Gearing Down Or Cold Trailing ?

[outrider66]

I know most folks don't like cold trailing and I don't either. But I do like a dog that can open on a track and advance it quickly when other dogs cant open on it ! (nose power)
late season or even on a bad scent day rabbits can & do get out in front of dogs ! Seems to me that a dog will have to do some cold trailing to keep it going or is gearing down just the correct way of saying it. my personal opinion on this is a dog with lock on ability has to be able to cold trail in actual hunting conditions . whats your opinions?

[rabbitatfarm]

I have a dog that opens when he smells a rabbit. He has minused out several times in trials, but I have also seen him take a track that others can't smell. If I'm going hunting, he's the dog I'll take. Sometimes it takes longer than the allotted three minutes LP allows, but given time he'll track it out.

Larry

[Baldhead99]

I'd say gearing down cause the hound has the nose to run the track while the others don't. I used to own a dog like that, and sure miss him(RIP). He could gear up or down. I would just tell people he just has a better nose than your dogs. He really not trying to make them look bad. those dogs are getting hard to find around my area.

[outrider66]

Baldhead id say your right ! And I agree , I read on Brankos websight there description of FT CH Brankos Warlock it said his specialty was running when most other dogs
couldn't open and also says at a trial he ran on ice when no other dogs could open ! sounds like he had some nose power to me ! I don't know how he would have looked
in a honey hole full of baby rabbits may have had some extra ? I run public land and on bad days I hear a lot of packs jump a rabbit take off screamin then shut up ! they
just cant smell it out to far from the jump ! I guess I would rather have a little extra than one that cant run at all !

[S.R.Patch]

Mike called me the other day and said his little Jumper X Bunny male put on such a show the other day on some icy crust up in Dorr Mich. That little dog would run right under the others when taking the line out and had a straight way of going when i started him. Guess I let the wrong one get away from me again...lol
Happy for you Mike, sounds like he's making a dandy.

[Randy Osborne]

Rabbitatfarm, what bloodline was this dog.

[Shady Grove Beagles]

Here's a subject that always generates some discussion so thought I'd through my 2 cents in for what ever it's worth.
I believe there is a difference between a"cold nosed" dog and a dog with a "big nose".
To me the cold nosed dog is one that is willing to work a very tough,old,cold,bad trail.Some hunters don't like this type of hound because they have seen some that move a tough trail so slowly and poorly that in winter you could freeze to death waiting for that hound to circle the rabbit.
The mistake they make is in thinking that nose power and trailing ability are all the same thing ,when in reality they are two different traits.
To me there is nothing more aggravating than a hound that spends a day hunting, barking and bawling around on cold tracks without much positive results.He can smell it but is not adept at moving it.
Don't make the mistake of believing all big nosed hounds are that way because many of them aren't.There are hounds that will work that bad,tough,poor conditions track in a manner that if you didn't know the hound would make you think he was working a hot track.
To me there is a difference between a track that is "old/cold" and one that is just difficult.One track may be old in the fact that it has been awhile since the rabbit/hare left it and the hound has to have the ability/mentality to desire to work it out to where the rabbit can be jumped.The other track in contrast doesn't necessarily have to be old----in fact it could be just jumped!!!I've seen hare jumped up right in front of hounds and run across ice and the hounds couldn't run him past a sight chase.Same thing on a cottontail that runs down a gravel lane or plowed up earth in July when it's 90 and no rain for several weeks.The hound with a "big nose" can keep the track moving when others can't seem to smell it---even though that track is not cold or old at all.
If you hunt in areas where rabbits/hare are scarce and especially where there is snow or frozen and frosty ground or super dry conditions it's almost a necessity to have a fairly" cold nosed /big nosed" hound that is also a talented track driver.
Be aware that the hound that has the ability and desire to try and lift that old/cold track and the nose power to run when others can't seem to smell it can also come with some extra baggage that many don't want in their hounds.Early opening,popping off,failure to produce the game,possible back tracking,running covered line,etc.Not always but there definitely is a trade-off at times for that high powered nose.
When I judged A.R.H.A. Little Pack I minused out hounds for opening and not producing and more times than not the owners would say"oh,he's got a wicked nose on him".
Use to hunt with a fellow that had an older female and he would always tell everyone how "cold nosed " she was.He thought this because she would routinely open and work scent/tracks[??] that the other 5-6 hounds we had down wouldn't open with her.Got to the point that the other hounds wouldn't even go check her.She'd boo around like that for an hour and when she'd finally get one jumped her owner would brag about what a nose she had.I wouldn't own one like that.She might have enough nose to smell the rabbit but not enough brains/ability to get up on him and turn it into a run without taking forever.
When hunting big game with tree hounds it is not unusual at all to strike a bear,cut a lion or bobcat track or even a coon that left their scent many hours ago and have the type of hound that can and will open on that "cold/old " track or the "big nosed" hound that can carry the track across a rocky and wind swept mountain side.
If I still lived up in the north country and was hunting on several feet of snow and the temps. around zero I might feel different but hunting cottontails here in Tn.when my dogs are barking the rabbit is running !! LOL.


