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Sorry you've done nothing to clear this up...I personnly have had 3 dogs that were great "Deer' hunters and blood trackers. I know of others that at local camps.Quote:
Originally Posted by finsfurfeathers
Now if you want to talk about bird - water fowling dogs...maybe you have a point, I don't know any off hand that were any good if not trained.
Pretty hard to keep a Hound in shape when there's no training or running season here in Ontario...For the most part it's on the job training when the season opens....
Beagles are the best deer dogs because they don't push the deer too fast. Deer will stop and listen when they get far enough ahead.
When a big hound is running a deer it's usually on its azz which makes for harder, more dangerous shooting or no shot at all.
I also agree house dogs aren't as good of hounds as a real hunting dog. They get spoiled, fat and loose their drive a bit.
My experience anyways...
We run big hounds for coyotes. We want the coyote to make mistakes by not having time to think about it, He doesn't have much time to think when a walker that's faster than him is closing the distance...
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I have only hunted with 2 legged dogs and really not much of that. Not saying it isn't a valuable tactic to hunt deer but I enjoy the challenge of pre-season scouting and the battery charging of the mind and soul when sitting in a well placed ground blind or tree stand.
Those that hunt with dogs....have at it. As long as you are hunting its all good!
Love watching my Walker close the gap on a big ole coyote. Watching those big hounds run is a thing of beauty. My guy is 10 now and slowing just a bit. He default is still to chase a coyote or racoon but can't be bothered with the snowshoe hares anymore. Strange to watch on the deck now at dusk when the hares come out. He watches them intently but no longer chases unless i give him the "get em" command. His default used to be chase everything unless instructed otherwise.Quote:
Originally Posted by SongDog
In " agricultural " southern Ontario Hounds might not make much sense when your sitting in a stand over a basket of apples. They are invaluable in North Frontenac or the Lanark Highlands.
Without question, the more training and conditioning a hound gets the better the consistency and quality of its performance will be.
I can't speak for you guys,but,I can't think of anything more exciting than hearing hounds baying on a track a way off in the distance and then listening to them coming closer and closer and closer until a huge buck comes exploding out of the bush with dogs right on them doing exactly what they've learned to do. Heart-stopping action is an understatement. I'm equally in awe of watching well-trained bird dogs work a cornfield for Pheasant and Grouse or watching cattle and sheep dogs working a herd and protecting against predators. I pity the people who,for one reason or another,never get the opportunity to watch good working dogs do their thing. It's like watching magic.
I've been running hounds for close to 35 years now and prior to that ran and trained retrievers and it's always been about the dog work. Watching a pup progress through the stages of becoming a finished hound or field trial champion... If you've never hunted over dogs be it duck hunting, upland game, deer or bear hunting you're missing out on an exciting way of hunting....
I’ve never hunted with dogs, but had an experience with dog hunters once that wasn’t too favourable. Once, when I was a young man, I was hunting near Griffith and sitting along a trail hoping that a deer would come by. Some time afterwards, I could hear a dog baying off in the distance. After a while, the dogs started coming my way. As the dogs approached my location, 2 guys showed up and butted me out. The dogs eventually showed up and chased a rabbit out, which one of the guys shot with his rifle. Not once did the guys acknowledge me. I guess they figured that any deer that their dogs run belongs to them. Sucks to be those that don’t run dogs I guess.