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Which is most important and why?

to me its like fore play and closing the deal. sometimes you cant have one without the other. I like the dog that hits a cold trail and figures out which way its headed then shoot out there and finds the cat. he has to be good at turning a cold one into a hot one then push it hard and steady. so I would say its tit for tat

I like a dog that finishes the jump. I like those dogs that once they jump a cat they don't get away. seen quite a few dogs trail a cat to a jump then lose it and have to trail it back up again . and again and again. to me that's a coon dog. cant or wont pick up its head and finish the race.

jc

darn skip fore play that's 40rty minutes of begging here, don't have the time for that anymore

just let her beg jim thats what I do

coastrangecathunting wrote:I like a dog that finishes the jump. I like those dogs that once they jump a cat they don't get away. seen quite a few dogs trail a cat to a jump then lose it and have to trail it back up again . and again and again. to me that's a coon dog. cant or wont pick up its head and finish the race.

jc

My feelings exactly. If I have a dog that can catch a cat, I can catch a cat. May or May not be able to cold trail. But will be able to catch a cat. If I must choose either a great cold tracker that can never catch a cat, or Choose the great cat catcher that can not cold trail well, and I want the chance of catching a cat, the choice is clear.

Dads dogboy wrote in a previous post, "We would think that for a Bobcat, a Hound who will dirft the the Track forward and find where the Cat is going would be a better fit than a Hound who is telling you where the Cat has been...just Dad and my thoughts."
Running a jumped track like that is where it's at. A dog that runs a cold track and the jumped track like that is a marvel to behold. I had the pleasure to hunt behind a dog like that. He wasn't mine but he sure could catch cats.

Out here you won't catch a lot of bobs unless you cold trail. Now that is where the difference is a dog that can get a hold of a cold track and move it[ run it] has no problem on the jump. Most jumps should not last over 20 minutes. You can get a longer race if you hunt where they have been coon dogged a lot. As far as rocks you will loose cats in the rocks but if you are going to a lot of holes in rocks your dogs are not moving that track fast enough. If you trail a jump cat it will just trot ahead of your dogs until it gets to a safe hole. I hunt more ruff rocks than most of the guys I know and will lose some to holes, but I also tree them there and catch them on the ground trying to make it to a rock pile. Each to their own ,hunt with what you are willing to put up with. I hear a lot of talk about people blowing smoke on here. Usually it is from people that don't know whats possible. Seeing is believing. There is a difference is what straight bobcat dogs can do with the right hunter. Dewey

In my experience how a dog performs after the jump is what puts bobcats up consistently. I have had good cold nosed dogs that were screwed once they got it jumped. To be successful you need both features, so I don't think you would be very successful without both.

This part of the country the biggest limiting factor is how many tracks you can start. You HAVE to have cold nosed trail dogs to get a track to the point of a jump even mattering... EASTERN OREGON

I have never had a problem beyond concern on jumps. Even with some coon dog bred dogs. Once they had adequate experience running cats. Best dog on jump is in fact my slowest dog.

I'm with JC and David on this. I also think that the ability to catch a jumped cat also tells me the dog could cold trail if it wanted to and, from what I've seen, a lot will eventually settle down and work a nasty track out. I don't think catching jumped cats has nearly as much to do with the speed of the dog as it does the dogs ability to chase the cat without making loses or mistakes. If the dog moves a jumped track smoothly, I have seen a lot of them, with experience, show that same smooth style on a cold track. I was reminded of this again last winter when I had the opportunity to hit the woods with a dog that I had hunted with years ago. She had aged and didn't have nearly the speed as she used to but she simply didn't make mistakes. On a bad track, she didnt boo hoo around and simply moved consistently forward. Once jumped, although she didn't have the speed, her smooth style pressured the cats into climbing. On the flip side, just because a dog can pound out an old, nasty track doesn't mean they have that smooth style needed to keep pressure on a cat no matter how fast the dog can run.

Well I hesitate to reply as I'm just a cat harasser on occasion. In this country you better have a dog that can cold trail or a real good pair of boots. Personally I like to let the dog do the work but be fairly close and picking my way through the easiest spots. Be able to dive in when it sounds good or really bogs down Around here cat's don't bring you to the pretty places, just the ones that make you want to find the closest way to the road after it blows up. A guy can't be driving over many tracks here to find fresher one. And I've yet to figure out a foolproof way to figure out the right end of the track. Most times it's usually the opposite of whatever conclusion I've come to with my deductive reasoning.

As to after the jump, well I'll let you guys decide on that. I've only seen a couple that were worth a darn on it here. Most times it ain't the speed that's the issue. It's either trying to do too much or not being able to locate that little critter that jumped 6 feet up before scooting up to the top of tree. Dogs used to seeing a stinky big black blob aren't real adapt at that. Can't justify keeping a "cat only" dog in this country anymore.

Ran a cat this morning for 3 hours. Cat was walking on the ice and the dogs were breaking through in knee deep water every 3rd jump. Thats my knee, not the dogs. This is like a 3 square mile lake in the tree's and brush. I was wet up to my a$$. Talk all you want but there's not a dog in the world that could pressure a cat in these conditions. Maybe a really, really small hound..lol Anyways, around here you better have a good cold track dog when you find a track every 50 miles or so. Take what you can get...Fun morning for me..

Mondo, i have ever been back there and seen your country but i would of gave my left nut to have been with you this morning! Those are the kind i live and hunt for!!!!!!