DIFFERENT CONDITIONS AND TERRAIN

[The Old Man]

  Through the years I've heard lots of comments on this, and granted different "styles" of dogs fit different game and conditions-I wouldn't expect a blood hound to be able to run up and perform with Cur Dogs or Bear Dogs or Running Hounds. By the same token I would expect any comparable style of Cur or bear bred hound or Coyote hound  to be able to perform up to par regardless of the conditions and terrain "if it was raised and started there", If it was aged when changing country I would expect a possible acclimation period that could be quite lengthy. And remember I'm talking about the same "style" of dog.
  This is just my opinion and I don't have to be right, so what do you guys think or what has your experience been?

[t-dog]

Old Man, this is a good subject. There are a ton of angles to look at it from in my opinion. The dog that my family of dogs was based off of, was in my opinion a great dog. I’ve only hunted with about 4 maybe 5 dogs that I would’ve  considered great in my opinion. I hunted him with a lot of dogs that had reputations for being really good and he never failed to shine. It wasn’t for bragging rights but to measure my dog to see if he was as good as I thought he was. This led to me hunting him in a bunch of different scenarios and terrains. Again, he never let me down. I’ve had the opinion that certain styles of dogs could produce no matter how they’re used style wise. I believe certain other styles are limited to their particular style. That being said, I’m not knocking any style or the way anyone does it. If you like it I love it because you’re buying the feed. I don’t think every style of dog is suited for every terrain. Some styles will struggle when used in a different style. They may produce some but not consistently. I think style has more to do with it in MOST cases than breed. Some examples might be a casting dog. They have to hunt until they wind hogs or get into sign, or find a track. If you use that dog differently and drop him at feeders that are being used or you drop him on a track that you see crossing a road, he’s still going to produce because what he knows is “I smell bacon and I’m going to it”. The dog only used for track hunting or being turned out on feeders would likely struggle if cast hunted. One, they just don’t know what to do if they have to go find the sign because they haven’t had to before. Another reason may be that they have generations of breeding for this style which has amplified those characteristics. Usually that means certain other characteristics have been lost because they either weren’t necessary or just got forgotten about. Some dogs will do whatever it takes to put a hog up at the end of a track but if it has to “hunt” for the track they are lost. I’ve seen it with breed after breed too. If you hunt a pack of plotts or a pack of healers a certain way and then breed the ones that excel then you start stacking those traits. It’s called purpose breeding and I am a true believer in it. Again these are my opinions and I’m not knocking anyone’s style or dogs. I hope this is what you are asking Old Man.


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[NLAhunter]

I would expect a truly good dog to produce wherever he was put but they few and far between and I believe they going to produce better in the area they are from I have seen some dogs brought from more open country to pine thickets that wouldn't do much at all in thicket supposed to be top dogs where they come from granted i didn't see em there so don't know I believe certain lines of dogs are bred in a area to work in that area granted I think they should produce wherever you haul em if they are good dogs and learn to adapt to that area

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[Shotgun66]

Thought Provoking post Old Man.

Disclaimer- I appreciate hounds and cur dogs. I grew up hunting hounds but I currently hunt cur dogs. Both have their place. Hound/cur crosses have made some of the best I have seen go. I like & appreciate BOTH.

In my experience, well bred hounds have a higher success rate performing in various terrain & conditions across the country. I speculate the reason for this is because they are “ hardwired” to hunt, trail, jump, chase, locate, & stay treed/bayed. The type of hound I am referencing hunts for themselves, not for their owner/handler or pack mates. Big Game Hunters & Competition Coon Hunters have dogs performing well from coast to coast & border to border.

A well bred cur dog pup has the same chance of making a dog anywhere as long as the game population allows them to be productive. I haven’t seen as many examples of cur dogs being successful across the country. I speculate this is because most cur dogs aren’t hard wired to pound out a cold track in tough conditions. There are some leopard dogs being used on bear & cat in California, Idaho, Montana, & Wyoming. They are usually in packs with hounds.

Buying finished/aged dogs can be tricky. I have firsthand experience with it. There will absolutely be a transition period and they will likely never perform quite as well in their new environment as they did “back home”. They will, however, be productive as long as the new owner is patient and puts them in sign on the desired game.

I see ALOT of dogs get returned on trial because the new owner is either impatient or does NOT hunt the dog the way they are used to being hunted. Ex. Buying a rig/road dog & expecting it to cast. Hunting in a large pack when the dog is used to being hunted alone or in small packs. Daytime vs Nighttime.

Again, I see hounds & hound crosses acclimating to change more often than pure cur dogs. Again, I speculate this is because they are hardwired to hunt for themselves.


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[NLAhunter]

You are probably right shotgun I think it is sure hard to find a consistent line of cur dogs that produce the hunt I am looking for in one for sure

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[make-em-squeel]

IMO if a dog has a ton of hunt, if it can smell a track its going to go. The terrain might wear a dog out thats not used to it or make it more likely to get injured etc but I bet it would still hunt.


