Just Curious??

Dead Down Wind

Well-known member
I am now getting into the swing of things with my new puppy (Bullet).

I am by no means a dog expert or a decoy dog expert, he is 9 weeks old and we are looking forward to a great future together whether at home or in the field.


Do any of you Decoy dogs guys care to share your story?

How did you get into decoying, how many dogs, how long have you decoyed, who inspired/motivated you to become a dog guy, and anything else you would like to share?

Thanks guys!! (Any Gal's decoying?)

Kevin
 
Ive been using dogs for just over a year. Ive had three, but only have 2 right now. I got interested watching YouTube clips from Tony and Montana Doggers. I loved watching Gunner run out and shake the crap out of a coyote. Ive always been lucky when it comes to killin coyotes. Never had any trouble doing it without a dog, but now, I wouldnt go back. Dont get me wrong, I still enjoy and old fashion call and kill stand from time to time. Its just not the same without a dog. I enjoy the dogs. It dont matter if its just killing a dillo that wonders into the yard, its just plain cool. I got all my dogs from Trapper2. Aint been disappointed with one yet.
 
Wow Jeff!

Only 1 year? You are stackin up the coyotes in Arkansas and i can only imagine how many Yotes you would kill in an area that held quite a few more dogs and had more open country?

I have heard good things about Trapper2, if his dogs are as sharp as his knives? Look out!!

Bullet and Spot and related somehow, i think they have the same ma & pa, only different litters if i remember correctly.

I am hoping you will be impressed with Bullet when you meet him.

He is a GREAT puppy!

Have a wonderful night, i will be out this weekend knocking on doors in Nebraska for some more land to hunt mostly at night. NV and Thermal is legal in Nebraska and not in Colorado (Unless you jump through many hoops) so we are moving 10 miles North and we will be in NE. $81.00 for a Non Res Small Game Lic. I am going Dedicated Gen3 and Thermal:)

Hopefully i can post some good hunting this weekend and no RATTLE SNAKES!!!
 
Hmmm, this is a great topic!

I remember Cat Daddy's pics of his JRT, Bean in action from years ago. Also saw Bean on the Predator Obsession I video. Was lucky enough to meet & hunt with KJ in AZ back a bunch of years and we've become good friends.
Around the same time, I got Cal Taylor's "Coyote Hunting is Going to the Dogs" video, and ELK Inc. "Doggin' Coyotes" videos. Been fascinated with trying a dog here in the East ever since. Our coyotes are so hard to call, so the thought of trying a dog to increase my success rate on stand was very intriguing...

Unfortunately, Life just wouldn't allow me to own a dog until about 2 yrs ago. But when I could manage the time, I had my research pretty much done & figured for what I thought I wanted. Took chance on a pup from Evan and had one flown across the country. Never hunted with either parent, but some helpful guys who's opinion I valued were familiar with those dogs, so I figured he was worth a shot. In truth, when I saw Evan's 'trampoline puppy pic' with 10 little red meatballs to choose from, my pup stood out like he was GOLD. There was NO doubt he was going for a plane ride...
As luck would have it, I hit paydirt with him. Granted, I don't know chit, so I'm easily impressed, but this little red dog is a dang huntin' fool. We are peas & carrots, he comes EVERYWHERE with me. He just seems naturally good at everything he does. These curs are fascinating dogs, unlike any I've ever been around.

Like I said, I don't know chit and don't expect too much, so we've had an interesting two years of learning about each other. He's shown me ALOT more than I've shown him!
All I ever share here is what I've personally experienced with my own dog here in my area. What I've found is my little red rocket is all the dog I need, and them some. Every man should be as lucky as I am!!!

I still hold KJ's opinion, as well as Cal's, Ryan's & Randy's in the highest regard. They've been decoying coyotes with dogs since loooonnng before it was the fad it is now. And I enjoy reading evey else's posts about their dogs, too, even if I disagree with some of what I read...
Enjoy your dogs, fellas!!!
 
Ked,

Great write up!

It looks like everybody has a special bond with their dog(s) as it should be.

When i jump in the shower in the morning, Bullet needs to see me through the glass, he wants to know where i am 24/7.

It is going to be a fun ride with him and by the sounds f it, i wish i had started with a dog earlier.

Thanks for sharing your story!

