UKC Forums (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/index.php)
- Other (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=27)
-- hunt your hound (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.php?threadid=928543714)

We took Sally, Smokey and a young male dog called Speck. We turned out all three dogs together. Sally and Smokey went hunting good but split up looking for a coon track. For some reason Speck just wanted to chase Sally around, barking after her as she was trying to hunt. She had just come out of heat before the owner brought her to me so I know that wasn't the problem. Speck seemed to be bothering her as she kept trying to get away from him. Smokey struck a track over near an old barn but Sally didn't pay him much attention. Soon Sally had gotten some distance between herself and the pup so she and Smokey headed for the creek. Smokey continued on with his track while Sally was with him but still hadn't opened. Sally finally struck in when they had trailed it about 300-400 yards and at that point they were only 190-200 yards away from us. Sally and Smokey trailed good together until they were about 400 yards away from us but there they split up. Smokey continued trailing on up into the hollow going away from us taking it 600 yards. Sally had turned and trailed on a track that came back toward us within 318 yards. I heard her tree a little bit but then she got down to check herself. She trailed it in again and treed some more, meanwhile Smokey was still trailing but much slower now. Here the pressure was on both dogs and Sally quit treeing again to check herself. But it was Smokey that caved to the pressure! He came to her, as she trailed it back in again, and fell treed right behind her. Both dogs locked up and blew the top out of the tree! We walked in to the tree and Sally came to us when we were within 30 yards but she went right back. We shined the tree over and found a small kitten coon up in a fork. We worked the dogs and called it a night.

I took Sally out alone on this particular night and she hunted good but seemed to struggle with finding a track. She made a big circle but never struck anything until after she came back. When she came back she crossed the road and went up on the hillside to strike about 75 yards up the hill. Soon she went on over the ridge and out of hearing but she was at 363 yards treeing. She stayed for nearly 2 minutes but went on with it while I was on my way to her. Then I took the truck around to drive closer to her as she went on up the valley headed away from me. Finely she treed again in a cedar thicket but didn't bark as much. When I walked in to her she was chewing and pulling on a grapevine hanging from the tree. When I shined the tree she had a house cat up there and it jumped out to take off again as I getting her leashed. We called it a night and headed home.

I took Sally out somewhere new and she hunted close by at first but struck a track and tried to work it. After a bit she quit it and checked back in, then took off hunting again but in the opposite direction. Soon she picked up another track and worked it quite a ways before losing it as well. Then she came across an armadillo and bayed it until I started to her. She quit and came right to me then took off hunting again. Her first track was only about 100-125 yards long, the second track went about 300-350 yards. Next she started a track and took it 400 yards before treeing. She didn't tree good but she was barking enough you could call her treed, and she stayed a little longer than when she marks a tree to go on. Before I got to her she got down and began to trail on. This time she went another 285 yards and gave a good locate. She treed a few licks then fell silent but wasn't moving from the tree. I marked it on my Garmin just as I had done on the previous tree and then I waited on her. She left the tree to make a circle and check herself. Soon she came back and she treed some better but then fell silent again as she stayed there. I began walking to her and she treed occasionally but was mostly silent. When I was in sight of the tree I saw her leaving to check herself again. I could see about where the tree should be so I shined my spot light where I thought it was and called to her. Here she came back and jumped up on the tree and began treeing. I walked on in to her and saw her ripping down grape vines hanging from the tree. I noticed some other vines that had been chewed into, swinging loose from the tree while their counterpart layed on the ground. The tree was so huge, full of vines and other hiding spots it was going to be tough to find a coon, if 1 was up there. But I guess all of her thrashing around on those grape vines had the coon's attention because as well hidden as he was I could see his eye glowing back at me. I worked Sally on the tree before I knocked him out to have her finish him off. She carried him in her jaws most of the way back to the truck before she was satisfied. Then we loaded up and called it a night.

We took Sally out with Smokey and Tuck. When we turned them loose Sally and Smokey quickly started a track, but they didn't stay together very long. They were both down in a hollow where we have treed several coons over the years, but Sally came out and went over the ridge while Smokey trailed on up the hollow. When Smokey reached the head of the hollow and came out up on the ridge top he came trailing back toward us while Sally remained on the other side of the ridge. Then we could hear a deer coming off of the ridge down towards us and then Smokey quit trailing. We couldn't hear Sally from where we were but she must have been barking because I watched Smokey on the Garmin go right to her. Now they were together coming down the ridge on the opposite side from us. When they turned to come back over the ridge to our side I could hear them trailing. Soon they fell treed near the top and sounded real good together. When we walked in to them Sally had chewed up almost everything near the tree. We shined the tree over good but never found the coon. I think Sally is taking on some colder, tougher tracks than before and she is getting better at working them. We leashed the dogs and called it a night.

I have just sent a young dog off with it's owner and so I have an opening for another (young or old) dog that needs some time in the woods. Call or text 573-712-8173

We took Sally, Smokey and one of my pups out on this night and we had a great coon hunt! Conditions were right and the dogs worked well together. Smokey struck right off the bat and the pup went with him, but I think she was just chasing him. Sally went to check them but didn't join in. The track made a big circle to come back with in a few yards of us. That's when Sally joined in with them, but she was staying silent only opening 1 time. They took the track out of a big hollow we had turned them loose in and crossed the county road. This is where the pup got thrown out and from the looks of the Garmin Sally got ahead while opening better. They took the track 800 yards away from us and Smokey treed. Sally continued to circle him about 50 yards out and Smokey would get down to check her too. When we got with in 400 yards of them Smokey had settled in on the tree and Sally checked 1 more time and then locked up treed also. They both stayed there solid until we made it to them as we had to work our way through a clear cut to find them treed in a hickory with a big limb broken out of 1 side of the fork. We looked the tree over good and finally found the big boar coon hiding in the top. We shot it out and had a lot of excitement on the ground at the tree. Then we led the dogs back to the truck and gave thanks to the Lord for our safety and successful hunt. We called it a night and came home.

If any body has a young dog that is ready to get started or an older 1 that just hasn't quite turned it on yet, I have an opening right now for 1 more dog. I have worked with dogs that were 2 years old and up that wouldn't stay treed, wouldn't range out, or they just didn't have the coon often enough when they did tree. I've worked with young dogs that hated a caged coon but couldn't find their own, wouldn't leave your feet, or only knew how to back another dog. Feel free to call or text 573-712-8173

We have been very busy and all the spots are full for the next few months. Anyone who is interested in having 1 hunted we can set you up a time in November. Feel free to call or text 15737128173