BigGameHoundsmen.com

Just wandering how old your dogs are before they cant or you cant hunt them anymore.
I have a friend that has a 14yr old walker/bluetick cross that is still a hunting machine. He is starting to slow down but we can get 3-4 days of hard hunting in a row out of him before we need to give him a break.

He is extreemly lucky! Most big hound types if hunted hard are about done at 10 or 11 a few make 12 or so if they are smaller dogs. I did see one plott female that hunted till she was 18 . I don't know what caused her to live so long but she is a rare one for sure. If you get 14 years of productive hunting that is awesome.

I had a little walker dog that I hunted until she was 13. She couldnt go everyday her last year but she was still productive when I took her. I hunted until about 4 months before she died. As long as they are still productive I would hunt them, you owe it to those good old dogs thats what they live for! Just give them 2-3 days rest between hunts and dont take them on hunts that you know are going to be long,hard or hot.

But when that point comes they cant keep up at all, hunting them can shorten what little time they have left.

Has anyone noticed a difference in the life span of the diffferent types? for example running dogs versus tree dogs. running dogs are usually lighter built but i have two females that at 8 years could barely walk (legs not pads) after running a bobcat. i don't know if it was just the two i got but one started coming in lame pretty often at 3 years old and the sister later on though never to the same extent. these two caught most of my bobcats and they only got hunted half as much. they did need a strike dog for awhile but later on they would buckle down and help out.

They are prettty good dogs their 4, 5, and 6 year old season. After that, they are washed up and have lost a step but them 7 and 8 years olds are usually so honest that they are hard to get shed of. Its nice to know that when one barks you are 99% sure that its gonna be a good night.

pegleg, my oldest running dog right now is 6 gonna be 7 near the first of the year. They dont come anymore crippled than him and he has been that way for a few years now. I know exactly what you are talkin about. There is no way that a running dog is gonna go more than 10 years and them ones will be crippled for sure.

This is a very good subject. Different strains of every breed have what I call livability.

The hounds that I am most parcial to is big blue dogs. They seem to have the shortest life spans, but when you have a good one, it is worth it.
The Miixed breed hounds have a longer life span and I have found that they will hunt longer. The great strains are really hard to maintain by line breeding past 7 generations.
I truly hope I am wrong as some great stains are in our midst today and would like to see them perpetuated to a greater level.

I have a few dogs from those original running females and they hunt fine today but started out just as wild as the dam. i can't say i find one type better then the other they have different traits but when you get a good one it doesen't matter to me what they look like or the little differences . although i am a sucker for a bawl mouth hound! i have a screeching bitch that'll cause the neck hairs one the deaf to stand up. can't have everything back to the topic i have noticed a tendon problem in these dogs that i don't have in the others. i run them in winter in s.e colorado and these races are much faster with better terrain and lameness doesen't seem to be as big of a issue there.

Hello Folks!

This might come across twice as my computer seems to have a mind of its own!

I need to get Perk to let us move our PM conversation over here as this is one of the things we have been discussing!

Dad retires his Hounds in their 7th year. He usually gives them to older Friends who do not hunt as hard as Dad. These Hounds go on to give good service for another 3 to 4 years for these Hunters. They tend to only hunt once or twice a week and only run one Race a night. (those who read this regularly know that even at age 80 that is not Dads Style)

Dads quote is that the young Hounds "Pull the Heads" on the older Hounds. If you breeding program is working you should be advancing the qualities in your Hounds not just maintaining the qualities desired. I do not know if Dads young Hounds are smarter or faster but we are sure having shorter Races and treeing more Cat. As we have mentioned in other Posts these younger Hounds are putting more pressure on Game earlier in a Race before a Bobcat gets "Addled", he is still able to reason that of the "Fly, Climb, or Die" options Climbing is the most viable!

That is our thoughts, Good Running to All!


C. John Clay
Dads Dogboy

I can only speak for hog dogs. I got a dog that I retired when she was 13. Her legs were giving out and she was having a hard time keeping up. She has been gored more than a dozen times. Had her jaw broke and hundreds of sutures. She sleeps in the house now and is no more than 5 feet away from me at any given time except when im hunting where she is at home being spoiled by my wife. I have a buddy that never retired his dog. It was 16 and it retired on its own. We took it hunting and it just kept up with us never getting involved in the hog bay. It would show up a few minites after the hog was dead and bite and bark few times. Dogs that are able to learn from their bad cuts at a younger age are better able to gague a boar as to the damage it can inflict and will act more or less agressive depending on how big and what size tusks it has. Ive had more dogs die to 150lb-200lb hogs than 250lb plus. A lot of the time the dogs give more respect to a big old slow hog with 4 inch tusks than a fast 200 lb hog with 1 1/2 inch tusks. I think a hog dog that makes it past 6 or 7 years has a great chance of not having a forced retirement.

I usaly get rid of a dog at about 6 it is still got plenty of life for your average weekend hunter but generally starting to show some age in every day hunting

I have almost always been in school or worked in a school, so my winter time hunting is restricted to weekeneds, holidays, breaks, and days taken off. But late spring and early summer I like to pound them. I keep a pack of running walker fox hounds. Id say around 2-5 they are pulling the hardest on the track, 6-7 is still a heck of a dog just not grabbing the lead like they were, (as a general rule, not an absolute) I currently have 5 hounds I hunt about every outting that range from 8-11 yrs old. I have one thats 9 who got sick and almost died last summer, he retired himself, and stays in the pen, although i take him once in a while, he doesnt do much. I have had a gyp that was 14 I hunted everytime i went, she was at the back but not out of it and could make a misses disappear in a chase. Buddy of mine just had an 11 year old die that was still going to pull alot of dogs until the day she dies, and you could hunt her everyday. I tend to stop hunting a dog when they can no longer take the running, normally slow down the frequency of their trips til I just stop taking them. I feel like they will let you know when its over. I have seen alot of dogs look cripple when first cast but let the running beginning and they limber up like a new dog. I dont like to put an age on when to stop them, but I think as hard as it is to no longer hear ole' such and such you will know when its time, to be honest most of mine will die while still in active duty (8-9+).

Perk

i have one that is going in to his 13th bear season. treed his first bear by himself at 6 months old. he had heartwork a couple years back and he just won't give up so i will keep turning him loose. as long as he wants to go i am going to let him.

A heated Dog House can put at least two years on a dogs hunting life +15C is about perfect.