Too much nose or not enough brains?

[Ron Conroe]

everybody is a expert, im sure you have run on snow before that only lasted about two days, and we to get hot weather but you don't get the snow and cold weather for 3 or 4 months like we do. so dawg182 when you do that and have a dog that can do that then, i will listen to you.

[Jwagner]

running in fresh snow, and running in crap month old crust snow, in single digits is a lot different. The problem with talking about nose power, on this board, is that everyone considers nose power differently. it's all in what you have experienced, for some, what they call a big nose dog, is average to poor, for someone else.

[ohlinger]

good post!

[klrconcrete]

I have never thought there was such a thing as too much nose. There are plenty of hounds that never learn how to use it. I love a cold trailer- some will hang themselves from time to time but when it counts they are a godsend! I compare extreme cold to extreme heat - it takes a hound with tools to do the job.

[Bunnyblaster]

Consistency in our own particular climate is what we are all after. Alabama, I have no idea how my hounds would stack up in your neck of the woods. My guess is a couple of them would fair well after getting used to the water like you talk about. All I know is on days like Thursday when I went out with the wind whipping and I see rabbits sitting tight and probably have been for hours the dogs can get within a few feet of them bunnies and they just don't jump.........maybe I need to find me a true jump dog?? But my dogs that will cold trail that 2 hour old track up to where the rabbit is sitting is the only way they "know" where the rabbit is. Once it's up and running then they seem to do just fine which leads me to believe the track they trailed up to find it was rather old but they can obviously smell the fresh scent just fine. I have had dogs that will just go from pile to pile looking for a rabbit where it "should" be only to come up empty because the little tuft of grass they ran by on the way to the brush pile was where the bunny has been sitting tight for god knows how long.

All I know is I probably have a lot less experience than some of you guys on here but in the bad times of our winter months I have had too many dogs in years past that just couldn't get it done because they didn't have the nose for it. And I've had some with a great nose that ran around like idiots barking at every speck of scent they came across whether they could take it any farther than that or not. Both of these kinds of hounds just don't do it for me because good conditions are all they seem to be capable of running in. When I say a little extra mouth I'm talking about dogs like mine that I might get an extra bark here and there and just like Thursday they may even pop off a couple of times where the scent held better under a low hanging pine tree but just couldn't take it anywhere once they got that older track out in the open and especially in the wind but in turn are also smart enough to leave that track because they can't move it. I've also had that dog that won't leave that scent patch that it can smell.......i.e. no brains imo. So maybe my dogs are too dumb to realize they can't run every track they're nose gets a piece of or because maybe they still need a little more nose but either way I don't consider my hounds to be brainless babblers that just run all over the woods barking just hear themselves bark. Our running conditions aren't the same and never will be so for the guys that don't consistently run in our crappy weather you'll have to excuse me if I don't take your opinions as gospel and I would expect nothing but the same in reverse just like Alabama pointed out. It takes a little different style or maybe just experience on the dogs part imo to excel in different areas of the country.

[deadeyebeagle]

i would go run with any of you guys running big nose dogs but i would be afraid my perfct dogs would pick up bad habits lmao

[Alabama John]

Well written and wise Bunnyblaster.'

It snowed here for one day and my dogs never left the dog house or my truck the garage. All schools closed too.
We would be lost in weather you take in stride. One advantage we have is rabbits that swim to their hiding place give off scent as they are wet.
Wish we could run sometime. I know I would be impressed with your dogs.
Enjoy the rest of the hunting season and good luck!!!

[dawg182]

i wish i had a dog that could run on snow....rabbits wouldnt stand a chance then........

[Timmy J]

Well as for me If I had to add any one thing to my pack of dogs it would have to be a little more nose than what I currently have. But my problem with these dogs that people claim to have huge noses are mouthy and dont have the brains to use it right and just maybe they dont have as much nose as my dogs do, but my dogs have the brains not to suck minuses or pee me off gun hunting. The other thing that bothers me is when Im at a trial and a dog strikes in and about 3 minutes and 30 seconds later my dog jumps the rabbit about 40-50yards away from where that dog opened first but hey the other dog gets first strike uh. So I think that as long as my dogs can keep rabbits going in any condition here in VA I am going to stick with what I have. And yes I have ran in 6-7 inches of snow regularly

[Newt]

It has snowed here once so far this year. It was in the high teens with about four inches of snow. My Englebert bitch ran for four hours circling cotton tails. However, evertime I hunt I run into mountains of briars. I need dogs with more toughness not more nose. When a dog runs into the briars, stops, and backs out then skirts. IMO, it lacks brains, it has enough nose.
I won't feed it if it won't bust briars.

[Lone Pine Beagles]

Gears and Nose:

Without gears a big nose is of little use.

Ran hare with Bigwoods on Saturday.
Warmer (30 degrees) old snow, but very poor scenting.
Scent went deep into the moist snow.
The dogs geared down and circled for hours, covering 13 miles.
Good steady pressure.

Ran cottontail with Conroe on Monday.
Colder than all get out. (Windchill near zero) Very windy!
Again the dogs had to gear down with big nose to put pressure on mr. rabbit.
Dogs covered 9 miles and circled several times.
They sped up when they could, and walked it out when they had to.
Again, good consistent pressure.

I think "brains" can be associated with "gears"... without gears we'd be looking for excuses!


LPB

[jim matuszewski]

brains are not going to get it done in the conditions that we are in right now at home you need a big nose,to keep that dog around for the rest of the year is up to you and if you dont live in such tough winter conditions it really dose not matter, i have a retired dog here that could circle a hare today in his prime, but to day at -12 his offspring could not keep one up but one good thing they don't have some of the bagage he would bring in better conditions. you have to drpo dogs in these conditions to respect what i'm getting at,a bark when it's up dog would'nt have worked today,

[jim matuszewski]

Gears and Nose:

Without gears a big nose is of little use.

Ran hare with Bigwoods on Saturday.
Warmer (30 degrees) old snow, but very poor scenting.
Scent went deep into the moist snow.
The dogs geared down and circled for hours, covering 13 miles.
Good steady pressure.

Ran cottontail with Conroe on Monday.
Colder than all get out. (Windchill near zero) Very windy!
Again the dogs had to gear down with big nose to put pressure on mr. rabbit.
Dogs covered 9 miles and circled several times.
They sped up when they could, and walked it out when they had to.
Again, good consistent pressure.

I think "brains" can be associated with "gears"... without gears we'd be looking for excuses!


LPB

windchill here today was -40 air temp -10 these are conditions that put any dog to the test and i live in these conditions and cant reproduce a constant line of dogs that are doing it,raised some dumb dogs and some smart dogs,you need a huge nose dog to run today,brains are not relavant period.

[eddywilliams]

I dont know about the rest of you but I wont be testing any dogs nose in this kind of weather .There will be better days to run a rabbit .

[Ron Conroe]

cmon eddy, you can't be a fair weather hunter, you got to get out there when u can. 1 degree wind chills 18 below we will be running at 9 o'clock. oh i forgot rabbits hole up when it gets below 5 degrees so maybe i will just set in the house and watch tv.