Solo, The Amazing Cure

[JCM]

I wonder why those that prefer to solo their dogs have never created a type of trial or hunt where they only run one dog at a time? There are competitions for brace, trio, four hounds, three couple, small pack, and large pack, but none for solo. If soloing was so important wouldn't you think that there would be some type of trial where they solo dogs?

Hhhhmmmm, maybe it is possible to evaluate hounds when more that one is running. Ya think!

The only instance I can think of this occurring is in progressive pack. They require a dog run solo for a certain amount of time, with minimal amounts of downtime running a rabbit and it gets shot over during the chase as well. Maybe some progressive pack guys can fill in the blanks for me as to the amount of time a dog must run to certify for champion status.

I know they have to certify by running solo to become a champion, but not until they have two wins and 100 points in pack competition.

If the progressive guys believed that much in the importance of soloing, shouldn't they have to solo first? Then if they proved they could solo they would be eligible for pack competition. The way it is they have to prove their worthiness in a pack first. If they can't compete in a pack it doesn't matter what they do running solo.

[J.C. Blair]

Just using that as an example of a dog having to compete alone in order to achieve some champion status.

I just like to run dogs. And I can appreciate a good dog. But what do I know

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

Kinda watched this thread unravel for a while, I aint ashamed to say i like to Solo my dogs no real reason other than its kinda boring first few times out however after the fifth or sixth time i enjoy watching them put it all together, I kinda relate it to a kid playing basketball if more learned how to shoot a free throw first instead of worrying about dunking then maybe the game would be a little more close in score at the end of the day. I have watched many a superstar look like a fu$$$$$ idiot when he was fouled and the game was on the line. Basics first seems to account for stardom later. Each his own. I dont feed 20 dogs nor have the desire too start, in my world if my few culls cant do it then when the games on the line , i dont need a army of hounds plus i am a 1 man show entries are high and handlers just aint my style. I like going with my own hounds. I dont judge anymore maybe thats why i dont win as much, Food for thought as always . Each his own i suppose.

[JCM]

Kinda watched this thread unravel for a while, I aint ashamed to say i like to Solo my dogs no real reason other than its kinda boring first few times out however after the fifth or sixth time i enjoy watching them put it all together, I kinda relate it to a kid playing basketball if more learned how to shoot a free throw first instead of worrying about dunking then maybe the game would be a little more close in score at the end of the day. I have watched many a superstar look like a fu$$$$$ idiot when he was fouled and the game was on the line. Basics first seems to account for stardom later. Each his own. I dont feed 20 dogs nor have the desire too start, in my world if my few culls cant do it then when the games on the line , i dont need a army of hounds plus i am a 1 man show entries are high and handlers just aint my style. I like going with my own hounds. I dont judge anymore maybe thats why i dont win as much, Food for thought as always . Each his own i suppose.

One thing for sure, everyone should run the way they enjoy most.

Just out of curiosity, I heard Junie was soloed a lot, especially when you competed with him in AKC. What effect do you think it would have had if he had been packed hard his whole life? Would a throw everything and the kitchen sink at em guy like me have most likely ruined him?

Did you consider how you trained him when you bred to him? Would you recommend training his pups like he was trained? Or do you think his style and training wouldn't have that much effect?

Thanks in advance for sharing.

[S.R.Patch]

I had a hound named Gypsy, she was a pretty fare rabbit hound. I ran her alot with Cody's Sharpe Mikie and the other Blackfoot hounds, they were about more than she could handle. On hard running days, I would catcher looking around in the checks, soloing her in the off time was the only way to keep her honest, constant pack pressure from that group would have ruined her as a well rounded individual.
The day I sold her, the buyer wanted to see her run a rabbit solo. She took that rabbit around the coal mine and up a drainage we were standing on, banked with briars. The rabbit came up the bank to our feet, did an about face, doubled on it's own track back down the hill and went with a right handed turn half way down into the briars again. Well the buyer said to me, "we'll see how she handles this one". Well along came the ole girl yodeling her song, up the bank, through the briar hitting the open field, lifted her head, gave us a look, put back down her head, turn about, and back down the bank she went making the right turn and down through the drainage again never missing a beat. The fellow just looked at me and said, "consider her sold!
Gypsy was not a super power that could handle anything thrown at her forever, but she was a very nice hound and I recognized that when putting her under alot of pressure from strong hounds (an I considered Mikie one of the most powerful hounds I ever ran with). The only thing that made me sell her was her failure in the whelping pen, I never got anything of worth, and poor conformation was a curse in her genes, tho she herself was a nice made hound.

