Large catch dog 55+ lbs VS small catch dog 50 and below

Hyan TBH mine didn't really either, and I've owned a ton of them. I had some that were cool with pups but for the most part the line I bred would turn on real young and there was no turning back off, and most would have made awful catch dogs.

Thats why I think your most consistent chance with catch dogs are ones that 3+ generations removed from competition. Even then if you are breeding tight you will still prob get a high % of hot offspring. I've seen guys do real well with some of the OFRN blood and call them gamebred even though their ancestors have been absent from competition for over 30 years lol. Smartest dog of any breed I have ever owned was a Red Devil/Corvino bred bitch I got directly from the source. She was 55-56lb lean, rangy dog looked like a greyhound on steroids with a big head, and ooooweeee fast. I think she would have made a great catch dog but I was not hunting back then. She was my rabbit and ground squirrel dog as a young teenager.