WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.519 Welcome to the Bear Hunting Magazine Hunt Cast. With me 2 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.879 Koby Morehead, We're gonna nerd out on bears hunting and 3 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:21.239 the outdoors. We'll tell stories, talk biology, tactics, gear, and 4 00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:24.440 the fight to protect the pursuits that we hold dear, So, 5 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:27.640 grab your bino's, lace up your boots, load up your barrels, 6 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:30.679 and gather the hounds sweet venture on this journey together. 7 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.840 Welcome one and all back to the Bear Hunting Magazine Huntcast. Today, 8 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:48.719 we're joined again by none other than lifelong houndsman and 9 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:52.200 host of the Gunde of the Dogs podcast, mister Steve Fielder. 10 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:56.840 Steve wrote an article in the January February twenty twenty 11 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:01.320 three issue of Bear Hunting Magazine about the foundations of 12 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:04.840 all of the hound breeds that are typically ran on 13 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:08.719 bear today. As we found out in the last episode, 14 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:11.879 Steve was a part of the Dog Registries for over 15 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:16.959 thirty years and he definitely knows some history behind these breeds. 16 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:19.239 And one of the things we'll figure out inside of 17 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:23.480 this spoiler alert is that a lot of the breeds 18 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:27.719 have quite a bit in common as far as recent ancestors. 19 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:31.640 All Right, without further ado, let's get into it here, Steve. 20 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:43.680 You know, I talked about the breeds and pretty much 21 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:47.959 put them in alphabetic order as we would discuss them. 22 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:53.159 Let's say, if I were giving a presentation on breeds 23 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:57.159 at one of the kennel clubs. And you know, the 24 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:02.439 bear hunters have adapted their hounds basically from the various 25 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:09.000 breeds of coonhounds. And you know, whether even now used 26 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.400 to see a lot of the big game hunters hunting 27 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:17.439 dogs that are what we call crossbread or a mixture 28 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:22.319 of these coonhound breeds. There are six breeds, and just briefly, 29 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:27.280 you know, the black and Tan, the blue tick, the 30 00:02:27.319 --> 00:02:31.360 English coonhound, the plot hound, the redbone, and the tree 31 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:36.439 walker were the six fundamental breeds. The first breed that 32 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:41.080 was recognized and by the kinner clubs and law was 33 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:45.840 a dog that basically was the dog of the colonists, 34 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:49.919 the settlers. And this was a dog that they called 35 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:52.800 the black and tan simply because it was a black 36 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:58.120 dog with tan or reddish points along its legs and 37 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:02.159 the sides of its head and so forth, but predominantly black. 38 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:06.280 And these came, you know, from the Talbot and Saint 39 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:09.680 Hubert hounds and all that dated all the way back 40 00:03:09.719 --> 00:03:14.439 to the after the Norman invasion in the eleventh century. 41 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:18.800 There they came from from France and then from England 42 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:23.560 and they were brought to this country and they quickly 43 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:27.919 adapted to trailing. You know, the game animals that were 44 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:31.919 here in Europe there were no raccoons to tree. Many 45 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:35.080 of the fur bears that we have in this country 46 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:39.680 were not existent there, but they were easily adapted. And 47 00:03:39.759 --> 00:03:42.080 you know, they were kind of like the bedrop breed, 48 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.080 but they've gone through an evolution. You know. They were 49 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:52.680 a large breed, a heavy boned, deep voiced, but not 50 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:58.120 very quick on trail. As I said in the article, 51 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:01.919 black and tens are not really the most popular of 52 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:06.479 breeds for bear hunting. But I've done some articles about 53 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:11.159 some really incredible black and tan bear dogs. I remember 54 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:15.719 doing one about a dog that marrolled money up in 55 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:20.439 Wisconsin and Minnesota that was a tremendous bear dog. Some 56 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:23.279 of the