I believe in all honesty, many of those who compete,.... solo and mix company with other hounds constantly to keep them open to running with others. "Good" competition hounds have to run faultlessly with strange and other faulty hounds, they must quickly learn who to trust and who to ignore, while all along doing their own work and remaining focused on the fading rabbit scent. It's quite a frenzy for a hound to get all sorted out and try to remain an honest workman. Many fail and take the easy less honest way,... you know, happy tail watchers, me-too-er's, throwing their mouth just because they revel at the excitement... and then you have those who believe the check is not where the scent ended, "but to stay ahead", up on the hill somewhere above ...

A pack that is brought up together is different, they know each others virtues and whom to trust at the cry. It is like they communicate without sound sometimes in their methods, they work as a team. Young hounds are not without the dangers of faultiness when being entered tho, they have much to learn and figure out about the happenings around them. They need the taste of success that builds confidence but yet the understanding of cooperation among their own kind that results in greater pressure on the game and more exciting chase. Excitement, jealousy,...immaturity in mind, unlearned skill and physical ability all endanger the young when entering the game on a mature level. Some say "sink or swim", others say, "having the eye to head off cracking the metal".
Is a solder, a solder when he enlist, or does boot-camp serve any purpose...can a young warrior suffer the effect of to much to soon.
I remember as a kid when we were in Cross-country, we did Indian runs across the coalmine grounds,... I remember hearing the cry come back from the front of the line, "to the head",... what was that all about anyway... ...those freshmen were never going to finish in front of us anyway.

[S.R.Patch]

I wonder why those that prefer to solo their dogs have never created a type of trial or hunt where they only run one dog at a time? There are competitions for brace, trio, four hounds, three couple, small pack, and large pack, but none for solo. If soloing was so important wouldn't you think that there would be some type of trial where they solo dogs?

Hhhhmmmm, maybe it is possible to evaluate hounds when more that one is running. Ya think!

The only instance I can think of this occurring is in progressive pack. They require a dog run solo for a certain amount of time, with minimal amounts of downtime running a rabbit and it gets shot over during the chase as well. Maybe some progressive pack guys can fill in the blanks for me as to the amount of time a dog must run to certify for champion status.

I know they have to certify by running solo to become a champion, but not until they have two wins and 100 points in pack competition.

If the progressive guys believed that much in the importance of soloing, shouldn't they have to solo first? Then if they proved they could solo they would be eligible for pack competition. The way it is they have to prove their worthiness in a pack first. If they can't compete in a pack it doesn't matter what they do running solo.

Exactly, they will never have to solo if they can't compete and win in a pack.
I think they solo after, to prove they have remained honest in their work and still posses the quality to do their own work without the pressure of competition having caused them to become faulty.
It's a cry heard most often from the LP competitors, "that hound couldn't solo a rabbit if it's life depended on it". But they don't have to certify so don't have to prove the hound has remained sound in ability after all the pack pressure... just what I've heard you understand...

[chapkosbeagles]

Nice post patch couldent of said it better myself.
I read ur post and can tell u are a houndsman an no rookie. Undertanding the relationships within packs ext.
These are things that cant be learned overnight,and most will never understand the dog psychology of the game. Most can even figure out there alpha dog

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

No disrespect intended Jim kinda like ya said its what we enjoy. On to Junie the very reason i soloed him was to make him have the edge i didnt need to win in lp. Actually you will remember Pete Bakers Dan The Crusher Dog. Thats what junie was started and ran with the first year of his life, now if there was a dog that swarpped swang and genuilly fuc### a race up but on the other hand could smack a pack with his wild ways then name it. Ol junie was run and packed hard his whole life and handled it pretty well however once he was dropped into Midwest he just needed to concentrate more on running a rabbit and not cutting the pack and swinging out. When he was soloed he just settled into a dog that it took to win. Between yourself and Earl Bruner you guys have set the bar pretty high for world wins. I cant ever expect to break it. I have admired from afar the things you have accomplished quite the feat, i just never was able to feed or train several hounds at once or pay a a huge amount of entry fees. I went with ol Jeff Brown once to a hunt and watched him pay 600 dollars to register and run dogs. I thought wtf? ....
Looking back every major big 5 i won or field champion made they had a good 30 days alone just me and then and of course some silver bullets .... Remember years ago i had a dog named Codys Sharp Jackson? Never soloed one day in his life packed hard from 7 mths ran with every swinging dick in the country, he was a grade hound and strictly a little pack machine.. I dont know sorry i dont have a answer i just remember years ago Mark Swartz planting the solo seed with alot that listened also Donel Smith does nothing but solo, lilly was living proof what it does.Like ya say each his own.Take care of ol Blair .....He has some pretty decent hounds.Take Care.

