Shady Creek Hounds?

[Mapel Valley Kennels LLC.]

Years ago i was in new york at a trial and talked to a fella for quite sometime and he sure did seem to know alot about Jack blood. After the trial i ask a fella who it was . It was Vic Cotanza. ... He told me you could never get to much Jack of all Trades in your dogs. I still remember that too this day.Funny how little we really know when we never get outside our safe little boxes.

[SMITTY1233]

I've found over the years and I'm not big into the beagling scene like I once was that there are good and bad traits in every line. You as the owner have to determine what traits fit your needs. The Jack of All Trades and Jiggs breeding seems to throw a level headed, nose to the ground rabbit dog that can also pick up the pace when needed. It was something I seemed to really enjoy in a rabbit dog. I didn't want a dog that was concerned with only the front. I wanted a dog that could get to the front the correct way. If you've ran enough trials you know exactly what I mean by that statement. The dog pictured above Gunner Boy will get the front but only if your front end dogs miss. He isn't just going to run up to the front of the pack because he needs to. He's going to get there by other dogs mistake. When he runs with a dog that can hold the front with little mistakes he will slot right up and run number 2 or 3 and be happy. It seems to me in my time that those are the dogs I want to let out of the box when I have a gun in my hand. There still plenty flashy and have power but not reckless at all cause. I'm not trying to bash trials here but one thing I see in my limited time is we are so concerned with front end power and tend to forget who is doing the work at 3 4 & 5 in the pack. This is exactly why I sold the Boogity dog. He was a front end at all cost dog. It didn't work for me in a hunting pack of 4 to 5 dogs mostly on snow. He was a one mans dog. I have never seen a dog that could solo a rabbit like that dog. Smooth, conistent and drive. As soon as you put down another dog with competitive edge he would start to concern himself with other things than nose to the ground running the rabbit. Still a darn nice dog and probably the best I've ever owned but didn't fit what I was looking for when I was heading to the Northern MI swamps after hare. Boogity was a grandson to Tracker Jack his sire was Shadycreek Trackers TeeJay and his dam was Brankos Lumber Millie off Lumberjack I believe was the breeding. Boogity was bred into a Ranger Dan female Stinetime Ivy to produce Smith Bros Lil Gunner boy. The Ivy bitch is the best dog I have ever seen run a rabbit beyond question. Thats another story....

[warddog]

Hey smitty thanks for posting that post, I could tell it was from your truthful heart felt knowledge
. I have thought many times about breeding to zac, the stars just have not aligned. Thanks again for being real. good luck with your hounds

+1.....Keep it Real boys!

One thing I know about Smitty is he will always keep it real as he, like I are both basically gun hunters and he knows what a GOOD dog is!

[bunnybuster24]

Boogity is still alive and kicking at the ripe old age of ten. I still run him here at the farm some but he was "officially" retired from any trials as of last year. He has been probally the most enjoyable dog I have ever owned although I can relate to you Kris on banging your head off the wall. LOL! He has the ability to dominate a pack of hounds and has one of the best noses that I have ever seen on a dog. I was fortunate enough to own his father Shady Creek Trackers Teejay also and at 12 he could put on a show. When I moved to Kentucky I gave him to a good friend of mine in North Carolina to live out his days in a warmer climate.

Boogity was bred very little until he was nine years old, I believe only twice. I bred him to six females in 2011 and the pups have turned out outstanding. All have made some sort of rabbit dog and more than a few have been super nice. I plan to breed a couple more to him this year. The pups off of him seem to have picked up his nose. I ran one today that is nine months old and he can solo a rabbit pretty fair himself.

As for title he is a UKC GRHBCH, UKC GRPCH, NKC Little Pack Rabbit Champion, and has 2 wins in AKC and 74.5 points. He was 8 yrs old when I bought him and at the time the closest AKC Midwest trial was nine hours from me or I believe he could have finished. At nine years old he placed 7th at the North Carolina State Little Pack Hunt and the very next weekend he won Grands on Saturday at the UKC North Carolina State Hunt. He finished the year in the top 16 in the state.

He isnt getting any younger and his age is showing so if anyone has a female they are wanting to get bred I wouldnt delay in doing so. He is still getting big litters as his last two had 7 and 9 pups.

[SMITTY1233]

I think I got boogity at 6 months old from Jim and Dana. I can't really recall to tell you the truth. We put thousands of hours on him soloing him and running him in smaller packs. One day I will never forget we were in Northen MI running hare on 10-12" of powdered snow, the kind that is a pain in the you know what to walk in. The dogs were running at times up to there chest. We got our first race going shortly after dumping the box and 5 dogs. On the first circle boogity was 40 yard ahead of the pack and just hammering the hare. The second cirlce boogity was 60+ yards ahead of the pack and these weren't just average dogs he was running with these were seasoned gun dogs. The third time they came through he was 100+ yards ahead of the rest of the pack and just a flying. When one single shot rang out across the valley I was about 75 yards away from the shot. I headed in that direction to see what had happened. When I got there a buddy had harvested one of his first hare. I could here the other dogs running and told my buddy get ready this is a double. There is no way they are that far behind we have a split going. Sure enough after a few minutes the rest of the pack showed up running the same hare. It was something I will never forget. The most dominating run by any dog I have ever seen especially in tough conditions where he was breaking trail the entire day.



Boogity was raised right from a pup until the time he left our house. He was primarily a gun dog and we hunted hard back in those days. Religously on weekends and usually two to three times during the week he was getting out and ran. He was a dog that had no end. He'd run 8+ hours one day and fire out of the box the next day. He was a pleasure to own and his son still lives in my pen today as the only beagle I have. If you weren't so far away I'd be trying to hook up with one. We just recently bred his son to a female out of Tyke which I hope she took. Excited to see those pups if they are born. Here is boogity at just under a year old. This dog helped me through a rough patch in my life. He will never be forgotten and I'm glad to hear he has landed in good hands. Whenever I'm out gunning now I can close my eyes and still hear his awesome voice ringing out.