Registered: Jun 2003
Location: OHIO
Posts: 962

seeing the many different posts that include the phrase (for the betterment of the breed) i have at times wondered just what course our breed organizations have mapped out to acheive this.looking at the way things are now i have come to the conclusion that somewhere along the line they have decided that encouraging and rewarding acheivements in the night hunts is the way to accomplish this.i feel that while this recognition has its value,it can very easily encourage the propagation of hounds that lack the balance and attributes that have been outlined in our standards.a friend of mine new to the sport recently asked me where he could go to get a good dog.at 1st i thought, thats easy, you need to decide what breed you want and then join a breed association to guide you in the right direction. well guess what,when i looked thru my own associations bluebooks i might as well opened up an issue of bloodlines or the cooner.the only things to really gain from this is what dogs have been winning and who paid to advertise in there. ------------------------ i think one of the most valuable tools we could have is a list of the breeders that have proven to consistantly turn out hounds that meet breed standards and have positively impacted their breed of choice. what do you think????????

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: SC
Posts: 2046

Sounds like a good idea,i can think of a few right now that advertises very little or none at all that always seem to be coming up with success dogs and offspring.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Western North Carolina
Posts: 97

In theory that is a sound idea. However what criteria are you gonna place on the hounds produced by these breeders that they have to measure up to? Who is gonna be the judge of whether or not their dogs meet the minimum requirements? Do they put themselves on the list? Their hunting buddies? It would be good to have such a tool, but can you imagine all that would have to go into it?

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: vt
Posts: 1256

wills crk... i hear you... i think a lot of truth in what your saying.... nite hunts are the best hunting test there is compared to what other breeds do . im thinking of beagles , foxhound, birdogs. , in my opinion these trials do nothing for the breed... i see better dogs today than 20-30 years ago in coonhounds. i credit the nite hunt with giveing us better tree dogs more speed.. ie rolling cage rope bag . what do i need that for today.. but balance is something else... wheres the track dogs. cold trailers.. ? do we get more slick trees? are ugly dogs still a problem.. ? are we getting more silent dogs because of emphasis on treeing.. ?? i liked it better when hunts were three hours... and id like to see more hunts in winter... no leaves. a little tougher running.. id like to see the hunts reward a dog with a better nose... this isnt a breed thing cause i hunt walkers... i like hounds... im not so sure we can judge the best hound in two hours in the summer... i wish i had a brilliant brainstorm to help you do the kind of thing your talking about..

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: OHIO
Posts: 962

we already have the standards in place as to what our hounds should look and sound like---was thinking maybe something along the lines of how the single reg. process works. only for the breeder instead of the dog. ukc has records on the #s of pups and the percentages of titled hounds,also on complaints filed and and disciplinary actions taken.could require nominations from associations in conjuction with this. just some ideas off the top of my head--where there is a will there is a way

Last edited by willscrk on 08-18-2003 at 05:07 PM

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Western North Carolina
Posts: 97

I'm all for the will... I like the concept, but you know it still boils down to good, honest people making good decisions and being honest about the results. Any system can be torqued and twisted and manipulated any whichaway....folks would have to be honest and play by the rules and follow and abide by the SPIRIT of the competition... same thing could be said for the nite hunts, you know? I would bet my bottom dollar that the folks that thought up the nite hunt honor rules didn't think they'd create a demand for hot nosed, overly possesive, hard-headed, non-minding hounds...but (according to some) that is what wound up the result. (I for one don't think that is true as a rule...but that's just me.) All that was wanted was a system to prove what dogs would go hunting, find a track, open well and steadily on that track---but only on track, run a track with speed, finish the tracks they started, have the coon in the tree, stay treed, and get along with other hounds in the process...Those are qualities any hunter should want in his hounds...(in my opinion) However some folks would have you believe that a whole different set of traits have been bred for in some dogs just to win at the hunts...oh well. I guess no system is perfect.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: OHIO
Posts: 962

in my mind consistancy in a breed is of utmost concern.----COON treeing consistancy.i beleive that a person should be able to hunt the style dog he chooses and that there is room for different styles within a breed. the associations set their own standards and you have your choice of them, as should be. what concerns me is the fact that a person cant go out and buy a good representative of their breed of choice and be sure it came from a coon treeing background--let alone the right one listed on its pedigree without a lot of inside knowledge.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Los Angeles, MN
Posts: 4236

Im with PWC....

In the interest of betterment of man kind we should also be required to be certified before having children ....RIGHT??

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: OHIO
Posts: 962

but the child part would probably benefit some of us. lol

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Los Angeles, MN
Posts: 4236

I agree.....

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