How do you put a pack together?

[Tim H]

jon cornett asked a question about male or female for hunting. I would like to know how everyone decides how to put a pack together for hunting? Do you use the same dogs all day or do you switch dogs out? If you switch out, how do you decide which dogs get switched and when?

[RJG]

Tim,

I have 4 running dogs so I don't know that I would ever really call them a pack, lol. What I try to do is mix and match them to the cover and conditions I'm hunting in. Briar and Supe are both what I would consider progressive pack style hounds. with good hunt, nose, excellent line control and check work. Both are solid med-fast with the ability to keep up with a faster dog or gear down if the conditions dictate. One of these two or both are almost always on the ground. Dink is my windsplitter. He's a little pack style hound that can flat push a rabbit in good conditions. In large open areas I'll hunt him with one or both of the other hounds as they can keep reasonably close with him and clean up the checks if he gets a little sloppy and I still get to shoot the rabbit. In really tough scenting conditions or super thick cover, Briar and Supe get put down with Auggie. He's a flat medium-slow speed hound with a huge nose. He'll pull a track when the others just can't quite get it done and in those conditions the other two have to gear down to his speed so they run well together and again I get to shoot the rabbit. The times I've tried to run all four just didn't work that well. Briar and Supe are what I consider my everyday hounds and I'll add one or the other as the cover and conditions dictate.

RJG

[jdmart]

If a dog can't go all day either it is not in shape or is not worthy to be in my kennel. Everyone's dogs get out of shape every now and then, but when season rolls around if a dog can't go all day he needs to be sent down the road. He certainly will never make a good trial dog either if he can't handle the "heat" of an all day hunt.

[JIMMIE ABSHIRE]

TIM I HUNT BASICALLY ALL MALES MOST OF MY LINE HAS HEAVY SPUR BREEDING IN IT WHICH IS BASACALLY BOTTOM END ,THATS WHY I LIKE EM WHEN YOUR ENTIRE KENNELS IS BUILT AROUND TWODOG SWHICH IN MY CASE PINE MTN CHESTER AND KINGWOODS T-REX ALL MY DOGS ARE PRETTY MUCH CARBON COPIES OF ONE ANOTHER..I HUNT DIFFERENT PLACES FROM IND COAL MINES TO EASTERN KY MOUNTAINS FROM SWAMPERS TO HARE TO COTTONTAILS I WILL LEAVE EM DOWN ALL DAY .....I THINK SUCESS IS MEASURING FROM THE BEGINING WHEN YOU START TO TODAY AT WHERE YOU ARE I NEVER HUNT OVER 4 DOGS AND PREFER LESS I LIKE TO SEE 2 BIG MALES GOING AT IT

[Big Dog]

I typically gun hunt with 4 or 5 dogs most of the time. My pack of gun dogs consists of 3 males and 2 females. They are all day dogs, as a matter of fact they seem to get stronger as the day goes on. I don't have just one single line in my kennel, I have a little of this and a little of that, but I have them matched up pretty good and they seem to compliment each other pretty well. The best thing is that I trust them so I don't have to worry about what they are running when the chase gets started, and I know they are gonna bring most of the rabbits that we jump back to the gun unless they go in a hole, and they ain't gonna waste a whole lot of time doing it. I hunt them from the mid west on cottontails to the deep south on swampers and enjoy success on all of them. The next adventure will be Hare.

Big Dog

[Buckeye Bob]

I grew up hunting with just one dog but was introduced to the thrill of a good pack 4 years ago.It has been alot more difficult than I first thought it would be to assemble a pack of dogs that compliment each other but also extremely rewarding.I like to run mine all together unless one is in heat or I am hunting with others then I will take one that best compliments who I am running with.