Hound Guys,Please Chime In !!!!!!

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88 man

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GunNutz
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Grafton Ont
I've got a deer camp in Algonquin Park and keep the hounds at my house all yr,train them in the summer,etc,you all know what's involved !.I get $500 for the week where up hunting.It's come to the time now that it's getting hard for me to keep putting out $'s all yr and only get a portion of it back in rental fees and need to find a better way for cost that I don't end up paying for 90%.I'm thinking every 3 months put a bill in for food and have all the camp members divide it up equally.I've talked with a few members and was told that if this is the way we go if anyone does'nt want to pay then they should'nt hunt !.Everyone wants the hounds so should everyone help pay as well ?.9 hounds realy ties you down and it's hard to get away for holidays,etc. !.
So what do you and your camps do for paying for food ?.Any sugestions would be great in finding a better way!!
Thanks, 88
 
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I keep two hounds and I pay for food. I use cash from the camp account for vet bills and to buy new dogs. No other member wants the problem of keeping dogs. I like the dogs and they are good watch dogs. We have gone through a few dogs lately that would not run and they cost the camp.
 
I enjoy the hounds very much and wish they could all come in the house ( or at least my wife does ).The camp guys all want them so thought if they want then for the hunt should they not help pay for food as well ?.The guys help when I have vet bills,tracking system needs repair,building the dog trailer,etc..So why not help with food cost !!!
 
88 man said:
I enjoy the hounds very much and wish they could all come in the house ( or at least my wife does ).The camp guys all want them so thought if they want then for the hunt should they not help pay for food as well ?.The guys help when I have vet bills,tracking system needs repair,building the dog trailer,etc..So why not help with food cost !!!
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Ask which one of them wants to take over the dogs. :rolleyes:


I would total ALL expenses and it would be an operating expense for the club.

I"m in ALberta, we don't hunt with hounds and there's not a lot of "hunt clubs"
Usually it is just some guys who hunt together, and you sure don't need hounds ti fill your deer tags here.
It still come down to the same principle.

all in= all pay.

I have labs and horses. I'm not about to take care and feed them for nothing.
Throw in the truck and trailer, saddles and gear, trained dogs and it is easy to have someone take advantage and oddly they will if they are allowed to.
 
All of our bills are combined (camp,food,dogs) then divided by the number of hunters.
Last fall it cost 250 a week for the deer hunt,that is cheap when all most guys have to do is bring there own personal gear.
 
My dogs, just two, were personal pets, and the guys only paid for food and license while at camp. They also paid for any vet bills as a result of injury suffered at camp, like large amounts of porky quills, too many for us to pull.

It was quite expensive to keep even two dogs, but they were like family, and I never had an issue with it.

It also meant that I had absolute say in how and when the dogs were used.
 
These dogs are not personal pets so that's not an issue.They are as some will say " hunting tools ".Never had a prob will paying for vet bills etc.Just thinking that if ALL the guys want to hunt with hounds then it should be ALL the guys help pay for everything,not just a rental fee for one week and I get stuck for the bill for 51 weeks !!!!
 
My question is what do have in Ontario that requires 9 dogs??? Are you trying to tree polar bears or are your deer just that mean???
 
Save all your receipts for dog chow, and that gets split even between everyone. Then everyone souldnt have an issue tossing you another $30-40 each for looking after them.Its only fair.
 
chilcotin said:
My question is what do have in Ontario that requires 9 dogs??? Are you trying to tree polar bears or are your deer just that mean???
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Not all the dogs get ran at once( 2 at a time or so). You swich em off so they get a rest. A lame dog isn't any good for running deer!
 
It might be awkward to demand a specific dollar amount. Kindly show the club members the yearly expenses, and ask each club member for a contribution ranging from this amount $$ to that amount $$$.....might go over better as some may 'donate' large and others on a tight budget could still feel like part of the team.

