuff. I really do not know that the sight hound blood is going to add anything in the bobcat realm, but I do hope to at least see her on a couple cat tracks some day. She is faster down the road than dogs I am used to. I have seen her sight chase jack rabbits. The speed is addicting. I can see why people love coursing with sight hounds. And she got into a nest of coons in the daytime, so I really learned a lot about her then.
Her very first track was amazing to watch. Thick swamp grass, she was having trouble pushing through it. She swings wide into the field. Checks back in to the grass: "track is still here" swings wide and checks: "track is still here". Swings wide and checks: "track is not here!" Swings back to her last check point and runs the actual track up to the coon. All this takes less than a minute. Lol. Man I love day time hunting!
The second coon I had seen it leaving the area staight across a stubble field. I am glad I saw it because when she hit his trail, I would have thought it was a deer race if I had not seen the coon. As near as I could tell she was not swinging on this track but taking it right up the middle. Again, she caught up to it in seconds, not minutes, and it was a bad day for that coon.
She had two opportunities to locate up trees and did not even come close to doing it. If she ever trees, I am afraid it will be learned, and in no way instinctive.
I have not been around dogs as gracfully gifted athletically. It is really fun to watch. Again: maybe even a little addicting. I never imagined myself ever having interest in a sight hound, but you know how speed is: if a little of it is fun, more of it might be funner. Would like to see one actually catch one of those Jack rabbits.
I have had to teach her not to load up over the tailgate. She sees no sense at all in opening the thing up. She clears it easily, from standing flat footed.
Her focus seems less than the hounds I have had. Sometimes it is almost like watching myself when she forgets what we are doing.
I have never seen a dog more homesick than her. A couple times I thought she was dead, because she laid unresponsive. After a few weeks though, she has become very bonded to me. I guess a broken heart just means that she has one.
She is easier to keep than most hounds I have owned. She eats very little for her size. Her habits are toward cleanliness. She learned not to bark in two days of training. I think I corrected her four times, never used electricity. Have not heard one peep out of her since.
When the snow flies, I will put her on fox and see how she does. We have a handful of cats in this state, they say, but they are a couple hours from me. I am sure if she does well on fox there will be days when I am feeling dumb enough to drive 2 hours on the outside chance of getting her on a cat.
Right now, I am teaching her to hunt pheasants haha. I am trying this motto " hunt what you have, and not what you don't have". I have pheasants! She likes it, does pretty well at it although she is obviously not bird dog bred. I can't think of a time when she has failed to show me at least one pheasant. And I know it is there before it flushes. I thought the shotgun blast might be an issue for her, as she is on the sensitive side, but she got past that quite easily with a little re-assurance the first couple times.
I am very thankful to Dan Edwards for letting me have her. I don't have the best life for a dog right now, but she sure has made that life a little more fun. More fun to look forward to also.
Thank you Dan, and thanks to your kids too. She was lucky to have them, and she sure did miss them.
Thanks to all my friends who have tried to think of ways to get me back in dogs. I have constantly refused extremely kind offers. It is kind if a mystery really that I ended up with Dans "Cheetah". I have already regreted it at times because I want to do the dog better. But I am trying to just relax and enjoy her as best as my situation allows.