I forgot his name but the ole boy that used to post tons of toothy hog pics was in real rough terrain, he always shot over the bay bc he said a lead in cd like most of us use wouldnt make it 3 hunts out there and I believe him, hilly, rocky, and every hog out there was toothy.

[The Old Man]

I think that was lionandboarhunter and or hillcountry they are from the same part of the country and a few years ago used to hunt together a good bit, in fact that is where Ol'Grip, Flo, and Lawson got banged up a little last Feb. and it wasn't one of those trophy sort of boars just a good common boar in a really thick patch of whitebrush or blackbrush, I don't remember which. 

[Reuben]

IMO if a dog has a ton of hunt, if it can smell a track its going to go. The terrain might wear a dog out thats not used to it or make it more likely to get injured etc but I bet it would still hunt.


I forgot his name but the ole boy that used to post tons of toothy hog pics was in real rough terrain, he always shot over the bay bc he said a lead in cd like most of us use wouldnt make it 3 hunts out there and I believe him, hilly, rocky, and every hog out there was toothy.

That would be Jesse Paul…in his part of the country he didn’t like to use any kind of vest on a dog on account the type of vegetation in his area is bad about hanging up the vests…that was before Garmin tracking but I suspect he still feels the same about the vests…no doubt about it he catches lots of toothy boars…

I also agree with what you said about a good dog…a good to great hunting dog can hold his own most anywhere if given the chance to acclimate…size can be an issue depending on the type of terrain…

[make-em-squeel]

I think that was lionandboarhunter and or hillcountry they are from the same part of the country and a few years ago used to hunt together a good bit, in fact that is where Ol'Grip, Flo, and Lawson got banged up a little last Feb. and it wasn't one of those trophy sort of boars just a good common boar in a really thick patch of whitebrush or blackbrush, I don't remember which. 

Yes... Thats right.

[Judge peel]

Like already said a good dog is a good dog where ever he goes. Some are better suited for certain conditions and circumstances but all in all it’s up to the handler to give the dog the best opportunity to use his ability. You wouldn’t drop a short range hot nose dog in wide open country and expect him to out perform a high output cast dog. But if that same dog could rig and was drove around and dropped here and there he would more then likely produce more the the other due to the handler cut out the middle doesn’t make the dog better but make you look darn good


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[NLAhunter]

For the ones that hunt certain lines of dogs or have a family of dogs that you have had or been round a while do yall think they would hunt for somebody else? I have had some and probably mainly gyps that would not hunt for nobody else and I have had and have some right now that just need ride to woods I think they would hunt for anybody

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[make-em-squeel]

For the ones that hunt certain lines of dogs or have a family of dogs that you have had or been round a while do yall think they would hunt for somebody else? I have had some and probably mainly gyps that would not hunt for nobody else and I have had and have some right now that just need ride to woods I think they would hunt for anybody

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Our curs are 50/50 on this, they will hunt for someone else, but not at first, usually takes a few weeks of getting to know them. Defiantly had a few that it didnt matter who took them to the woods.

[make-em-squeel]

For the ones that hunt certain lines of dogs or have a family of dogs that you have had or been round a while do yall think they would hunt for somebody else? I have had some and probably mainly gyps that would not hunt for nobody else and I have had and have some right now that just need ride to woods I think they would hunt for anybody

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dont own hot nosed dogs lol

[The Old Man]

Most of my dogs would work for anyone that turned them loose but would be stone cold deaf when it came to handling, and you likely could not load them back up, and dare not grab them.

[t-dog]

I would say ours are 50/50 too


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[HIGHWATER KENNELS]

For the ones that hunt certain lines of dogs or have a family of dogs that you have had or been round a while do yall think they would hunt for somebody else? I have had some and probably mainly gyps that would not hunt for nobody else and I have had and have some right now that just need ride to woods I think they would hunt for anybody

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Ive seen the same in some gyps I have had in my past also man,,, Dont understand why but it did happen...

[williamsld]

For the ones that hunt certain lines of dogs or have a family of dogs that you have had or been round a while do yall think they would hunt for somebody else? I have had some and probably mainly gyps that would not hunt for nobody else and I have had and have some right now that just need ride to woods I think they would hunt for anybody

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Unless you’re in my hunting circle chances are you won’t be able to get mine out of the kennel…and a couple of them they can’t grab without me around they’re definitely one owner dogs for the most part


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[TheRednose]

Like T dog said there are a lot of angles to look at this from, and there are lots of debates and even arguments about this in the big game world. This other angle is the type game you are running, I don't really hunt hogs that often any longer and pretty much only hunt cats but I have also bear and fox hunted for years as well, so I look at it from a more holistic big game view. Some types of game it matters less from region to region than others. I would say bear, hogs, and coons translate the best, and cats both types are far more regional.

If 80-90% of people in a region only use one style of dog (notice I didn't say breed) then there is probably a reason for that. There are always exceptions to this rule and sometimes someone will try something new and it will hit with a lot of success but with how fast info travels nowadays people will copy it fast. But people forget how many people failed when trying to reinvent the wheel to the one that succeeded. And just because you were successful once isn't proof of being able to catch consistently.