dogs that I've written about even lately, the 57 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:29.120 Luther Dog of Scott McLoughlin's I think that's coming out 58 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:32.680 was a black and tan colored dog. 59 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:38.439 I feel like it's time for you guys to get 60 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:41.000 a little treat. I'm going to read a little bit 61 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:45.439 out of this current July August twenty twenty four issue 62 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:50.560 of Bear Hunting Magazine Legendary bear Hound, Part fifty six. 63 00:04:51.560 --> 00:05:00.000 Scott Maclothin's Luther Great bear dogs don't always come from 64 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:05.120 royal beginnings with grandiose pedigrees. Sometimes from the most humble 65 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:09.680 beginnings greatness arises. It's true about the hound named Luther. 66 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:14.160 He was a half curR, half walker. He looked like 67 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:19.000 a pure bred black and tan. Scott McLoughlin said when 68 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:24.800 describing his bear hound of a Lifetime. You should get 69 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:27.240 the current issue of Bear Hunting magazine. And this is 70 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:33.800 a shameless pluck, but seriously, you hound guys, just check 71 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:38.439 out the cover of this magazine and you'll be sold. 72 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.439 All Right, I'm done, Let's get back to Steve. 73 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.600 The but I contained you know, in my dad's experience, 74 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:54.800 one of the earliest bear hunters that once he got 75 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:59.839 the fever ed started a bear hunting with a group 76 00:05:59.879 --> 00:06:06.160 of hunters over in eastern Virginia, and a guy named 77 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:11.120 Arden Smith had a dog named Sounder, and he met 78 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:16.319 the UKC and AKC standards for a purebread black and tan, 79 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:20.800 you know, and he was that cold nose, which is 80 00:06:20.839 --> 00:06:23.639 a trade of the black dog. You know, he was 81 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:26.959 a dog that you could free cast in the mountains, 82 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:30.600 which means, you know, you turn him loose, you lead 83 00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:33.279 the other dogs, and when he would find a track 84 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:37.959 and make progress on it, then you could release dogs 85 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:42.800 to help him with it. But Sounder was quite a 86 00:06:42.839 --> 00:06:46.120 producer of good bear dogs, and he looked like a 87 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:50.079 purebread black and tan. But when you looked at a 88 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:54.079 little of pup city sired, they were all colors. Red tick, 89 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:58.800 blue tick, solid red, you know, black and white, spotted 90 00:06:58.959 --> 00:06:59.920 like a walker dog. 91 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:07.759 So yeah, I get the feeling. Mister Steve is just 92 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:11.279 now hitting his rhythm. Let's get on and start talking 93 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:13.720 about some blue dogs. I feel a lot of you 94 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.800 Western guys are waiting on this one, and just a 95 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:20.319 heads up, it's a little more complicated than just a 96 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:24.120 cut and dry. If it's black and tan, it's black 97 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:26.319 and tante. 98 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:35.720 Well, blue ticks are one of the most popular of 99 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.680 the breeds. There's something about a blue tick. Man. Once 100 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:44.519 they get a blue tick, they are absolutely they sign 101 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:49.000 up for life. You know. There's just something about those 102 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:54.720 dogs that there's the selves to these guys, and you know, 103 00:07:55.399 --> 00:07:58.000 to go back in the history of the breed, there 104 00:07:58.040 --> 00:08:02.720 were three breeds that we recognized today. There were at 105 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:06.920 one time lumped within a single breed, and we're going 106 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.839 to talk in a minute about the English coonhound. Well, 107 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:14.360 the blue tick was one of those. And the English 108 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:18.879 coonhound typically has what we call a red tick pattern, 109 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:23.000 and it's really just little specs of hair on a 110 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:28.560 white background, and some of them are more dnse than 111 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:30.839 the others, and it kind of in the case of 112 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:36.120 the blue ticket, gives that blue tick look. But before 113 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:40.200 I get too deep in the weeds here, those three breeds, 114 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:44.480 the blue tick, the tream walker, and the English, in 115 00:08:44.519 --> 