Took Roy and Ruby and Pearl to the vegetable garden. Roy struck and Ruby joined in a little. Pearl was still pretty close by when Roy treed. Ruby treed but jacked around a little. Pearl got in there & jacked around too. Roy had the coon.
Took Ruby to the easy spot arount 1 am. She struck & was jacking around right behind the house so I caught her. I took her to the vegetable garden. She struck but gave out a liitle squeal when she did. This is what I'm starting to recognize as a trash bark. Sure enough she ran for a little while & got quiet. A big deer came by a few minutes later but Ruby had quit already. I let her hunt around for a while & then moved to the ditch behind Don Edens. She hunted for quite a while but no strikes. Caught her about 3 am. It was very cold for April.
Took Roy and Ruby to the vegetable garden & went them north. Roy struck & then Ruby opened. Ruby hit a tree and Roy locked down. Ruby left & jacked around on the ditch & in the field. The coon was there. I gave her a warning tone & she went back to the tree.
Took Ruby to the easy spot. She struck on the pothole & trailed up the north ridge. She treed nicely until I got close. Then she came to meet me. She went back to the tree but was watching me instead of treeing. When I reassured her she treed hard. I guess she's a little confused after some of the "training" I've dished out lately. Anyway, pretty nice job by here except for those few seconds.
Waited til midnight then took Roy & Ruby out. They treed in the vegetable garden. Ruby wasn't too convinced but stayed. I didn't see a coon.
Waited til late to leave & took Roy and Ruby to the schoolhouse section. I walked them past the first woods & then sent them north. Ruby barked once by the pothole, a few seconds later Roy treed on the ridge above it. Ruby checked it and kept going. It was a nice hollow tree but I didn't see a coon so I sent Roy on. Later Roy treed deep. Ruby opened about the same time deeper & was running a nice track. Roy left to check her. Ruby treed and Roy came in and backed her. She had the coon and she acted like it too. That's the little dog I loved last year. Maybe she'll snap out of her slump.
Took Ruby to the easy spot. She struck by the pothole but couldn't figure the track out. She hunted around for about 1/2 hour & covered most of the section. I caught her and moved to Don Edens. Again she struck but couldn't figure out the track. She hunted around for about an hour & then I caught her and went home.
Picked up Pete & went to the vegetable garden. We sent Roy, Ruby, Josie and a pup named Duke in. The three adults got deep and treed. They all stayed nicely but didn't have a coon. We pulled them off and sent them looking. I saw the coon about 5 trees over but the dogs raced north instead of finding it. I went over and started banging on the tree and hollering. One by one they came in and treed. The pup got excited and treed a little too.
Stef came up & we took Roy and Ruby up by Crown. We sent them into the vegetable garden about 10 pm. We were still talking by the truck when I noticed they were treed. I didn't here who opened or treed first. They were north and on the west edge of the woods. I've treed there a couple of times now this spring. Ruby stayed treed while we walked in, about 10 minutes.
We went over to Don Edens section as sent them in just south of Lawrence's house. They fell treed in the flooded woods. Again Ruby stayed treed nicely with Roy, about 5 minutes.
Talked to Dale the next day. Josie treed two up in the Sand Dunes.
Met Dale & went to Sand Dunes tonight. His friend Mike was there with his pup copper. We sent Roy, Ruby and Copper in and walked slowly. Roy struck and Ruby joined in. It was a pretty nice track. Roy and Ruby both hit the tree about the same time. Roy stayed and Ruby left. He treed for about 5 minutes while we walked towards him. He had the coon. I tried to shock Ruby but didn't seem like I was hitting her. I shot in the air a few times & then she came in and treed. It just amazes me how she won't tree with other dogs even her pal Roy. I wonder what it is about Rebel dogs that make them act like this. I know she'll grow out of this but it sure is annoying right now.
Picked up Billy and Pearl and drove to the north approach to the schoolhouse section. We sent Roy and Pearl in and waited. Roy barked a few times then quiet. He did this a few times over the next hour. Pearl worked the area well but never struck. Roy finally ran a track and treed out in the swamp. I caught Pearl coming thru and leashed her. I thought I saw eyes on the walk in but never found the coon once I reached the tree. It was pretty fair size & hollow. I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Took Ruby to the easy spot. She struck by the pothole & I walked in on her. Two coon were rignht across the water. She crossed but went the wrong way. She treed in the woods for a little bit and left. She came back & treed on the right tree.
Driving home I saw a coon by the birdhouse & I put Ruby on it. She made a loos & by the time she figured it out the coon had gotten across the swamp and down the ditch. She tried for a long time but I finally called her in. It was like a caged coon except this coon knew where it was going. I liked that she tried.
