My fearless pack o' hounds

[dellis]

Had these two for about a week, working on basic obedience and bonding with these girls. Dot is the red one and Spud is the dark one. I am the goofy looking grinner in the middle:mrgreen:. I hope to have them ready to hunt cats for next winter. Been soaking up as much info as possible on hounds so as to give my new buddies the best chance of being all they can be. Any tips or advice from you seasoned houndsmen would be much appreciated.
Darcy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v486/45stomp/PC210167_zps086fdc2d.jpg

[yamadirt 426]

I'd be grinning too. Nice dogs. I don't know anything about hounds but hunting 2 newbies without an experienced dog will be interesting. I wish you all the luck on your adventures .

[dellis]

Thanks, I am hoping I am up to the challenge. One thing I have going for me is a lot of spare time in the winter.......oh and also no close neighbors:mrgreen:
Darcy

[horshur]

Just try to keep them out of too much trouble till you can put them in a situation were they can succeed.

[Sofa King]

beautiful pups.
looks like they'll be a ton of fun.

[patbrennan]

Nice looking pups, good luck with them. I always thought hunting a few hounds would be fun. Any bobcats or lynx in your area to start the hounds on? (just thinking they may be a good learning tool with less chance of the dogs getting banged up) Heck, I'd no doubt hunt them (bobcats/lynx) most of the time if there is a decent population in your area.

[Sasquatch]

Great looking pups, you should have some fun with them. Look forward to hearing about the adventures.

[K-1]

Who did you get them from. Don't be afraid to ask questions about training tips from other hound men. If you can fined somebody with a good older dog to help your pups that would will help out a lot.

[mfarrally]

Great looking pups. I was in your shoes last year with a couple young dogs. After all the good training days and bad ones its all worth it in the end.
We got our first cat for the young dogs last week. I was pumped to get a nice Tom but even more pumped to see the dogs do their thing.
Good luck with those pups, they sure are good looking dogs

[dellis]

Just try to keep them out of too much trouble till you can put them in a situation were they can succeed.

Thanks for the tip. That's what I have been starting to understand from my research. I will try to keep them close to me and not come down too hard on them for trying to chase trash.....at least until they know what to chase. They sure have a lot of energy:mrgreen:

patbrennan, We have a good population of lynx up here(I am in Fort Fraser) but they do not open until november, cougar open in september, so good chance they will get their first chase on a big cat rather than the smaller cats. From what I have read, Lynx can be harder to catch than cougar........just less chance of a dog getting chewed up.
The guy I bought these pups from has a brother that chases bears with some of my pups kin........but not cats, so I may have a tough job ahead of me.
I do not know anyone that is serious about hound hunting that lives very close to me. I'd be willing to travel a bit to learn from someone with experience.
Thanks for the replies everyone.
Darcy:-D

[Moose63]

Looking forward you "First Cat" video....Good Luck

[dellis]

Great looking pups. I was in your shoes last year with a couple young dogs. After all the good training days and bad ones its all worth it in the end.
We got our first cat for the young dogs last week. I was pumped to get a nice Tom but even more pumped to see the dogs do their thing.
Good luck with those pups, they sure are good looking dogs
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.
Darcy:-D

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Good looking dogs, I like to say any dog will catch a lion but not every dog will be a true lynx/bobcat dog. Catching one or two small cats a year doesn't mean you have a bobcat dog. Run the lions first and then which over to lynx in your first season Run only smoking hot tracks for the first season hopefully having some success. By the second season they should have the small cats somewhat figured out. Running bears also helps running small cats as the hounds learn to drift a track, running with their head up.

[Trophyslayer]

Patience is key and they are super annoying if they are not worked enough be very strict with hounds they are thick headed I had a 4 for a few years But I had to get rid of them I just couldn't hunt them enough and spend enough time with them... Hunting with good hounds is the most exciting hunting ive ever done though

[thunderheart]

great looking pups .. definitely a couple of hand fulls ... looking forward to your posts regarding the training and welcome to the forum

[dellis]

Thanks guys,
Darcy:-D

[houndogger]

Looks like you got good conditions. Get out and learn where your cats cross. Good for the little ones getting used to riding in the box loading in and out. Good looking pair you have there. Not sure what your plans with them is but if your planning on runnin bear too I would start them on cats next winter then bear the following spring. I'm no bear hunter thou just run fat cat dogs.

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Good advice hounddogger, they will be alittle young for bears this spring without help from older dogs. Get yourself some tracking collars before you start hunting. Money well spent.

[digger dogger]

Good advice hounddogger, they will be alittle young for bears this spring without help from older dogs. Get yourself some tracking collars before you start hunting. Money well spent.

Re: My fearless pack o' hounds
Looks like you got good conditions. Get out and learn where your cats cross. Good for the little ones getting used to riding in the box loading in and out. Good looking pair you have there. Not sure what your plans with them is but if your planning on runnin bear too I would start them on cats next winter then bear the following spring. I'm no bear hunter thou just run fat cat dogs.

There is GREAT advice right here!

And good looking pups.

[dellis]

Thanks guys, I was mainly interested in running cats as I usually spot and stalk bears with my longbow. I can see that I may change my mind on that just because the dogs will get more hunting days in that way. Reguardless, I will not put them on a bear until they have had some success on cats first.
Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated. I built a quick dog box to carry them around in so they will be going ice fishing and exploring with me at every opportunity.
Darcy:-D