00:08:49.480 the mid forties were separated out into individual breeds. So 116 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:52.799 it was at that time, around nineteen forty six that 117 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:57.759 the blue tick coonhound was recognized by United Kennel Club. 118 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:04.279 And they also descended from the foxhounds that came from England, 119 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:10.480 and the General Lafayette gave some of these blue tick 120 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:17.360 colored foxhounds to George Washington, who was a fox hunter, 121 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:24.679 of course, and they generally traced their background back to 122 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:31.240 these French hounds, the big and there's a breed called 123 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:38.000 the blue Gascon, which is a taller bigger houndier as 124 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:42.720 we say, breed, you know than the American blue tick 125 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:47.519 are the one that you know, we typically recognize. But yeah, 126 00:09:47.559 --> 00:09:50.879 blue ticks have been known for the ability to trail 127 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:55.399 and when you go back and look at the early 128 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:02.600 successful lion hunters, dry ground lion hunters in this country, uh, 129 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:07.679 the the kind of dogs that the Lee Brothers of 130 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:12.559 Arizona uh hunted and so forth. You know, there was 131 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:16.960 a lot of blue tick influence in in those dogs. 132 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:21.240 Blue ticks are very popular, they're they're not, but you know, 133 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:24.600 the ones that are used in raccoon hunting and in 134 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:29.840 competition have been bred to be much quicker afoot, you know, 135 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:34.519 speedier dogs than the old original ones were pretty much 136 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:38.360 you know, meticulous trailers. You know, they didn't worry too 137 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:43.840 much about uh when they got that lion track jumped 138 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:47.399 or that bear track jump. But when you know, they 139 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:50.759 were more useful in the fact that they could smell 140 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:55.000 it when the other dogs could not. You know. But yeah, 141 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:58.080 the blue tick is is, you know, has been just 142 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:03.120 one of the the h go to breeds or or 143 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:09.840 anchor breeds for most anybody that especially hunts mountain lion 144 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:14.559 on dry ground or bear out in the Huntred with 145 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.519 Calvin Redhouse out in the Navajo Nation. And you know 146 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:23.919 he has some blue tick and type dogs in his back. 147 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:34.000 You know, Lafaye given Washington some blue dogs. I really 148 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:39.080 like that. Founding father and founding helmsman. That's something that 149 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:44.519 you'd teach in schools. Well, just like in pool, got 150 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:47.200 us sometimes put some English on it. Let's see what 151 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:55.320 Steve has to say about the English. 152 00:11:55.480 --> 00:11:59.080 Well, the English breed was first registered by UKC back 153 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:02.639 in nineteen o five, and they were called English fox 154 00:12:02.679 --> 00:12:06.559 and coon hounds. Was in the forties that people with 155 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:12.519 the foxhound influence in the English dogs that came out 156 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:18.279 of the Kentucky hounds, the Walker family and various ones 157 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.240 and all they wanted to have their own separate breeds, 158 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:27.440 and gentlemen named Lester Nance of Indiana pursued this idea 159 00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:32.519 with the United Kennel Club to separate out and call 160 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:40.320 these foxhound type coonhounds walker dogs after the Walker family, 161 00:12:40.759 --> 00:12:42.960 and that's how the term tree and Walker came. But 162 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:48.200 they were originally English coonhouns or registered as such, as 163 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:51.440 were the Blue Ticks. And so when they all separated 164 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:54.639 out and there were three separate breeds the English coonhound 165 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.360 was the one that, you know, it was kind of 166 00:12:57.399 --> 00:13:01.159 the foundation of these other two breeds. But they had 167 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:05.679 a more flexible standard as far as the colors of 168 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:10.080 the dogs. You know, the dogs could be blue tick color, 169 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:13.159 they could be red tick color, they could be white 170 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:18.279 with red spots, white with black spots, virtually any hound 171 