I got stopped again on the way home, speeding 12 mph over the limit. The cop liked Ruby & let me go with a warning.
Took Roy and Ruby and picked up Pete and Josie. We let them go in the vegetable garden. They all struck deep and treed. They all left, Roy and Josie came back. Ruby was trailing along the ditch. Roy and Josie had a coon so I shocked Ruby in. She left again & I shocked her very hard. She came back to the tree and just sat. She wasn't going to leave again.
Went down to Searles and hunted with Paul and his dog Nitro. I had Ruby & she acted like a pup most of the night.
First drop Nitro hunted out and struck a good distance away. He was grubbing and tapped a few trees. Ruby got out there and barked a few times. Nitro finally treed and we started in. He was across quite a bit of water, some that was over our waders. I was very impressed that he had worked this out and had the coon. Ruby has never seen water like this, she came in with us but didn't like too much.
Next drop we drove quite a ways so it was after midnight. Ruby and Nitro struck right away. Ruby located and left, Nitro located on the same tree. Ruby came back and they settled in, but not that convincing. It was a den & we didn't let them tree, instead sending them on. They grubbed around for a little bit and then drifted out. Nitro struck deep after a few minutes and was struggling. He located and treed a bit and then got quiet. He started treeing again but you could tell he wasn't sure. Walking in I noticed how dry it was, we were on higher ground where the wind had sucked all the moisture away. Nitro had a lighted collar on & we could see he was right on the tree all the time, he just wasn't barking hard on it. Ruby waited for us before she'd go to his tree. He had the coon.
Again I was very impressed with his performance. For a young dog that hasn't been hunted hard Nitro really does some nice things naturally.
Paul has a new baby, a busy work schedule and is moving so Nitro is taking a back seat for now. Too bad, Nitro really seems to me like a dog that was born to dominate the competitions. He's young though, if Paul gets settled there's still plenty of time for Nitro to go win hunts. If I remember, Rebel was 7 before he was campaigned.
Anyway, I got stopped by a cop near Jordan on the way home. He said I showed all the signs of somebody who was intoxicated. He seemed disappointed when he found out I wasn't drunk. I guess there is no law against looking like a drunk. He let me go.
Took Roy and Ruby up to Lamprey and hunted with Wade and his cur Rock. Roy and Ruby got out and struck, sounded like junk of some sort. They got quiet and Ruby came back in. We walked Ruby and Rock around in the woods for a while. Suddenly we heard a sharp growl ahead. Ruby was coming back to us and something was after her. We turned on our lights and there was a coyote right in front of us. It turned and circled away when the lights hit it. Ruby and Rock stayed by us for a few minutes. Ruby got bold again and took off after the coyote, I shocked her back in to me. Wade & I figure there must be a den close by. We walked around for a while and then heard Roy treed. He had the coon.
Took Ruby to the easy spot around 11. She hunted out well again & struck by the pothole. It was a hot track & she had to go across the water. It's pretty deep & I was happy to see her cross. She ran for a while & then got into the thick brush. She treed on an old hollow tree with a bunch of brush at the base. I didn't see a coon. Lot's of dogs have treed here & I've never seen the coon. I wonder if it knows to run by this to give them the slip? It could have been inside the tree I suppose but...
Anyway, it was an exciting race & she thought whe had it.
Took Roy and Ruby to the vegetable garden. 5 minutes passed & Roy fell treed. Ruby checked it and went back on trail, Roy left and followed here. I suspect it was slick. They trailed for a while near the ditch. Lot's of little potholes filled with water this time of year & they were struggling. Finally they treed. Ruby treed hard for a while & then left, Roy stayed. He had the coon. I shocked Ruby back into the tree. She thought about leaving again, stopped, looked at me and then went back to treeing.
I remembered a night in almost exactly the same in this spot years ago. Bob treed and Mabel treed and then she took off. I didn't have a shock collar that night so I had to run her down and bring her back. Ruby looked a lot like Mable tonight.
Took Ruby to the easy spot and sent her in from a new direction. She hunted out nicely, struck, ran a nice track, located and treed hard. Very nice job.
Met Pete and went to the vegetable garden. We sent Roy, Ruby and Josie in. Josie and Ruby screamed around in the field and deep into the woods. Roy opened deep with them & they treed. Ruby was split when we walked in. Josie and Roy were together. The coon was in a tree over. Nice night except for the bobble at the end.
Hunted wiht Wade tonight. Roy treed a couple in Lamprey. No shortage of coons in his country.
Took Ruby to the vegetable garden about midnight. She was out and covered it until about 2:30. No coons.