Cougar hunting with dogs?

crazy_davey said:
Speaking of cougars, just rode the quad up to check the trail camera a few minutes ago and got this sneaky guy out in during the daylight hours.

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Healthy looking little kitty...:cool:
 
The ethical hunting police are back, do it my way it is the only way,legal do it, don't like it #### off!
 
Is it even possible to hunt Cougar without using dogs? Whats the other option a bait pile or using some sort of live bait?
 
USP said:
Is it even possible to hunt Cougar without using dogs? Whats the other option a bait pile or using some sort of live bait?
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Not really possible with any high success rate. Even with dogs, cougar hunting is very weather dependant, a couple of inches of fresh snow daily is ideal, but that rarely happens. Lots of guys go on cat hunts on short notice, the outfitter calls them and says "be here tomorrow, conditions are perfect".
I've been on 2 cat hunts, still no cat. My "unsuccessfulness" can be attributed to tough luck. First hunt(BC) it started snowing the day I got there and didn't quit the whole week. Second hunt(Idaho) it was melting during the day, freezing at night so cats were running on top. No snow all week, clear blue sky.I had a great time on both hunts and both outfitters tried their hardest, but that's hunting. it's certainly not like shooting fish in a barrel, as some think. Also, the terrain is demanding, to say the least.
Next trip I'll wait to go until conditions are ideal, just to increase my chances. Cat hunts are getting pricey though, especially Canadian ones. Most are running $6000-$8000 now. In some states, there's still some quality ones for $4000-$5000 in Idaho and Utah.
 
I never have thought it was very sportsmanlike to use dogs to tree something.

Kind of like a caged hunt to me. yeah its legal to do but where is the sport it it? the dogs find it and run it in a tree and at your leisure you walk up and kill it. not my idea of "hunting" but to each their own.
 
sask farmboy said:
I never have thought it was very sportsmanlike to use dogs to tree something.

Kind of like a caged hunt to me. yeah its legal to do but where is the sport it it? the dogs find it and run it in a tree and at your leisure you walk up and kill it. not my idea of "hunting" but to each their own.
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LOL...yup...leisurely walk through the foothills to the cat waiting calmly in the tree. Can almost wear your loafers and sweat pants. :rolleyes:
 
sask farmboy said:
I never have thought it was very sportsmanlike to use dogs to tree something.

Kind of like a caged hunt to me. yeah its legal to do but where is the sport it it? the dogs find it and run it in a tree and at your leisure you walk up and kill it. not my idea of "hunting" but to each their own.
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I guess there's not much sport in sitting over an alfalfa field or hay bale covered in oats and blasting deer when they come to feed either. ;)
 
When I worked in Powell River the outfitter there ran dogs on a regular basis. We did a 3 day hunt at one point on a cougar big enough to take down a full grown elk (which is how we knew the cat was around in the first place). The cat gave us the slip in the end, but it was a great hunt!

FWIW, I have hunted cougar and bear with dogs and used dogs to tree lynx for research and its far from 'easy'. I strongly encourage guys who wonder how ethical it is to give a try.... once.... and then see how they feel. One of the things we really liked about running bear with dogs was that we could chase and tree a bear, take some pics and let him go. Nobody had to die and the stress of a chase is well within the normal experience of wild animals. Everyone went home happy! :D
 
sask farmboy said:
I never have thought it was very sportsmanlike to use dogs to tree something.

Kind of like a caged hunt to me. yeah its legal to do but where is the sport it it? the dogs find it and run it in a tree and at your leisure you walk up and kill it. not my idea of "hunting" but to each their own.
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Hunting with hounds has been a tradition for many centuries- if not longer. It's as natural a partnership as has ever existed. For most houndsmen the thrill of the hunt is in the chase. Watching and listening as the dogs sort out the track. Humping through ravines, swamps, bush and hills- wherever the track leads. Most houndsmen only harvest a fraction of what the hounds run or tree. My buddy runs a small bear outfitting business and he has bait and hound hunters who come up from the States. The bait hunters come up at the start of the season and the hound hunters come up afterwards. Last season the bait hunters took 6 bears for 7 hunters. The hound hunters took one bear but enjoyed great hunts everyday.

For serious houndsmen there is a year long investment in time and money. They spend countless hours training their hounds whenever they get the chance. They labour over their breeding and buying decisions in order to get the dogs with the traits that they desire. For those who have never hunted with hounds it may be hard to understand the appeal. For those of us who do it, whether it's Beagles for bunnies, Walkers for deer or Plotts for game that fights back, it is a part of our culture and we can't think of a more fulfilling way to hunt.

I have no issue with hunting over bait, using decoys, using high power rifle and scope combos or using bird dogs to disclose the location of a hidden partridge. Some could argue that all of these provide an unfair advantage. I would not agree with that notion. And I don't agree that hunting with hounds is unsportsmanlike. I would instead invite those hunters who don't think they like the idea of hound hunting, but have never tried it, to get out with a houndsman and see what it's about first hand. One word of advice though- wear comfortable, waterproof boots because you'll be going where the dogs go!
 
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