Found this post of mine from almost 10 years ago and guess my thoughts haven't changed.

Shady Grove Beagles » Sat Dec 30, 2006 8:37 pm
To me there needs to be a little clarification here. What some people call cold trailing is an older track made some time before the hound encounters it that takes some work and opening before the jump occurs.
Others seem to equate "cold trailing" with a hounds seaming difficulty moving a track in poor conditions.
Now I've seen hounds in good running / scenting conditions take a coon track or hare/rabbit track that I knew was an old track and hit it hard and be running full out within a short distance and closing on their game. Have also seen dogs put on game that was just barely gone and they could hardly get out of the check area.So what is cold trailing? The length of time since the track was made or the amount of unsuccessful barking the hound has done before he's made enough progress to find his game?
Not to poo poo you fellows who hunt on snow as I can tell from reading your posts that most figure that this is the toughest hunting there is bar none. Well I lived in New Hampshire and ran hare and Bobcat in the winter on snowshoes and at temps around 0.So I know how tough that can be. BUT, don't kid yourself. Running here in the south when temps have been high 80's and 90's for days on end and no rain or even a hint of dew for weeks at a time takes a dog with superior abilities also.
I've seen too many hounds boo around on tracks in snow or in dust that they just ought to have the brains to leave alone. If they are going to work that type of track I prefer they work in SILENCE as they don't need to open until they are running.
If a hound jumps a rabbit on a very poor running / scenting day and looses it in a short distance and boos around for the next 10 minutes do we say that he's cold trailing?
A lot of folks ought to know the difference between "cold trailing" and a hound that will open on tracks he doesn't have the brains and / or ability to run.
I hate it when I go to the woods and someone has a hound that boos all over the place and the whole rest of the pack doesn't say a word and all this guy keeps telling me is " yea I know she cold trails but she eventually will get em up" I really hate that kind of hound.
Home of a true hunting beagle that run to catch

[Rcoff]

Right on, Shady Grove, well said.
Thanks,
Bob

[snowshoehareguide]

- ive seen dogs appear to be cold trailing on a fresh track when other just didnt smell it-- ive seen too many days that if one dog could move it a little everybody could run it--if you didnt have THAT dog--- no run at all-- on days like that , you can whine about a poor scenting day or find a dog with more nose- -if your having a lot of poor scenting days you need more nose-- single digits yesterday when i started , 17 below when i got done-- radio says 40 below windchill - i was pretty happy to get any runs at all- had some good runs and what looked like cold trailing on same hare ,, all day long- ive got dogs that cold trail too much ,too mouthy - etc--- and probably always will--- it beats no run at all- --its pretty easy to tell if a dog has a good nose or just is a boo hooing idiot-- too often they can be same dog- does he produce game or not-- does he always make it look hard? one day doesnt mean much but whats the average ? oh ya ive seen a hare run off and didnt have a dog could smell it at all and that is the worse fault they can have in my book- i hope i never see it again, but im betting i will- --- its a lot easier to type up the dog i want than it is too actually have one-

[Hare Chaser]

Yeah, you want to know what's really disheartening? Have a dog(s) that really shine on bare ground and on the "good" snow days and then go with someone when it's down in the single digits in 18" of dry powder that has a dog with all the nose and tools it needs to run in those conditions. Watch the hare go through and then his dog come through wide open toting your dogs along behind him not saying a word. Every once in awhile you might hear yours peep and struggle to pick up the check. Then your buddies dog joins in and takes off with it like he's looking at it. Oh yeah and then after an hour or more after that hare has circled the same area 7 or 8 times and begins coming back through in and out of the old trenches he's made an hour ago. The dog with the nose brings it on through while your dogs just create more trenches looking for it cause they can't smell it.

