Feather's first coon

[Tiff 36]

My staghound Feather is about a year old now, and the lightswitch has flipped with her loading up on the flatbed for spins out to see what we can see. Amazing what feeding on the truck for a few days will do to change a dogs attitude about something! Kye and I decided to take a quick spin out last night after a heavy rain on the gravel roads running along our heaviest permission.

 

Now I'm sure that the things I get excited about wouldn't phase some, but Noose and Feather are the first running dogs that I've had from small puppies so I "feel" so much more about their successes and failures.

 

The crops are coming up well, soybeans are about 2 feet tall already and the corn has grown 3-4 feet in the past 2 weeks, we will have to be stop using the roads now until the farmers call with specific areas they want targeted. Kye decided he wanted to find a coon for Feather, he didn't want to take any of his dogs so I said we'd take Noose too, so Feather wouldn't be alone if we found something in a good area.

 

We saw a few things, just nothing runnable. Fireflies were everywhere which can be very distracting for both man and beast, everything we shine looks like eyes! Even the experienced dogs have a challenge and really have to watch the larger beam rather than for eyeshine due to phantom eyeshine from the fireflies!

 

On the way back a few miles from the house, eagle eyed Kye spotted one and "maybe" two coon on the other side of a 5 strand barbed wire fence about 50 feet off the road. This was Noose and Feather's first outing without an experienced dog to help them follow the beam, so with the beam on the one coon we could see, they jumped off and ran about the truck, not too sure what to do. It was pretty bright last night even with the cloud cover, and Kye cut the headlights and I re-loaded the dogs on the bed but the coon had moved further out and were confused about what the hell was going on. Kye was sure he'd seen another coon with the first one, so we moved up the road a bit and he spotted the second even further out and through taller tufts of weeds. I was focusing on Feather (being white versus Nooses black is a help to me) as both she and Noose started belly sliding under the fence when Noose did a sharp left turn and ran up along the ditch along the road in front of us.

 

I was so confused about what the hell was going on, I thought for SURE that they had seen it! And there was plenty of room under the fence, Noose normally never even slows down around fences! I was thinking MAYBE he smelled or saw something else when Kye yelled at me to get back in the truck, we drove up about 1/2 block distance to turn a corner when a tumbling mass of animal flips across the road on the corner. Noose, Feather and a smaller coon (10-12 pounds) were a writhing ball of fur. Noose was on the chest, Feather had a front leg, and then of course the coon decided to grab Feather's face. Feather squealed and came off. My heart sank and Kye said "ooh that's not good", she ran back to the truck and loaded on the flatbed. Of course I was proud of Noose but he'd "been there, done that" so irrationally I was feeling let down a bit by Feathers behavior.

 

Then from behind us Feather decided Noose was having enough fun on his own, and rejoined the fray. She grabbed the shoulder and leg, and I couldn't have been happier with her. All in all Noose had it dead in less than a minute, he had started doing the tell-tale head spin as he was crushing it's chest down to China to avoid his feet getting grabbed, we figure the coon were hunting frogs and crawfish in the waterfilled ditch between the road and the fence. Not bad for a little English import saluki cross, eh?

 

Noose was getting a bit growly over it when Feather tried to take it off of him, he didn't bat an eye when I took it, just when she tried. I am looking for suggestions on how to work him through that, cause I assume it will only get worse. He even was growling Feather off of a stuffed toy later that night at home which he'd not done before. Anyone please!

[Guest fence_hopper]

any pics off this black b@sterd

[Tiff 36]

Feather is the white one on the left (staghound), Noose is the black one on the right (salukiX). They are both about 26"

 

[Meerihunter 7]

Good read Tiff, I don't know much about the staghounds regarding backing out but my Male Saluki Farouq took a nip from a rat in his first season and back right off it which I was quite surprised at as his mother whom he seemed to have acquired much of his temperament from as gusty and fiery as they come, anyway a few months down the line he took another rat which nipped him and it was totally different outcome this time with rage taken over, since then he has taken bites from other larger beasties and never backed out in the least. That first bite can take them a bit by surprise next time I am sure she will be ready for it.