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:22.200 color except solid colors. They didn't want them to look 172 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.480 like black and tans. They didn't want them to look 173 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:27.639 like the red bone, which we haven't talked about yet. 174 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:34.840 But they were more concerned with the ability of the 175 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:39.960 dog than they were in trying to create a uniform 176 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.320 hound that someone could you know, glance at and say 177 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:50.159 that's an English coonhound. But yeah, there were always one 178 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:53.399 of the most popular in coon hunting. There's been a 179 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:59.320 lot of outstanding English coonhounds down through the years. And 180 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:07.320 I did a story for you in the Legendary bar 181 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:14.080 Dog series about the Armstrong Hounds over in western Virginia. 182 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:17.679 I did an article about the dog, a dog named Trey, 183 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:25.559 and he was an outstanding bar dog and he belonged 184 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:30.519 to Buck Armstrong. The Armstrong family were known for many 185 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:35.159 years as having top bear dogs that were very dedicated 186 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:41.279 bear hunters. I really enjoyed the opportunity to do the 187 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:47.240 story on Trey the English dog, because I had heard 188 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:51.720 of the armstrong dogs from my earliest memories as a 189 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.559 kid going on the bear hunts with my dad, and 190 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:59.039 I knew, you know, people, and I saw offspring of 191 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:05.039 these dogs in action, and they were tremendous sounds. And 192 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:08.399 so to be able to do a story about one 193 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:12.559 of these sounds in this dog tray, which was a 194 00:15:12.600 --> 00:15:17.360 phenomenal dog in his own right, you know, he had 195 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:21.440 had all the all the tools, as we say. But 196 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:25.759 so the English, you know, they're kind of a potpourri breed. 197 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.639 You know, you got a lot of different colors and 198 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:33.840 things like that, but they're pretty much descended down from 199 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:37.080 the English fox hounds that came to this country with 200 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:43.240 the earliest colonists. You know, if you. 201 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:47.519 Guys know Steve Fielder, you know there's one particular breed 202 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:51.200 that is close to his heart. Steve was raised by 203 00:15:51.759 --> 00:15:56.519 die Hard plat Man, and boy, if he doesn't get 204 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:58.879 excited when you fell in that it's time to start 205 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:02.600 talking about some rendell dogs. It's hard to be good 206 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:07.519 their Steve. Whenever I's hold, let's talk some plot hounds. 207 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:18.320 Well, how long do we have here? You want to 208 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:25.639 get you want to have lunch catered in. But yeah, 209 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:31.120 the plot breed is of the six recognizable breeds or 210 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:36.799 the standard breeds that these bar dogs come from. All 211 00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:40.799 of them trace their roots back to the English foxhounds, 212 00:16:40.799 --> 00:16:46.720 except the plot hound. And the stories vary, and you know, 213 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:50.519 two hundred years or nearly two point fifty is a 214 00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:54.399 long time and a lot of twists and turns in 215 00:16:54.440 --> 00:17:00.960 the road can happen. But the legend was, and as 216 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:06.960 John Jackson called it, the saga was that, you know, 217 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:13.200 the plot dog came from Germany, brought to this country 218 00:17:13.240 --> 00:17:18.079 in at about seventeen fifty by a couple of boys. 219 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:21.720 Actually two boys left Germany, where their father was a 220 00:17:21.880 --> 00:17:26.960 gameskeeper there, and brought some dogs with them. One of 221 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:31.440 the boys died on the past passage over the other one, 222 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:39.200 Johannas or Johanna's Plot, is credited with bringing the dogs 223 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:45.079 to America. Came into Philadelphia, migrated down to North Carolina 224 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:49.319 and then later onto the mountains of North Carolina. And 225 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:53.799 that's where these dogs were used, you know, primarily for 226 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:59.720 bear hunting. And so the plot dog, unlike the foxhound 227 00:17:59.799 --> 00:18:03.160 route and so forth. He basically was bred from his 228 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:08.839 