No doubt the dogs with extreme nose will carry some baggage as a rule. There are the exceptions that seem to not cold trail much at all or rarely hit old line but they are just that, the exceptions. I do believe the dog that can run in the extreme winter conditions in the North can likely run in the dry dusty conditions of the south and vice versa. I'll put up with some of the baggage any day over being the guy whose got the dogs that become the boxcars in the train being pulled by the dog with the nose to make a cold day in January sound like a cool morning run in June! I've been the guy watching his pride and joy look as if they didn't know there was hare in the woods while my buddies dog was pounding. It really ain't anywhere near as much fun!

[rabbitearl]

Never had but one dog in my life that would trail one up. If she smell it that mor that was a jump rabbit. The last pack I had there was one that would smell one that mor but would not stay on it but she would let me and the other dogs know there was a rabbit around and it would work. Thats what I am talking about putting a pack together. The hold pack doing there own thing. Don t want a hold pack doing all the same thing. Love to have one that would not open till the rabbit is up and only run nothing but a rabbit. But over the years of having all these pens. This would be out of ??? if the rabbits were here.

[Laneline]

I have had individuals ask why is your dog “cold trailing”? I then look at them and ask “why can’t your dog smell the rabbit”? Now I am not referring to a dog that bows up at the back, stays in one spot and blows a hole in the ground, but I am talking about the hound that actually produces a rabbit after trailing a line that the other dogs are just getting no more than “happy tail” on.

Two things here… #1... I believe there is a limited amount of hounds that can do this and "produce", and the good men that own the fine hounds that can’t do it have huge issues with their hound’s inability to run in such wicked conditions… which hurts their pride. Which leads us to #2... this “trait” along with a few others has been all but eliminated within the field trial world and somehow has become labeled as a “fault” opposed to a talent.

There was a time when a “cold trailer” actually got positive points in a Field Trial for his talent, but these dogs became over time a “minority” so the “majority” decided to turn it into a “fault”… along with not rewarding some other key traits in a hound such as “hunt”. For a period of time it totally changed beagling as a whole.

Included is a copy of a Field Trial Score Card that I have shared before from 1919, take a look at the traits that were desired in a hound. How we went from gaging a hound in multiple areas of anywhere from 12 to 14 traits, to now 4 to 5 traits in today’s version of Field Trial Score Cards, read the score card below… I am not really sure.

Also, Terry McBride recognized the need to express his concern of the trait "extreme hunt" being eliminated as a highly rewarded and held as a "highly sought after" trait within the field trialing circuit, read Terry's ad below…

Point being; we can’t let others, especially a Field Trial Format dictate or define what a hound should be or do… history proves that men/committees “get it wrong”, which takes away from and hinders the legitimacy of a “Field Champion Title”.

[outrider66]

Lots of good replies to this post ! lanelines first sentence reminds me of an old coonhuntin buddy of mine. every time someone would start telling him about there new brag
dog he would ask them Whats he gonna do when the ground freezes ??? As a long time coonhunter I preferred a cold nosed dog that could work a track right and have it on
the outside in late season! opposed to a hot nosed dog that blew through the country and fell treed on a den cause thats the only place it could smell coon scent. this type
of dog is what most coonhunters I knew refered to as a competition dog! not a coondog ! as for beagles I would much rather have one trail a rabbit and bring it to the gun
than jump 10 and not be able to run them !

[WELLS WOODS]

I prefer a hound with a good nose, but the brains to only open when the rabbit is up. Lot of old lines in the woods that could lead to nothing.

[outrider66]

I wont keep a dog that barks in the check area. but every time someone tells me they don't like a dog that can trail a rabbit, I always wonder if they realy
don't like it or if they were told not to like it ??????