[J.C. Blair]

Take care of ol Blair .....He has some pretty decent hounds.Take Care.

Don't worry bout ol Blair. He's been takin care of himself for a long time and it's workin out really good. Never better. Decent?? Haha that's funny.

[mcardery2k]

I don't run the style dogs you guys run but one thing I know is that I love to solo my dogs. I don't know if it helps or not but I love watching knowing they don't need any help.
How Can this be boring?
Mark~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GfCTDNklWc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAbSsIzETqc

[bbg]

I believe that solo has a place in training just as packing does. It allows pups to learn on their own while able to focus on running the rabbit rather than keeping up with a pack. It also works to "clean up" a field trial dog who has been exposed to alot of pack pressure. I also believe that some dogs REQUIRE this special attention and feel that they can hurt the breed if bred.

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

Sorry to offend Blair its actually quite the compliment.Honestly.

[JCM]

No disrespect intended Jim kinda like ya said its what we enjoy. On to Junie the very reason i soloed him was to make him have the edge i didnt need to win in lp. Actually you will remember Pete Bakers Dan The Crusher Dog. Thats what junie was started and ran with the first year of his life, now if there was a dog that swarpped swang and genuilly fuc### a race up but on the other hand could smack a pack with his wild ways then name it. Ol junie was run and packed hard his whole life and handled it pretty well however once he was dropped into Midwest he just needed to concentrate more on running a rabbit and not cutting the pack and swinging out. When he was soloed he just settled into a dog that it took to win. Between yourself and Earl Bruner you guys have set the bar pretty high for world wins. I cant ever expect to break it. I have admired from afar the things you have accomplished quite the feat, i just never was able to feed or train several hounds at once or pay a a huge amount of entry fees. I went with ol Jeff Brown once to a hunt and watched him pay 600 dollars to register and run dogs. I thought wtf? ....
Looking back every major big 5 i won or field champion made they had a good 30 days alone just me and then and of course some silver bullets .... Remember years ago i had a dog named Codys Sharp Jackson? Never soloed one day in his life packed hard from 7 mths ran with every swinging dick in the country, he was a grade hound and strictly a little pack machine.. I dont know sorry i dont have a answer i just remember years ago Mark Swartz planting the solo seed with alot that listened also Donel Smith does nothing but solo, lilly was living proof what it does.Like ya say each his own.Take care of ol Blair .....He has some pretty decent hounds.Take Care.

After thinking about your idea with soloing, I wonder how much AKC influences everyone that believes so strongly? You very seldom hear about anyone in ARHA that solos. And I have known very few strictly rabbit hunters that solo. Usually they hunt whatever dogs they own. If they own 3 dogs, they hunt 3 dogs. If they own two dogs and their buddy owns 3 dogs, they hunt hunt 5 dogs . . .

Then if you take that one step further, I wonder what will happen down the road because of the dominating Turbo influence? Jasper was soloed for 8 months before he won the ARHA World. I ran with him later in his life once he was packed and he was usually the roughest dog in the pack. He could get checks and jump rabbits but man was he rough. Reggie was soloed almost his whole life just to stay competitive. Blue Man wasn't soloed the whole time Tony had him and he was rough, rough, rough. He was tough to beat at a hunt for sure, but he was rough.

Now you are seeing guys selling dogs with 2, 3, or even 4 crosses of Turbo. What happens down the road when all of these dogs that were soloed to compete (Turbo and other lines) just keep getting bred generation after generation?

If you are right and soloing puts on the edge to win and year after year after year guys solo to win, won't it get to the point that the only way dogs can keep from blowing up is to be soloed? Looking down the road 6 or 8 generations, these dogs won't be able to take any pressure at all.

I guess my point in this rambling post is I know soloing helps some individuals especially with their ability to compete, but if you have long term plans for your kennel and want to breed your own line, I would stick with dogs that don't need soloing.

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

Good point, anyone that knows my hounds it was never a issue of extra mouth just getting a dog mentally stronger. As far as the turbo point i have not ever endorsed the line like yourself, seen some powerhouses but extra mouth is one of my pet peaves. A mouthy dog is like a loose woman to me. Useless in the largest sense. I am anxious to see the triple bred ones down the road just like you. Take care Jcm.

[Casey Harner]

[quote="] I also believe that some dogs REQUIRE this special attention and feel that they can hurt the breed if bred.[/quote]


If a dog requires this much soloing attention before a trial then he isn't worth much for me or my breeding program.