earliest days for big game and that's what most of 229 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:13.720 them are used for. They're not the most popular breed 230 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:20.839 in terms of numbers in the registries, but they are 231 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:27.680 extremely popular with a good number of bear hunters, especially 232 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:31.559 in the East. Now, I don't think the plot hound 233 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:36.160 perhaps caught on as well out west as a bear 234 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:41.000 dog as they did in the East, and I rather 235 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:45.039 think part of that may have been due to the 236 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:53.519 nose factor. There were kind of two basic lines of Plots. 237 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:57.240 If you go back into the Plot family, John Plot, 238 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:01.160 the elder brother to vaunt On Plot, who was the 239 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:10.640 youngest h John like the shorter eared, quicker, harder fighting 240 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:17.960 type dog, Von Plot like the bigger dog, perhaps the 241 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:25.440 colder nosed, houndier looking dog. But the Plot got a 242 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:28.960 bad rap when they were first, you know, introduced to 243 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:34.599 the country in about the mid forties, at of being 244 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:40.160 you know, aggressive, too aggressive, aggressive with other dogs and 245 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:43.880 so forth. We never found that to be true in 246 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:46.480 all the years my father was a breeder for fifty 247 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:51.359 years and all, but that was the rep that they got, 248 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:55.119 kind of like what pit bulls carrying in some circles 249 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.799 and I think it was that part of it was 250 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:03.799 the color, you know, that brindle color, and they do 251 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:08.319 have a fierce look from their eyes. And when they 252 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:13.400 get you know, there is a gentline hide transformation from 253 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:17.799 being the couch dog to the to the bear dog. 254 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:23.240 You know, they are absolutely turned the switch on and 255 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:27.079 they don't turn it off until that game is down 256 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:31.559 or up the tree or they're led away. But you know, 257 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:34.519 they are vicious fighters on game, and they have a 258 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:39.880 super treeing instinct. They like water, they're quick to learn 259 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:44.279 or you know, and they're open trailing. You know, their 260 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:48.839 voices tend to be run more towards what we call 261 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:51.880 a chop voice, which they cut the barks off in 262 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:56.000 short links, rather than drawing them out, which we call 263 00:20:56.039 --> 00:21:01.839 a ball mouth b a w L. But yeah, plots 264 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:08.480 would probably be in the be lost to the mountains 265 00:21:09.160 --> 00:21:12.640 of North Carolina had it not been for guys like 266 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:17.759 Dale Brandenburger, a coon hunter and Illinois a farmer that 267 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:21.119 went out and bought stock and brought them back and 268 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:25.279 began to rent run ads in the coonhal magazines about 269 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:32.160 the dogs, and then they became immensely popular. But my 270 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:35.519 favorite breed always will be I guess you know. The 271 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:38.640 old sin is you ought to dance with the one 272 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:42.279 that brung you, you know, And so that's kind of 273 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:45.160 where I am. I still love a plot dog, I 274 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:49.440 love them all. I love all hounds deep down, but 275 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:53.119 the plot will always have a special place with me. 276 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.759 It's great to see someone sticking with their first love 277 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:08.160 no matter what happens. I'm sure that Steve will love 278 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:10.440 plots more than all other breeds of the day. He 279 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:13.759 does well, we're moving right along inside of her breeds, 280 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:17.400 and next up we're talking about a breed that was 281 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:21.960 made famous by a story from right here in the Ozarks. 