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Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 11:29 am
by Coyotehunter
This is an excerpt taken from The Clever Coyote by Stanley P Young –It’s History, Life Habits, Economic Status, and Control- pages 201-202

Coursing With Dogs “The domestic dog and its use in the chase dates many centuries BC on some relief’s discovered by archaeologists in Egypt and elsewhere hunting scenes are depicted showing the chariot drawn by horses in full speed in company with a racing hound like dog. Apparently the gazelle, then a part of the Nile Valley fauna, was coursed and eventually captured much as was the coyote and wolf in the later times wherever habitat permitted. The evolution of this form of sport unfolds an intriguing story, the minute details which are to extensive to be used in this text. Suffice it to say however that running dogs of the grey hound, Russian wolf hound and Scottish deer hound type have served many masters at times on our great plains as a method of coyote control, but more often merely as a form of sport. Often these dogs, referred to by their owners as “running dogs” were and are still used in certain parts of the west to course jackrabbits as well as coyotes.”

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:10 am
by lyonch
Interesting information on how coursing began. Im sure some individuals will be posting in this area when the snow hits the ground this fall/winter.

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 8:37 am
by Prairie Ghost
Goes to show you that some things never change :wink:

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 6:16 pm
by wyojrt
lyonch wrote:Interesting information on how coursing began. Im sure some individuals will be posting in this area when the snow hits the ground this fall/winter.
Why would folks wait until the snow hits? Are you meaning from a fur aspect? I know of one person that has done it in the spring and summer, but it's more of a predator control and sport with the dogs issue. I don't believe he sells the pelts.

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:21 am
by lyonch
All the guys that i know in the central minnesota area that run them with dogs always wait until the snow is on the ground so that they always have fresh tracks to work with and the coyote is easier to see. I know of 3 groups around my area that run coyotes with dogs and to them it is a sport (and the only way they know how to hunt a coyote), one group shot 154 coyotes this past winter and all the coyotes were sold and they made just enough money to pay for 2/3 of the dog food supply for a year.

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 9:08 am
by wyojrt
Ah...I see. I'm not sure exactly how this guy goes about it with or without snow. Not sure if his part of Colorado maybe just has that many of them or what.

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:42 am
by jr54
Hi , JR. Lehman here in Minnesota . I have 2 Running Walker bitch hounds that i use for coyotes .I also have a 3 yr. old Irish Wolfhound stud and i'm thinking of breeding this cross. I need more speed and hope to get sight and smell with mix. Any toughts. JR.

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:32 pm
by Coyotehunter
do you have any pics of the dogs?

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:56 am
by Prairie Ghost
For coursing i think that could be a good combo

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:34 pm
by Tim Anderson
They had a pretty good story in the Tribune about running coyotes with dogs. Story was by Dennis Anderson. The reason for the snow is like lyonch said, its much easier to find a fresh coyote track or tracks. They will put the dog to the track and if its fresh enough the dog will take off on it, if its not fresh then they just move on to the next set of tracks.. They canbe run without snow but you have to get them up out of there beds first or catch them out and about and then the dog would have to see it and get on the track after a bit of running..


I've been thinking about getting one for running coyotes here at home then i don't have to hunt with the group but on my own. I got a young kid a mile south of me that has some Plotts that had pups and he can't find anyone to buy what he has left so he is giveing them away. I'm waiting on the weather to clear up and then may go out and look over what he has and see if they are what i want and check on how good of a nose they have..

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:54 pm
by Coyotehunter
should work, we use plotts some for trailing wounded coyotes and working pups. full blooded plotts are tough to work with but a good cur cross or terrier mix is easier to handle. Great noses.

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:00 pm
by Tim Anderson
Do you think they would work for a little denning once in awhile or are they to hard headed for that????

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:33 am
by Prairie Ghost
by itself with a good collar on it you should be able to get it to work but you are going to need to put in the time and get it into a good number of coyotes so it catches on. If you are lucky enough to get the first pair of coyotes to be a real aggressive pair and get close to the den so they work it hard it would really help.

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:55 am
by Tim Anderson
Thanks for the info.. Just trying to come up with more than one use for a dog so it gets used rather than sitting in the kennel for 6-8 month's. If i decide to get one I would like to run coyotes with it and do a little denning or just working coyotes with it...

Re: Coursing With Dogs

Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:46 pm
by coyotehunterOK59
I am from Oklahoma, and I hunt coyotes with Site Dogs, Greyhounds. There are several of us in this area we all have radios in the pickups, we have to wait for cold weather to run the dogs other wise they will get to hot and die. Only problem is there are those out there that say it is a blood sport like dog fighting. It is nothing at all like dog fighting. The coyote has a chance to get away and sometimes they do. Where dog fighting the two dogs have no chance to get away they fight to the death in a controlled enviroment. Coyote hunting with dogs is very exciting watching the dogs run. We dont leave our dogs for dead if one gets hurt like some say we do. they go back home and we take them to vet they recover and go out again. The coyote is sly and smart, they are on there on turf and know where to go to get away. Many of the trunouts that we have are from 100yards to 1/4 mile the coyote is at dead run before the dogs ever leave the dog box. If you have never hunted with greyhounds you should go with someone at least once see for yourself. Some people say it "Dog ripping apart Dog" sure the coyote is in the K-nine family but ever coyote I have cought you couldn't even tell that is was killed by a dog it was not ripped apart at all.