Windows to the soul...

What do these eyes say?

Ode' to the Tramp

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A brindle coat

Covered a heart of gold

The heart of a Champion

Blended with Gladiator might

                                                                  

Always one step ahead

He was the one

To take the lead

Facing

Phantoms

Ghosts if you will..

Becoming

Every hog hunters

Dream

He never backed down

Always in the lead

There for the job

With a grin

At the end of the race

For friendship

Is the most important?

Knowing each other

Is there for the other

Friends forever

No matter what separates?

Pals like these will

Never be forgotten….

Jack the Ranch Dog

The Boys and their first hunt!

Early Sunday morning my husband, daughter, our friend and his girlfriend got ready to go for a morning hunt. We loaded our two boys Tank and Drum into the dog box that we have, then drove over and picked up our buddy and his girlfriend. That is where we also picked up his two dogs Jed and Scout. Both of those dogs have been out in the woods looking for raccoon, bear and bobcat. They both have a ton of knowledge that we hoped would pass on to the pups. We ran into a coyote early that morning of which none of the boys chased. We were very proud, hunters who's main idea is raccoon or other certain animals, would call coyote trash, and do not want the hounds wasting their time chasing. The fact that both our young boys came right to us when we called was perfect. They periodically checked in like they were supposed to and even found a dried up raccoon body that was near a tree. All of this with the help of Jed and Scout. Teaching young dogs with the aide of an older dog is the best thing I think, it lets them learn by example, and explains to them better then we could without mistakes. All in all it was a good morning for their first time out. Have fun behind our own hound and go for an adventure, it will sure put a smile on your face:)

First time at the pond

So we took the pups to their first time to see water. The adventure was great! They all got introduced to something that they are going to have to get used to water. I would hope one day that they become swimmers like I have seen in swim races for other hound dogs, that would be awesome! Anyway they did get their feet wet, so that is a start.:)

Introducing Kaname aka "Boogers"

Kaname (Khan-a-mae) is my daughter's dog actually, but she is part of the pack so I will include her in this journey. She was born second in the litter and weighed average. She is a perfect mirror image of her mother. Right down to her odd little mohawk that goes from the base of her skull right down to the middle of her neck.

As a young pup at about 6 1/2 weeks old she broke her right hind femur with what the vet called a "green stick" break. She was kenneled and given some heavy medication to keep her calm while she healed. A little more then a month into her healing process she showed signs of improvement. Medication was stopped and she began to have a full recovery. My daughter at this time took it upon herself to be her nurse when school was not involved. That was a big job for a 12 year old at the time. The first three days that she was home my daughter slept right next to her kennel to keep her company and to be there for her. They have a great bond. The picture above is of her in the chair waiting for my daughter to come home from school.

Boogers as she is lovingly known is a total couch potato and failed all of the obedience training unless of course you include treats of some kind, then she is all stomach. Manners is not the first thing on her mind food or loving is first and foremost on her agenda. I plan on hopefully getting her to do some field work, but with the leg she already has and the bond with my daughter, her process will be very slow indeed.

Introducing Drum

The next one in line to be introduced is Drum. He was born toward the begining of the litter with average weight. He is what other houndsman consider a pack dog. Drum enjoys being part of a group human or canine. He is not the sharpest tool in the shed where obedience is concerned as heal and down where two of his hardest to understand. But he makes up for his faults with a willingness to try anything once or twice.

The best part about Drum is his nose and his singing voice. Other houndsman with years more experience then I have said that Drum is what they call a rig dog, or a striker. That means they would put him on their truck and wait for him to catch wind of whatever prey they are looking for. Drum having a sharp nose out on a scent would be the first one to sound off or open up. Hearing him set loose his open mouthed bawl is a joy to hear.
I look forward to the day that we are able to put his great nose to work doing what his mama was bred to do. For now he is my goof ball who always finding weird ways to get stuck.

Welcome Everyone!

Hello! I would like to start off this blog by introducing you to my hounds. Cypress was out first, my husband found her on the side of the road. Bringing her home we did not know how much of an impact it would make on our life. She was very skinny, and very loving. We found out about a month later that she was pregnant, also that she had gotten heart worm. Heart worm disease is easily preventable, but for what ever reason she was not so lucky. Cypress had a huge infection of it in her heart, the kind that can cause death. The puppies were born on 1/1/11. There was 11 total. Odd how numbers start popping up. 7 weeks into the their growth, and for some reason or another Cypress turned her aggression on other members of our canine family including one of her own puppies. Complications to her heart and pain had caused this.

We were hurt by this and decided to keep four of her puppies, these puppies I have decided to work and train to be the hunting dogs that their mother had been bred for. Also I found that in my family tree, my grandfather on my mom's side was an avid hounds man as well as his before him. Not to mention that on my father's side they too kept a kennel of hounds. So in keeping a family tradition and to honor Cypress's passing I am on a mission to train these puppies for what they were bred to do.