Howdy from Wilder Idaho

[TrevorC]

Hows it going I live out in SW Idaho just outside the Owhyees and am picking up my first pup this weekend . He is a walker/bluetick. Any tips or suggestions on getting him started on the right foot. Ive trained labs and my wirehair but never a hound. Thanks in advance guys .

[david]

Welcome.
I am a bit jealous of your location. It is ideal for owning a hound.

The best thing you can do for your hound is go to the archives of the big game section and the lion section and the bobcat section and start reading. If you use all your spare time to read, by the time your hound is old enough to hunt you will have a pretty good idea what to do.

There are many great houndmen near you, and some pretty amazing dogs. Do your best to connect with an experienced houndman. Try to go along even if you have to pay a guide fee. If they don’t require a fee, then insist on buying a tank of gas. If you can’t afford to do that, neither can I, and neither of us can afford to be involved in this sport. (It requires a lot of money and a lot of time when you could have been making money). Leave your pup at home. Don’t try to display your knowledge. Don’t go to kill something. Just watch listen and learn with as much humility and quiet patience as you can possibly muster. Don’t do anything or require any attention that would cause them to have to change their routine for you. Because you want to see exactly how they operate. If they are accomodating you, you will not see that.

If you have small kids or a new wife, sell your hound and buy a fishing pole.

[Jeff Eberle]

[TrevorC]

david thanks for the advice . I’ll definitely be trying to tag along and i have no problem buying fuel supplies and snacks/meals . The guide fee i would have to save for if you’re talking about hiring a guide . Most are in the $3k range from what i’ve researched . I just found this site recently but i will for sure start reading up. Thanks again i appreciate any info and guidance.

[david]

Trevor, if you are young and athletic, it would not hurt to contact all the guides in your area to see if anyone would want to take you on as a trainee. Some of them are getting some years on them and might love a set of young legs to do the hard work. You never know. But again, you would have to be willing to leave your dog at home.

Also, watch the weather and when there is a good tracking snow on the ground, travel down to the Owyhees and poke around down there to practice looking for big and little cat tracks. See if you can get any of the other houndmen down there to stop and talk with you. They might not. But if you time it right they might be standing around on the road fooling with dogs/ walking out tracks etc. I met Don Paige that way, right there. So you never know what hound legend you might be talking to. If it is an old man, ask him if he ever needs a set of young legs to come along with him.

If you find a nice lion track, sit on it there and eat your lunch till one of them guys comes along. They will talk to you then. Lol. You can even have your pup along for a conversation starter. Tell them you and that puppy are about to catch a lion and that they are welcome to throw down with you if they say nice things about your dog.

You have studied guide fees, so you know what that track is worth.

[david]

PS. Trevor, cats have been caught with Wirehairs/Draughthars. Don’t underestimate the value of that dog. They have a powerful fur drive, can trail heads up at a dead run, and He might make an awesome team mate. Many of those bobcats in the canyon down there can’t be caught by a hound because they go to the bluffs at the first sound of a hound. (Maybe even at the slam of the door). Also a lot of those guys drive right by bobcat tracks all day because they got lion on the brain. If you get that Wirehair loving bobcats and hunt in stealth mode you might be able to catch one if he stays silent.

You can also teach that dog to decoy coyotes in the spring. Very valuable dog. I really can’t think of a better pre-packaged meat dog.

Watch him around your pup though. He could easily get jealous of it.

[david]

[TrevorC]

David ,
First off Merry christmas bud . All great advice and i will definitely do that . I can’t thank you enough for your input . So far my wire is doing great with the pups and i was thinking of trying him out too . I ended up picking up two sibling pups and so far they are doing awesome . They chase my wife’s sphinx around and will bark and howl when they get her to “treed” lol usually on the couch or the top of the fridge . I’m picking up a trap this week to throw down into the irrigation ditch and see if i can trap a coon to dispatch and use it’s hide to drag for the pups . The guy i picked the pups up off offered to help me with training them and when their older wants to bring the father and the father’s brother down to chase cats with my pups behind them . He’s been pretty helpful like you with info . Thanks again and i will keep you posted .

[TrevorC]

Catfish and Annie .