The best bloodlines for hare!!

[freestyler]

Running hare & running cottontail are very different. Dogs that can adjust & do well on both are hard to find. Someone mentioned Dan Johnson. He has had good luck in both. So has John Dewyse, Bob King, Cletus Shaw & several others. Some guys down here have had good luck in the hare trials also. Don Hoog won the Nationals with a big female & Showtime won the big male class one year. These guys run hounds with some Pacesetter blood & also Heli-Prop/ Jack of all Trades... One of the best big females I ever judged on cottontail was also running in hare trials. She was IFC Stonyhills Tamarack; by Pacesetter & FC Black Point Bessie.

[ohlinger]

Running hare & running cottontail are very different. Dogs that can adjust & do well on both are hard to find. Someone mentioned Dan Johnson. He has had good luck in both. So has John Dewyse, Bob King, Cletus Shaw & several others. Some guys down here have had good luck in the hare trials also. Don Hoog won the Nationals with a big female & Showtime won the big male class one year. These guys run hounds with some Pacesetter blood & also Heli-Prop/ Jack of all Trades... One of the best big females I ever judged on cottontail was also running in hare trials. She was IFC Stonyhills Tamarack; by Pacesetter & FC Black Point Bessie.

Why do you sait it's hard to find dogs that can adjust to both ? I know tons of guys in Michigan that run both all the time...mine and my friends seem to do pretty well when we go up north to run hare. Last time I was up there we had 7 dogs run one down on the 1st day. The dogs were No Luck Red Falcon of Crowtown, Gridiron big bad wolf, JG's Oscars wild, Gridiron Smooth as Silk, Gridiron No Luck Bad Mojo, Jeremy Gieger's old Diesel dog he bought and later sold and another friend of mines dog named Blue a bluetick sired by Darren Vangorder's jhett dog I believe. anyone that knows those hounds knows it's a good mix of hounds. I'd say that's a pretty quick adjustment...it was also one hell of a pack of hounds on the ground. Took about an hour and Jared Ford and I heard the break down and the squawl looked at each other in disbelief we thought were about to shoot a hare lol nope the dogs caught it and brought it back out to us.....I guess everyones experiences are different, but mine suggest it isn't hard to find dogs that can adjust to both. Sometimes it takes a dog awhile to run hare if it's ran cottontail and broke from trash. I've had a couple that wouldn't immediately pack in on hare. Seen a few others as well. Granted I'm not talking about IFC's or anything "legendary" but hounds that can run both on a typical hunting day nothing extreme is fairly common I'd say. A dog can go from Cottontail to deer pretty easy a hare is a happy medium I'd say.

[Hare Chaser]

I can't speak to the cottontail side as I've only run them once. We don't have them near where I live. But I can tell you that hare are not as easy to run as you may think from December through mid March in the upper northeast anyways. I suspect the same could be said about cottontail when it is hot and dry in the areas they inhabit. From what I'm told by those who live in cottontail country those conditions are quite challenging and require a dog with about all the tools we want in a harehound with exception of the ability to go through deep snow. For those guys I suppose the toughness to go through the nasty briers many have would be significant as well.

[ohlinger]

Anyhow if I lived up North I'd be buying up dogs from Jim Meachum, Nelson Ferrier, Lake Ogemaw Kennel, and Birch Lake breeding. I mean lol If I could get my hands on them. That's my input for what that's worth.

[WELLS WOODS]

I meant that it's hard to find hounds that can adjust well enough to win field trials in both formats. Most dogs coming off of hare will be too wide in the check area to run a cottontail the right way at first. It will take them some time to settle in & adjust to a smaller animal with less scent that runs a much smaller circle. Also, the rabbits are more tricky than a hare & they must be able to stay on the true line with the rabbit zig zaging, crossing old lines, doubling back, etc.. Cottontail dogs should have an easier time adjusting to hare, but they are not able to get in the type of shape needed to compete by just running cottontail. Stamina would be the biggest hurdle for cottontail dogs going to a Large pack on hare trial plus they are running against hounds that know the hare game & have been running them all their life. The Pacesetter/ Heli-Prop bred dogs have shown up more in both winners circles, AKC LPH & AKC Mid-West SPO-R through the years than any other bloodline that I can think of. I've seen some Lumberjack dogs do well ; also Ranger Dan & Viagra blood has done well in both formats.

[Swampman]

No offense to anyone, unless you run both cottontail and hare, year-round in all conditions on a regular basis, it’s purely speculation which is tougher to run.
Either species in Oct or March is really no test of any hound, other than endurance. However, in the dead of winter or the scorching heat/humidity of July/Aug. on either species will show you what you have.

I do run as described and in my opinion under IDENTICAL conditions, cottontail is tougher. I don’t know if it is due to the amount of scent (I myself can’t smell neither one) but feel it has more to do with how each run or the lack there of.
Hare run fairly straight, but are tougher to get jumped in my opinion. I have been victim with Chuck of the abyss he speaks of and also have found hare do hole occasionally.
Hounds need to be in peak condition for this endurance race.
Cottontails are an easier jump in my opinion but constantly zig/zag, double back and head for holes when pressured too hard and for any length of time especially in deep. fresh snow.
Hounds need to be tough as nails this time of year with the thick briars that tear them to shreds after hours of running.

Now, I'm going to use that dreaded "B" word, but I do believe hounds have brains, and how a particular hound uses it's brain makes a huge difference.

I believe Budd has come to respect the cottontail a little more the last few years when coming south in Feb. to run on ice and in frigid temps for a week or two.
Maybe he will respond with his thoughts as well.

If any of you believe there aren't hounds that can hunt and run both, you are sadly mistaken.
Just take a look at the results in Better Beagling this past year at what hounds placed and won in both the Midwest SPO and LPH trials.

If any of you southern boys ever get a chance to head north to run hare in Jan/Feb, do it and you will see extreme winter conditions.
This goes for us northern boys as well, take a trip to southern IN this time of year to the strip mines and see extreme heat/dry conditions.
And if anyone is up for it, come to southern/central WI to run cottontails in Jan/Feb and see just how easy these cottontails are to run.

My point is, experience both species in all conditions, you will learn to respect both.

[hard on a check]

Swampman ..Good post.

[ohlinger]

Good post!! Wells I understand what you mean as well thanks for the clarification

[JovanJ]

This post is based off of opinions.In mine,id say Striker/Shaker..Ive seen this bitch of my buddies that does not stop.Try and see her quit,youll be 1st.Time and Time again.And she seems to kick it in her pups