Snow Dogs

[snowshoehareguide]

chris it is well known among cottontail guys that cottontails are much harder to run. i dont believe it either. ive never run a cottontail at twenty below zero and when it was real winter i never found any that would run . they sit by holes and right down quick. i think there may be a lot of difference in cottontails from one place to another. i do see some cottontail dogs that are reported to run in very bad conditions that will not make a sound on a hare. now i didnt see them run the cottontails but i tend to believe the guys that brought them. if my dogs ran a hare a short ways they might run them great for awhile . but if theres a big loss they wont bark again. its like the hare vanished. well hes too far ahead and not enough scent. this makes me think a cottontail leaves more scent in the winter. but anyways same this is happening the cottontail guys tell me its a fact that hare are lot easier to run . ... cant explain it just report it .. if anybody compares running them when its good running on bare ground than i wouldnt argue at all. the hare doesnt sink into snow like a cottontail and i think thats a big difference. and like chris sid he can be a long ways ahead of the dogs real quick. pete

[sgc]

You might try Colby Hill breeding.

[Ed]

Boone is showing much improvement running in deep snow. Was in Errol NH yesterday and he was sinking in over his back and he kept going till we pulled him off. I shot at a hare that he was running, along with a young bitch, and they were 10 minutes behind the hare. I timed them and also missed the hare. But it is hard going in this type of snow. If the dog will run in this stuff, I call that heart. Coarse he'd do better if he lost 10 pounds too.
I agree, if you check hounds here in the NE, you'll find some real decent snow dogs. Go watch them run.

[snowshoehareguide]

SGC can you tell me where i could find some colby hill breeding. this name has come up before. i am very interested in snow dogs. i dont want to keep sounding so negative . i know there are some great snow dogs. if anybody knows of any good snow dogs and especially any line that produce a decent % of snow dogs . when i say snow dog i mean a dog that can run on crust ,ice , at single digits and snow in below zero temps ,,, this is different than a dog that runs on a couple inches of melting snow. almost any dog runs on packy snow its as easy as damp bare ground . im talking about the dogs that run when most cant . what eds talking about right now is just old corn snow thats thawed out and dog is just swimming in snow thats more like mud . the scent is pretty good the traveling is terrible . this is tuff on hounds but guts is no problem to find in beagles .nose is pete

[TomMN]

A couple of the spots I hunt have both cottontail and hare. If the snow isn't too deep there isn't too much difference in the way they run. Hare try to stay farther ahead of the dogs which can cause you problems on bad days if your dogs don't have enough nose. Some hare will take the dogs out of hearing, cottontails don't very often go that far. Cottontails also don't stay up and run very long with fast dogs. With hare you can sometimes run the same rabbit for hours.
Having said all that, I have a hard time telling the difference and there have been times I was sure the dogs were running a cottontail only to have them bring a hare past me.

[poorshot]

Chris thanks for the good news but your right, even if you breed two good "snow dogs" you may one get one or two out of a litter thats what you want. The dogs i see now that are being breed buy SOME people are being breed for speed and smarts and they only run them in trials on bare ground not in snow or ice we need to get our morals in line, I know trials are a way to pick out the best of them but we are getting away from the reason we have beagles to run them silly wabbits in all weather and without a fence.

[TomR]

If a hound won't reach when they have to during a hard check running hare the track will go cold. Some hounds will adjust to this and some won't. I think big nose cottontail bred hounds have trouble reaching out in a check on hare. The big cottontail breeders of the sixties and seventies bred them to a point that they had big noses but were too methodic and wouldn't reach out in the check area. If you have a cottontail bred hound that will reach out and they have that same big nose you might just have what it takes for those REAL COLD hunts. I think the breeders that run hare and cottontail could help you out the most. Remember, I only run cottontail.

[snowshoehareguide]

poorshot and tom r send me an email or call . click www and youll find my # and email . this is my favortite topic. tom mn is running hare and cottontails in same place im referring all arguments to him on cottontail vs hare . al i know for sure is i want dogs with more nose. pete

[sgc]

snowshoehareguide, I believe the guys name is Joe Corullo who has bred them in the past. Go to the Better Beagling site & ask someone for his phone #.

[Slaux]

Poorshot, I believe I answered on this note before, however I fancy the Townlines Johnny Paycheck strain for snow dogs. Most have alot of grit, nose and desire. ALot of the Branko dogs are good on snow also, as is the Colby Hill breeding. Personally, I've owned hounds heavy in Dom's Dougie that were excellent on snow also. Again, most of this breeding is probably not in your area, however the Branko blood is just about everywhere.