BigGameHoundsmen.com

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Do you have a preference for a breed?

I've got one that is good at catching them. Doesn't say much until the cat is jumped, real accurate, stays till you get there. He's getting old. He's 9 but just had a guy breed a female to him this spring and she had 8 healthy pups. He throws early starting pups that run to catch. He's smart and his pups are too. I have another male too that is a son to him. He treed his first wild coon by himself at just under 6 months old and treed his first solo lion at 11 months old. He's only been on a few bobcats but he does a nice job on them.

I have a male that has a good nose and an uncanny why of figuring out where the cats are on the ground or in the trees when the going gets tough but I'm a long ways from you. He's got good leg on him and a pretty nice voice to boot. He's a little on the independent side but it seems like he just doesn't trust another dog to get it done as fast as he can. He used to be a bit more reliant on other dogs when he was young but a lot of finds have matured him at an early age. He's a little tough on a cat for his own good but that's better than having one that can't hold them. He doesn't have a great winter coat and wears down a little faster when it's below zero and the wind is blowing but other than that he's a pretty good package deal for bobcats and can catch most of them without much help from the other dogs. I have him in the pen with a female right now. If you want to go through all of the trouble or if you have someone coming out at the right time he's here in WI.

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Just a thought from a guy who lives out west...

I think why you encounter resistance locally? The N.W. and across the Country have some top bobcat hounds & breeders. Most of the guys who have really nice bobcat hounds that I know really don't want to bother disrupting the sync within the pack to breed to outside females, nor do many of them breed to there own for good reasons. Breeding for success is more complicated most of the time unless you simply happen to get lucky.

Folks scoff at the breeder who gets top dollar for his or her pups but there is a reason and much cheaper in the long run than breeding your own. Bobcat hunters demand excellence that is easier achieved by going to the breeder of fine hound pups that have a consistent track record.

JMHO

Good luck!

Mike

Good answer, Mike.

Consistent high percentage of bobcat hounds from breedings may be the ultimate?

Another is building the "score card" to judge what you bred, raised, and trained. Limited number of hounds men want and desire the same in the hounds that they think they want.

Location, including environment and scent conditions, are so different. One must consider so many variables?

I agree 100% that if you can locate a breeder that has accomplished all the above and has hounds that are successful for area that you live/hunt----I would not breed period!

Last comment, mistake breeding or not intended lets say, have produced some good bobcat hounds for me over the years. BUT--I attempt to make those terminal cross! I either neuter or market and all due to inconsistency of progeny when breeding.

Good luck,

cwl