I don't believe I can yet claim the title "Decoy Dog Guy." Tucker and I are working on it.
But, I can tell you that I have been blessed to have always had dogs & coyotes as a big part of my life.
You have seen this snapshot of me and Jack, circa 1957.
This is a shot of my Grandpa Maris and his younger brother, my Uncle Harold patching on an early Coyote Wagon. Not sure what year this was taken, maybe mid 1940s just after the war.
Dad tells me that in order to provide footing for the dogs the box of that old wagon was always kept covered with an inch or so of Kansas black dirt in the bottom. With that rear window out it sometimes got a little dusty on the "wild ride" runs. What do suppose the price of gasoline was then? I sometimes wonder if the dogs are now better? Faster? Are the coyotes now faster and tougher? Hmmmmm? Another topic I reckon.
These old timers ran dogs that were a cross of stag, hot blood, and well who knows for sure. Always adding and always culling, In our circles there are legends, never to be forgotten, like Jack, Dick, Lobo, Nig, Colt, Chase, Sandy, Pinto, Hammer, Blue, Shag and others. I have cousins and friends today that still run some of those old bloodlines.
My Dad and his three brothers all ran coon hounds. I spent my youth in the Dog Wagons running stubbles, on the Frenchman River coon hunting and in the hill pastures calling coyotes.
Later in life I had a torrid affair with the bird dogs, the big elk camps and long pack strings. After losing the (well at least to me) best ever WireHaired Griffon several years back, I had a hard time even thinking about another dog. Because of the extreme efforts of some very dedicated breeders and the time we spent together in the field she was an incredible hunting pard!
Losing her really took the air out of me. Bird hunting w/o her was like...well you know. Unable to bring myself to look at a new pup of any kind, I re kindled my love for Coyote calling. I was having great fun, thought I had it all and then I discovered PredatorMasters. Decoy Dogs? WTH? Well you guys on Lions, Bears and Houndsmen really sucked me in. What a deal, calling coyotes and packing a dog as my hunting pardner? Could it be better than that? I was all in!
After pestering many of you with PMs, Emails and phone calls I ended up speaking for a pup that I thought had the potential to be an all round, Versatile Fur Dog. The right kind for me.
Thanks to the help of many of you, we are well on our way. Calling coyotes, treeing coons/cats, rooting out all varieties of ranch pests and having a Freakin BLAST!
Enjoy every bit, every time!