282 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:24.279 If you know the story, you already know where we're 283 00:22:24.279 --> 00:22:25.319 headed here. 284 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:34.160 Steve, what grade school kid in America doesn't remember reading 285 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:43.519 the story of Depression in the Ozarks and Billy, with 286 00:22:43.720 --> 00:22:48.240 its two pups that he ordered, Old Dan and Little 287 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:53.960 Anne where the red fern grows, probably did more to 288 00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:58.920 promote the red Bone coon hound than anything and continues 289 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:04.359 to do so. The Red Bone, in my estimation, is 290 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:06.799 one of the most beautiful of all the breed. It's 291 00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:10.799 one of the oldest. Uh. You know, way back in 292 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:15.160 the early days of UKC they registered the black and 293 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:18.880 Tan the Red Bone and the tree Walker. But the 294 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:26.319 early red bones were not that trademark solid red color. 295 00:23:26.440 --> 00:23:33.079 They were a black dog with red legs, perhaps white feet, 296 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:39.359 white in their chest, and just through selective breeding down 297 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:42.480 through the years, you know, they became the solid red 298 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:48.000 dogs that that we have. You know, I did an 299 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:52.160 article and I slay his name all the time, but 300 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:58.359 Bill Derrazuski is a professional main guide that hunted red bones, 301 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:02.400 and we did an article about his redbone. It was 302 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:06.880 called the dog was called McDonald's Rooster Cogburn. I guess 303 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:10.160 that was named after John Wayne movie and the dog 304 00:24:10.279 --> 00:24:15.000 was owned by mac McDonald who was a client of Bills. 305 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:18.279 But anyway, rooster was quite an impressive bear dog. And 306 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:24.039 there have been several others. Uh. There's a guy named 307 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:29.480 Connie Gibson in North Carolina that has hunted a predominantly 308 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:35.920 an exclusively redbone packed on bear for many years. So 309 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:40.480 the Redbone, you know, was a coon own of course, 310 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:44.880 as we knew, and from reading Wilson Rawls's account in 311 00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:50.559 Where the Redbern Grows but also adapted well to bear hunting. 312 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:57.039 Uh there, you know, it depends on the strain. But 313 00:24:58.039 --> 00:25:04.960 you know, they're smart, and they're have all the traits 314 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:08.720 that the other hound breeds have, but they have been 315 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:13.519 more popular with the coon downs and the coon hunters 316 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:17.960 than they have with the bear hunters. But red bones 317 00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:21.920 are typically good tree dogs and they are are good 318 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:27.480 trail dogs. The only problem that the red dog has 319 00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:33.680 suffered down through the years, it's probably altered its ability 320 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:37.960 somequa is the fact that they're so beautiful and that 321 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:42.400 so many people acquired them just from reading the book 322 00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:48.839 and actually didn't earnestly breathe them, you know, for hunting, 323 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:52.400 and so it's kind of like the Irish I won't 324 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:56.680 say that to that extreme at all, but the beautiful 325 00:25:56.759 --> 00:26:03.480 Irish setter was once a great bird dog, and because 326 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:06.000 of its beauty and the fact it was taken into 327 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:09.960 the show ring and bread for that instead of hunting 328 00:26:10.039 --> 00:26:14.359 quail or pheasants or whatever. You know, it became hard 329 00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:19.799 and probably still his heart to find a classic Irish 330 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:22.599 setter that you can take out to the field and 331 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:26.920 have a good day shooting birds. But breadbones, I would 332 00:26:27.319 --> 00:26:31.200 rank them kind of the middle of the road. You know. 333 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:33.240 They're not on the high end, they're not on the 334 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:36.880 low end. They're just a good, solid, steady hound. And 335 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:39.680 if you get a good one, you've really got a 336 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:43.240 good dog. And if you go back and read the 337 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:48.680 story of Rooster of Matt McDonald's, was just that kind 338 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:51.640 of dogs. Yeah dog, he said, you know that he 339 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:54.519 could go out and cold trail a track that no 340 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:58.000 other dog could even smell. And you know, and a 341 00:26:58.039 --> 00:27:00.759 lot of times, says we said earlier, he was the 342 00:27:00.759 --> 00:27:05.079 only dog under the tree, you know, so he had 343 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:10.680 the complete package. 