hound trials

[Barracuda]

anyone here going to the hound trials in lakit lake april 15 weekend?

[cavebear]

tell me more?

[d_j__c]

I am. go every year.

[Elkaholic]

I go every year myself as well!

[tankster]

used to be a good trials years ago... turned into a big drinking party. to many young kids

[rburm]

Can somebody explain what they are? booked up that weekend, but interested to learn.

[d_j__c]

At the genneral meeting this it was said that the party days were over. They were cracking down.

[rocksteady]

Can somebody explain what they are? booked up that weekend, but interested to learn.

Lakit is about 15 km North of Cranbrook, that much I do know....

As for the trials, I have never been but have been told that they take an old bear hide, tie it behind a quad and drive it all over the place, then the dogs sniff and follow it until they find it.

I am not sure how the scoring/prizes etc are awarded...

Several years ago there had to be at least a couple hundred people there (camped) and at least twice that many dogs......

[SHAKER]

Sounds fun!...... I'm already commited to a turkey hunt that weekend though. Get some pics guys I'd love to see what's going on.

[tankster]

there is a bunch of different drags... coon drag bear drag and cougar drag on different runs. there are judges and the dogs all have painted numbers on them and they are awarded ribbons for first line first tree second line second tree and so forth.

[Elkaholic]

used to be a good trials years ago... turned into a big drinking party. to many young kids

/rant
This kind of comment I take a little exception too. All the "old timers" of the trials I can guarentee did the same shit when they were young. But now that they are "older and wiser" they look down on it. Two years back we were told if we wanted to have music going past a certain time that we could camp way before you get to the lake. So we agreed and camped away from all the people. Now we are not crazy parties by any means we sit by the fire with our friends and cousin and our kids and be social have drinks and listen to some tunes(Not loud by any stretch). Well at around 11pm Terry and Remi came and took the keys from one of our vehicles and did not give them back until well into the next day. So his windows were left open and it rained all night.... He was plenty pissed about it. Also you bitch about all the young kids that are there...... I say its a good thing to see how many more people are interested in dog hunting and trials. They are the future of the sport.
./rant

That is my rant there but I do agree that there is a few groups that go overboard and they should be talked to about it. But I personally have thought the last two years have been waaay more quiet then the years before.

[cavebear]

Is there an entry fee? What does it cost to camp? Are there prizes? Is it a fund raiser? I would like to learn more. Thanks for any info!:-D

Happy hunting :-D

[mikey]

are these trials held in the same location every year? or are there others elsewhere through out the year?

[Barracuda]

the trials are held at the same place every year as far as i know.

Its a fantastic place to meet some really great folks and see some fine dogs of different lines and different characteristics.

We had a great time there and if we can sort it out we want to go again this year .

The camping was festival and you pay for what hound comp your running in.
Noise or party wasnt an issue as the younger folks as far as i understood were a ways away(we didnt hear them) and everyone is very respectfull.

250 plus hounds is an awsome thing to behold and your dog better have good focus because it is full of distraction.

the only other trials we know of are in washington state .

We do drags but just for us.

[mikey]

i think it sounds like a lot of fun, however i've heard a lot of mixed opinions when it comes to scent drags, being that doing it to often can cause the dog to get a little lazy . i've done lots of drags with my young dogs but is there a point where it starts to have a negative effect on them?

not trying to send this thread in a different direction, just curious what the other houndsmen think.

[Barracuda]

cant make a dog lazier then haveing any kind of short or sure thing race. if you want a long race do a long drag(makes sense i think) .


If a dogs lazy it is either out of shape, injured or not that interested(distracted etc) regardless of if it is a drag or an actual critter.
Those cranbrook boys have some awesome dogs and they are no way lazy.

i would say that the scent for drags cant duplicate the real thing either but it is a primer or tuneup .

In no way is it the real thing but it is the only legal tool in the shed as they cant let live critters go for these races.

its a hell of a lotta fun.