New bear dog

[Skyvalhunter]

Nice looking dog. Good thing he has a para cord collar incase he gets stuck in an emergency!!

[jasnt]

She is beautiful, congrats

[Machias]

Nice looking dog. Good thing he has a para cord collar incase he gets stuck in an emergency!!

   Always be prepared.    Wife likes to make them, even made me a paracord leash!!

[Skyvalhunter]

 

[Machias]

cant wait to see her work,congrats on a fine looking hound

NOT a hound, she's a cur!   

[bearpaw]

i have a cur and a half breed, valuable parts of the pack. we should get together sometime when you get back up here.

 

Having never owned a cur, I'm really curious, what are some advantages of curs over hounds? I can start a different topic if you prefer Fred?

[Machias]

No not at all Dale. 
So this is from my perspective, trust me some guys, yourself included may not agree with me.    I ran blueticks, redbones and plotts for a few years.  Then I went down to Northern Cali for a bear hunt with an older gent.  What I saw that weekend kind of changed my mind on dogs and over the years it has been cemented, for me.  I love the sound of a hound on the trail and at the tree.  I love those big floppy ears, those faces and them big noses.  But for me that is where it ends.  Now what I'm about to say does not include all hounds or houndsmen, just a pretty big chunk of them.  And I know that hounds can be taught to handle and to not be knuckleheads, but IMO it takes more training and does not come to them as naturally because they are bred the way they are.  When they are on the track they are single minded, driven to push that animal up that tree.  They do what they were bred to do!  American Leopard curs are not like any of the other cur breeds.  They are open on track, strong tree dogs, smart, very fast and gritty, but they can handle and behave almost as good as a lab.  They have a strong desire to please and hunt for you.  They have just as cold a nose as my blueticks had.  They will stay treed until you get there.  The tend to need the vet a little less because they can put pressure on a bear or cat and do it without getting themselves tore up (most of the time).  They handle like a dream for me, quiet in the kennel, quiet in the dog box.  They tend to not hunt or range as far, which is good in today's cut up landscape, you can hunt smaller blocks of land and generally they like to check back in with you every 15 minutes or so when you free cast for coons.  There was a split back in 2008, the American Leopard Cur Breeders Association (ALCBA) held a vote, to allow Leopard Curs to be recognized by UKC as the American Leopard Hound.  I voted no for a whole host of reasons, sadly most of the reasons I voted against have now come to pass.  I was on the losing side.  The old style Leopard Cur is slowly dying.  The American Leopard Hound is gaining in popularity, but that discussion is better for another thread.  So what did I see that day in Northern Cali that changed my dogs forever?  First thing was the dogs were being rigged and fired right up.  Mr. Oller dropped a couple of dogs and they hit the trail and full on opened up and started screaming off down through the woods.   That's normal right, but what happened next surprised me.  Mr. Oller found a cub track next to mama bear's track.  Hollered at the dogs and they came back and hopped up on the box     Next we ended up treeing a 450+ pound bear.  Mr. Oller got to the tree and we took some photos and then he said ok, lets go guys, and they all left the tree and headed back to the truck with him, not one of the 8 dogs was on a leash.  They were quiet at his house which was in town, well behaved and very loving dogs.  I was sold.  Now I will say if you like hunting hounds and how hounds hunt you probably won't like a Leopard Cur.  They do not start as fast as most hound pups.  I don't even start hunting mine until they are 10 months to a year old.  They cannot handle harsh treatment.  They cannot be kenneled or put on a chain and not messed with.  They will get very shy in a heartbeat if handled like most hounds.  Generally a mean look and a gruff voice is plenty to correct them and they tend to be way less trashy then my hounds were.  Some guys mix them in with their hounds but they have distinctly different hunting styles and usually guys that mix them in end up not being as happy with them.  For sure some do.  One guy who has some outstanding lion and bobcat dogs is a fella named Nick Riley in Montana, he has some really nice Leopard Hounds.  I think he has turned out some really nice dogs that catch a lot of cats each winter.

[BULLBLASTER]

When you get your pack together can I come along on a cat or bear hunt? Always wanted to tag along and experience it!

[quadrafire]

Nice looking pup Fred.
How's the Heartworm situation back there?

[Machias]

When you get your pack together can I come along on a cat or bear hunt? Always wanted to tag along and experience it!

Sure, you just wouldn't be allowed to hunt over them as I will be hunting Idaho and I cannot guide anyone over there.  They have very strict rules, I couldn't even take a soda off of you or gas money.  But you are more than welcome to come and take photos.

[Machias]

Nice looking pup Fred.
How's the Heartworm situation back there?

They have to be treated for it here.

[pianoman9701]

Good looking pup, Fred. It's good to hear you're coming home. 

[bearpaw]

I have zero experience with leopard curs so I have absolutely no opinion about them. I appreciate you taking time to explain, your comments have sparked an interest. I'm surprised to hear that you think they are as cold nosed, I hadn't heard that before. A very cold nose isn't that important to me these days as I only turn loose on fresh tracks due to the potential of wolves and the big country in some of the areas we hunt now, I simply am not wanting to hike anywhere near as far as I did when I was 20 years younger, but I'm surprised to hear about their noses.

I only keep 4 hounds which right now happen to be a walker, a bluetick cross, and two plotts. My son has lots of hounds (mostly walkers) like I used to keep because he does more bear hunting. One of my hounds is in his last years so I'm keeping my eyes open for a replacement. Unlike most other guys our hounds are quiet, most of my hunters don't even realize we have hounds, it's just a matter of a little training. Most all our hounds will follow us out, but not as easily as you described. We'd have to lead them a couple hundred yards from the tree and then keep a close eye they don't go back. I usually lead mine halfway out so I know I don't have to go back. 

My son has a little terrier that has fit in well, she doesn't do long chases but she works very well to leave loose at the tree when we are shooting something out, especially if somebody makes a bad shot, she's right after whatever hits the ground and will tree it or bay it alone, she also doubles as a blood tracker to find deer and elk that we can't find, which is legal in Idaho. You can sick her on anything and usually call her off anything, if she gets too far out she just quits and comes back. Additionally there are no mice, moles, gophers, or rats that live when she's around! 

I tried an airdale cross once but he was too growly, I got rid of him. We like our walker hounds a lot and have good blood lines that reproduce well, but I'm not narrow minded to what breeds of dogs I keep. People often ask what breed I prefer and even though we do like our walkers I usually say "hounds that catch game" because I've owned good hounds of every breed. I may look into one of these leopards a little more, thanks again for your comments.

[Machias]

 

[BULLBLASTER]

When you get your pack together can I come along on a cat or bear hunt? Always wanted to tag along and experience it!

Sure, you just wouldn't be allowed to hunt over them as I will be hunting Idaho and I cannot guide anyone over there.  They have very strict rules, I couldn't even take a soda off of you or gas money.  But you are more than welcome to come and take photos.

Heck ya! I understand that someone else would have to hunt or shoot or just let everything go. I just want to experience it all and chase after those dogs!