Usually the dog owners are very generous and proud to offer up their hounds, lots of respect around camp. But I do agree, 9 hounds is very hard to manage financially.
 
captonion said:
Not all the dogs get ran at once( 2 at a time or so). You swich em off so they get a rest. A lame dog isn't any good for running deer!
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I must be missing something, do the hounds not push the, not chase the deer??? If so how far would a typical hunt go.
A dog in shape can run hard for 10 miles a day no problem. Add in a couple bear bayups and they sleep well at night.
I cant see a deer push being mor e the a mile or two at the very farthest, am I wrong? I have no idea what a deer hunt with hounds is about other then what a few of my hunters have described.
 
chilcotin said:
I must be missing something, do the hounds not push the, not chase the deer??? If so how far would a typical hunt go.
A dog in shape can run hard for 10 miles a day no problem. Add in a couple bear bayups and they sleep well at night.
I cant see a deer push being mor e the a mile or two at the very farthest, am I wrong? I have no idea what a deer hunt with hounds is about other then what a few of my hunters have described.
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Hounds don't run in a straight line. This past Boxing Day my buddy spent the day bunny hunting with his 2 Beagles. At the end of the day the Garmin indicated that the hounds had put on 22 and 23 miles. Hounds running deer could easily put on 100+ miles in a week.

To the OP, providing receipts that shows how much it costs to feed 9 hounds for a month should be adequate for your camp to realise the financial burden you've taken on so that they can all enjoy the dogs for their deer season. Dividing the feed costs evenly is only fair.

Do any of them offer to feed/water for you if you want to get away?
 
Beagle hounds like deer hounds dont run to catch, they trail, thats a big difference. A good bear chase can take the dogs 10 to 15 miles as the Garmin says and that takes a couple hours tops.
Owners of the dogs have a resonsibility to excersise their dogs before a hunt. Roading dogs for 5 or 6 miles on a gravel road 4 days a week will toughen up their feet in a hurry and the you may only need 4 dogs.

Back to the subject, if you own the hounds you are responsble for the up keep. You can always ask and see if anybody steps up to the plate to help out. But it is your choice to keep 9 hounds.
 
Mount Sweetness said:
It might be awkward to demand a specific dollar amount. Kindly show the club members the yearly expenses, and ask each club member for a contribution ranging from this amount $$ to that amount $$$.....might go over better as some may 'donate' large and others on a tight budget could still feel like part of the team.

Usually the dog owners are very generous and proud to offer up their hounds, lots of respect around camp. But I do agree, 9 hounds is very hard to manage financially.
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That's the best advice.

Bring it up at your next meeting or whatever the appropriate opportunity depending on your camp's structure. Tell them you will track & provide them with actual expenses at the year's end, but for the interim ask them to increase your stipend based on your estimated amount. You can reconcile the difference at the end of the this year and as a group confirm a new stipend rate for moving forward.

If your members value hunting with hounds, they will pay for it. For example, our camp has always hired a cook. Last year our long-time cook retired (he was already retired, but you know what I mean) and we were lucky to find a new one, but the new cook's rate was higher (which didn't surprise us). We had to decide how much we valued the luxury of having meals prepared and camp chores taken care for us, versus the cost savings of sharing the cooking/camp duties among ourselves. We chose to pay; it just wouldn't be the same without a Cookie!

BTW, our camp works well with 5-6 hounds (we run 2 hounds in a hunt).
 
It is my choice to keep the hounds but when all camp members want to hunt with hounds then all costs should be divided between everyone,not just me.I've got a train area lic'd with the mnr for keeping fox in to run the hounds all yr so my hounds are in good shape most of the time,not just running them for a week or so before the hunt !!!!
Camp members live from TO - Belleville and there are a couple guys close enough to feed them if I go away so that's not an issue.Just trying to find a better way for dividing the costs of keeping them so I'm not broke from dog food.All the guys know it's alot of time & money involved but just don't think they realize just how much.The hounds run great and do the job there trained to do very well and everyone enjoys them.
 
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