 

As for the growling all my males get possessive over catches toward the other dog but it never shows itself at the first capture if more than one dog makes the catch, rather its when one of the dogs is left with the catch and another comes back to try to take a hold of the catch again, which doesn't really bother me so long as it doesn't go any further than a growl! In which can I'll flatten the lot of them, I'll simply not tolerate infighting of any kind and they are well aware of that.

[Top Lamper 2k10 169]

Nice dogs mate I wish I could hav a bit action on them lyk do they put a good fight up as I have only done foxes and they don't last that long lyk

[Tiff 36]

I was VERY pleased she'd gone back into it right away, it was like the first time when I'd gotten bucked off my horse as a kid and I got right back up before my dad had to tell me to get back on, he was proud of me and I know how he felt now! All of the other stags I'd been around (5 I've lived with, been around a lot more than that) are very very gutsy and not much puts them off, Feather is a bit more "sensitive" than any of the others. If you were to tell me that Noose was the staghound and Feather was the SalukiX, I would not be surprised.

 

You are right, Noose didn't growl at her until she had left him and the coon to come over to me, when she reaproached him is when he growled. But coupled with the stuffed toy growling that same night ... makes me wonder if I'm setting up a problem that will become bigger if ignored? We do NOT tolerate any fighting or even growling, they just don't do it. until now

[Guest fence_hopper]

nice mate strong for a suluki type

[Guest fence_hopper]

Nice dogs mate I wish I could hav a bit action on them lyk do they put a good fight up as I have only done foxes and they don't last that long lyk

 

 

like not lyk ffs. (i) use it its not a mobile phone

[Tiff 36]

Top Lamper coon are a bit odd and very different from anything else IMO ... a big coon can be sluggish and slow, or it can be an old experienced evil cretin. The little coon often fight more but they also are easier to dispatch simply due to size. If you have a dog trying to fight a coon, the coon will (and I say will because they WILL) damage a dog. Noose had a small nick on one ear, that was it. Feather had a scratch on her nose, her squeal was more out of surprise than anything. A dog that grabs the "ass end" it a lot more likely to have it's "ass" handed to it.

 

A coon that lays on it's back and "waits" for a dog IS going to whoop that dog unless the dog grabs it right. This dog learned from this coon.

 

 

This dog had broken it's canines off and was retired after this coon, she had been on hundreds and was a good dog. Living the good life down in Mississippi now hunting nutria which don't whoop dogs like coon do.

 

[turnout 7]

lol at fenchopper that bothers me aswell lol tiff got a few questions for you dont take the piss too much,when lampin coons do you have to call them in or is it just drive or walk till you see a decent slip? an what sort of size are they on average? glad to here your bitch went back encouraging see what she does next time out its the best thing in the world watchin your own dog youve had from a pup i always compare dogs to boxing it takes a bit of getting used too someone beltin you in the face but some can an some cant atb

[Tiff 36]

they come in when called very easily unless they are wise and then you'd better drop the dogs quick. In our area they go up to probably 22-25 pounds commonly although they can be bigger, some areas north 30-35 pounds average. They drop weight over the end of the winter and are smaller in the spring, a big late fall coon preparing for a long winter is about the biggest you'll get.

[turnout 7]

fair size realy then mate what noise are you makin to call them what animal are you impersonating? what else are you likely to see on your nights out?

[Tiff 36]

squeaking in like a rabbit but they are curious and will come in to all sorts. In our area at night we normally see coon, opossum, deer, ditch cougars, dogs, skunk, ground roosting birds, toads ... thats about it

[turnout 7]

all slip worthy apart from toads lol no rabbits or hares foxes etc

[Tiff 36]

ah forgot rabbits, we have them everywhere! Very few fox, I've not seen one near us in 4 years, Kye has seen them further away from us. Closest jackrabbits are over 3 hours away