hat creek mac
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jul 2003
Location: Wooster, OH
Posts: 1678 |
dream dog...
I dream about the days when there were TOUGH as nails blue dogs all over the country. Now they are scarce as hen's teeth. Breeding tree dogs is all I see today. Doesn't matter if they squeal on the track, or their accuracy is pi$$ poor to say the least. Let's just breed tree dogs.
I had a guy bring a young female to my house several years ago that he had on trial. His woods were flooded and he needed somewhere to hunt her. She treed 5 or 6 slick trees in a row and finally treed a coon. The next night she treed a while, got down and back tracked to another tree, treed a while there, and then went back to the first tree and treed. He asked me what I thought, and I told him I would be on my way to get my money back. He bought her anyway, then paid someone to hunt her all summer. I hunted with her that fall. SAME OLD THING. Treed 2 slick trees in a row. She went on to be owned by a stud dog man that bred her every time she came in heat. I get sick at my stomach every time I see her in a pedigree. She should have been culled!
Saw another man buy an old dog from a dog trader. Take him to a few hunts. Then try to pawn him off as the greatest thing since sliced bread. It is bad enough that the common thing is breeding ol Handy to Ol Ready in the blue breed, but don't try to convince everyone else to breed to Handy as well.
I don't claim to have the best. Never have. I will go outside the box and get in my pickup and drive to make a cross that I think will improve what I have. Too many of us would rather stroke our own ego and breed to what we have in the pen. I can remember when I started this game and read all the coonhound magazines. Every beginner's dream is to own a stud dog! The truth is, most stud dogs are as common as the females being brought to them. I'm not singling any one person or dog out, I'm just telling the truth.
The majority are intimidated by the guys and dogs at the big money hunts. Hey man if you are packing the right kind, get out there and prove to the masses what you are leading. You aren't going to get it done by going to a few trophy hunts. I could title a poodle anymore. Even with the increased requirements to title a dog, there just aren't many showing up anymore.
So what is my dream blue dog?
Well I'll put it like this, I have a litter of pups that turned 3 weeks old yesterday. Their sire sold for an honest 30K and the owner then turned down an honest 40K for him. Their mother is a reproducer. My dream is for them to get into the hands of someone that will hunt them hard and often. Then haul them to the $ hunts if they make it.
I guess maybe one man's trash is another man's treasure. What I like, another may hate. Lots of talk about what needs to happen to have better dogs. IN MY OPINION, we need more hard hunters that are willing to get out of their back yard and not be happy with being the big frog in a small pond. Stop breeding freaking treeing idiots! I know tree dogs sell, but we are shooting ourselves in the foot. Seek out and find the ones that have that coon on the limb. The ones that have coons that are easy to find....even in the summer! Once you have hunted one, you will know what I mean. I have said for years that our dogs need to hunt harder. I know we have some that have the right kind and amount of hunt, but for the most part they don't. Just a fact. If you want to get to the next level, you have to have a little higher octane in the tank.
Food for though....if you have never made it past the zones of the world hunt, should you REALLY be giving advice as to what needs to happen for a blue dog to win???
I know I will probably get crucified for this post. When you hurt someone's feelings about their pet, they get ouchy sometimes. Nothing written here was to make anyone upset. It is only one man's opinion. If your opinion is different, that is your right. When you keep making the same crosses of mediocre dogs and expect a different result you probably need to stop and think about what you are doing at some point. If you are raising dogs strictly to sell are you doing it for the right reason?
I made 2 crosses back in the 90s that had a dog in each litter make the final four of a world hunt. I would like to tell you that I was a smart enough fellow to know what I was getting when I made that first cross, but it was luck. I do think I increased my chances at luck by being willing to drive and go look for one that would bring traits to the table that I was looking for.
I guess I'm trying to say this....stop settling for mediocre...everyone doesn't own or need a stud dog...be willing to make sacrifices to get you where you want to be....nothing worthwhile is usually very easy!
Last edited by hat creek mac on 03-11-2019 at 09:44 PM
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03-05-2019 04:53 AM
