Who has the best Cougar hounds........

[Sniper]

If you can't nominate your own dogs who has the best Cougar Hounds in B.C. that you know of and what qualities make those hounds Top Dogs!
I don't know of all the hounds and their owners in B.C. but I have met a few owners and seen some of their dogs in action.
Rod Hardie from Port Alberni has the best hounds I know of on Vancouver Island his No.1 dog Sally strikes from the rig on Cougar. The rest of Rods crew are pro's all Walkers, they get run on cats regularly and treed 104 cats last year. Plenty of the cats where treed several times through out the year but counted as another treed cat, same cat different day. They are hunted most of the year dry ground and are broke off Bears, Deer and Trash, Rod did an awesome job training his hounds.

[Barracuda]

Rod Hardies dogs are the same as Georges Tickels dogs (They are Hunting Partners and basiclly sister kennels the dogs are all directly related ) . Thats what I bred Winnie with So i would say they are definatly top bloodlines and two of my pups were kept by George and are in the mix now also ,
I am trying to take after what they have done and train mine in much the same manner ( George is helping in that respect) . I have two that strike from the truck , and I have gotten a pretty good handle on the roading . and of course the handleing.

His hounds are top notch genetics, trained very well and have exceptional manners .
It is what we aim for when it comes to our hounds

[Fred]

Tony up in Kamloops sure seems successful with his dogs and the one that BCHunter bought(Boone) is very well trained. Fred

[Barracuda]

Danny was saying he is really happy with Boone, sounds like a really good hound .

[Fred]

Yup, the other day when the pups were let loose on that bear it was Boone who came back when called and we all fussed over what a good boy he was. It was Mikes dogs that disappeared for 7 1/2 hours! Fred

[Barracuda]

Yup, the other day when the pups were let loose on that bear it was Boone who came back when called and we all fussed over what a good boy he was. It was Mikes dogs that disappeared for 7 1/2 hours! Fred

It is a horible feeling trying to find hounds in heavy brush. as long as the signal is there i normally feel pretty good (mine have been on a hot bear and i have listened to the signal get less and less till it dissapears ) . 7 1/2 hours is a real long time to spend worrying about your hounds.

I like hounds that handle well , check in when they find nothing workable and load back up to rig , also come back when called so they dont get to far ahead when you are roading or just give a whistle or toot so they slow down or wait up for you.

[Sniper]

O.K. The Nominees Are :

Rod Hardie Walkers Port Alberni
Georges Tickels Walkers Fraser Valley
Tony Barnes Redbones & Black n Tans Savona

What about Kim Robinson from Merritt ? Kim breeds and trains hounds I have spoken to him on the phone but never seen his dogs or met him. Seems to really know his stuff and has several breeds?

[Barracuda]

Well i dont like the idea of nominating this person or that person because each person breeds for their own requirments . There are lots of guys that breed for their own program and tree lots of game . There are also big names such as Dan Lay and Ronnie Boorman etc .. I would never say this person or that person has the best hounds because it is far to subjective.

The Hounds and People that run them are ones that i admire and strive to make acheivments in my hounds as they have . Does it mean they are the best? Perhaps not , but their dogs have the qualities that i look for in a hound yet they might not suit someone else .

[Sniper]

O.K. Barracuda I understand your points, maybe I chose the wrong title for the thread but the reason I would like people to talk about the other guy's hounds and what they admire about them is so that we learn about other good dogs in B.C. We wouldn't learn much of anything if people talk about there own dogs most people tend to think right or wrong that they have the best dogs. What about Dan Lay and his Lazer hounds? I have heard that they have a lot of Bloodhound in them and I know a couple people that bought and raised his pups, Jerry Brunem the Conservation officer that recently retired on the Island. Dan Lay has a Top reputation in the U.S. and also a 2 year wait list for pups.

[Spokerider]

Yes, this is an old post, from May of 2006, but for those with an interest in hounds, you probably have some interest in the hound breeds and breeders of yesteryear.

I was reading that Dan Lay used to breed hounds, and some of his original stock came from Jim Dewar of Vancouver Island, and that Jim Dewar brought his hounds to the island directly from the Lee Brothers in Arizona.
Is Dan still breeding hounds? Or his son Kyle Lay keeping the line going? Anybody have his contact info to PM?