344 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:19.039 Redbone's just too pretty for their own good. Well, next up, 345 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:21.200 we're talking about a hound that takes me back to 346 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:25.920 my childhood. For a long stint inside of my elementary years, 347 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:29.480 we were die hard coon hunters and there was hardly 348 00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:32.000 a night I feel like I went to school fully 349 00:27:32.119 --> 00:27:35.559 charged from all the coon hunting we were doing. And 350 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:40.200 that hound belonged to this next breed. And we're gonna 351 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:42.319 go a little bit longer today to stick with us. 352 00:27:42.519 --> 00:27:44.440 We just got a few more breeds to go. 353 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:50.680 Oh, yes, the dream walker. You know, I did an 354 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:55.440 article for a hound magazine for a few years there, 355 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:58.160 and I called it. It was about the dream walker 356 00:27:58.279 --> 00:28:04.519 coon hound. The publisher had wanted some content that focused 357 00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:07.680 on training walkers and I called it the America's Choice 358 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:12.000 or America's choice. It is the most popular of all 359 00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:18.559 the hound breeds. About nineteen forty five, after World War Two, 360 00:28:19.559 --> 00:28:23.440 when all the boys came home, they got involved and 361 00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:28.599 created a competition for coonhounds that they called the Night Hunt, 362 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:35.799 and the early winters of those events, although the redbone 363 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:40.319 coonhound at the very onset of those events was the star, 364 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:50.480 they really were popular. But as Tom went along the contests, 365 00:28:50.839 --> 00:28:54.079 when the rules were written, it favored the dog that 366 00:28:54.359 --> 00:28:57.240 was fast, the dog that had the speed, that the 367 00:28:57.240 --> 00:29:02.000 one that could hunt out to find a track the fastest, 368 00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:07.240 run that track to the tree the fastest. And then 369 00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:10.920 they were a little bit short on the treeing instinct 370 00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:15.680 in the early years, But through perseverance, the breeders spread 371 00:29:15.880 --> 00:29:20.920 more tring ability into the dogs, and the walkers became, 372 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:26.200 you know, early winners of world championship events and so forth, 373 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:32.920 and just you know, year after year just built upon 374 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:36.599 that base and became the most popular of all the breeds. 375 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:41.119 And when I was a kid, i say, or a 376 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:45.200 young hunter up into my twenties, you rarely saw a 377 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:53.240 tring walker dog in a bare pack, especially in the Appalachians. Rare, 378 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:57.839 But now you see guys that are hunting entire packs 379 00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:03.599 of a tree walker dogs and so there's been a 380 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:07.480 you know, kind of an evolution there. And I think 381 00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:11.039 you know, Kirk Rogers was a guy that I mentioned 382 00:30:11.960 --> 00:30:16.279 in this article that you've referred to a professional main guide. 383 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:20.680 You know, it has built his entire pack upon what 384 00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:26.440 we call house bread treeing walkers. That was the work 385 00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:30.640 of a breeder named Joe House. But uh, and there's 386 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:33.720 a lot of other other guys out there that are 387 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:38.440 hunting strictly walker packs now. But the same thing on 388 00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:44.759 bear that has uh that distinguished them as coon dogs 389 00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:50.599 was their speed, their h and they're determined, you know, 390 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:54.839 a tree walker dog going back to those old foxhound 391 00:30:54.920 --> 00:30:58.880 routes where they would run a red fox all night long, 392 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:04.519 from from sundown to son up. You know, that kind 393 00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:10.279 of of heart and determination and the athleticism. You know, 394 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:12.839 it's made them a natural. At first, they kind of 395 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:18.119 got a bad rap about not having the grit that 396 00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:22.240 they needed. And in terms of bear dogs, that's something 397 00:31:22.319 --> 00:31:27.680 we haven't talked about very much, Kobe, but there's a balance. 398 00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:33.920 You know, you can have too much grit in a 399 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:38.240 bar dog you're gonna spend a lot of time in 400 00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:41.759 the vet or worse, you're gonna spend a lot of 401 00:31:41.799 --> 00:31:46.680