Kevin
 
I have always had a dog growing up, my mother breed Rottweiler’s back when you could find a good one, (as in 40 years ago). One of her pups followed me everywhere during my 15 year stint in Alaska, when he passed it was hard to replace him or even think I could. That dog had put himself between me and danger more than once, be it Bikers or Bears he didn’t care. When I returned from Alaska back to TX in 2000 I started hunting Coyotes & hogs again and saw where ADC guys where using dogs as decoys, it made sense, if a coyotes coming to a distress sound there should be something there, so I picked up a Blue Healer as a hunting companion, he was a little light to cast out on coyotes and I didn’t have a e-collar to work him with. So I used him as a real decoy and would tether him out by the call. He loved it & hunting anything, Took 5 coyotes off him one night on one stand, may have taken more but I ran out of ammo, Great dog and great companion, but because of my living arrangement I had to give him to my sister and he now lives on the in-laws ranch working cattle, (and chasing coyotes)
Fast forward several years my friends and family kept telling me to get a dog, now that I’m settled on 25 Acers with horses and cattle. I tell them I’m picker about my dogs then I am my girlfriends, and the reason is the dogs are more work and last longer, LOL They agree in my case.

Was on the fence about a dog till I spent 3 days with Tony Tebbe and Gunner! That dog is a coyote hunting machine! Got a chance to see his kennel and other dogs and pups, the seed was deeply planted. When Tony announced he had a litter from Gunner & Lacy, his Texas Blue lacy, Both parents are high power coyote dogs, I read up on TBL’s having seen Gunner first hand and that’s all it took, the deposit was in the mail.

Should pick up the pup in early OCT and that pup will not leave my side for the next 2 months, want her for companionship decoying coyotes and trailing/ recovery of coyotes & hogs, figure my longhorns will keep her busy between hunts

Don’t know what the new girlfriend will think, and not really worried as I’m sure this dog will see a few come and go.
 
Started hunting coyotes 2 years ago. Saw The Montana Doggers video. The ran across Tonys stuff on YouTube. Talked to Levi Johnson about how it all worked. Ordered a dog over the phone from Tony about the time Jeff started looking for a dog. Went to NM and hunted 3 days with Tony in June 2011 and figured out a few things about killing coyotes. Went back in nov. and got the dog I had ordered and brought home a 6 week old pup and here I am. Kelly Jackson has also been instrumental in my learning how to kill coyotes.
 
Phil,

Great read!

I know all about the passing of a beloved pet:-(
My Avatar is Sable, she was a GREAT famil;y dog, came from a line of great hunting dogs, yet never thought about taking her Yote hunting, probably not enough grit and back then Decoying was not even thought of by me. She left me on March 5th of this year after having her from pup til end. Sad and i still choke up talking about her:-(

Now i have a new chapter in my life and we are looking forward to the newest adventure which is very exciting:)

Sounds like you may be a ladies man??

Scotty,

From what i have seen in your post's & hunt stories you have come light years in a very short time!

I at one time (cannot find it for the life of me) had a video "Doggin Coyotes" and i thought WOW! That is pretty wild, never did i think of getting a dog for that purpose cuz i my self picked up Hunting once again in 2006 after a 13 year marriage that ended for the better. I hunted a s a kid and that was it. As a matter f fact i had to retake my Hunters Safety here in Colorado cuz North Dakota kept their records on a stone tablet.

I didn't even own a gun up until 2006, and that was after i purchased a Mathews Bow for Antelope in Wyoming/Colorado.

It is amazing how everybody has a unique way with their dogs, what bonds are built and the many tear's shed when it's time to say goodbye.

Thanks for sharing your stories and HAPPY HUNTING!!!

Fall is almost here in Colorado:) Well, at 95 for a high today, Almost Fall!!
 
I moved back home to Barry county in the spring of 2008 and didn't care too much about deer hunting anymore but still loved shooting coyotes when checking and feeding cattle in the winter. Growing up on the ranch, we've always had stock dogs to gather cattle and get them out of the brush. I love seeing a good dog work.

After getting on this board, watching dvds and calling a dozen or so in I bought Doggin Coyotes, just for the different approach, and I decided I wanted to give that a try. About that time trapper2 had some pups for sale. I bought one and long story short, I ran over it checking cattle in the tall grass and Ryan was gracious to find me another one out of that litter at about 8 months old, which btw was the same litter Tony's Gunner is out of.

After getting advice from Ryan and Duane on how to work with her and get her started, I've called in I don't know how many coyotes with her and have had to shoot several in self defense after she's brought them too close for comfort.

I don't get her out as much as I'd like to, but I wouldn't go back to hunting without a dog. Having another set of eyes on stand and having a distraction to the coyotes and seeing all the interaction you would never see without a dog is priceless.

She is always ready to go, doesn't have any excuses why she doesn't want to hunt, and doesn't talk too much or get on my nerves like some folks do. However, she does fart in the truck cab from time to time which is terrible and will ocassionally give me a dirty look when she works hard to bring one in and I miss.

Like knockemdown said, I don't know much about the difference between a good one or a bad one. There are times I want her to range more or range less, times I want her to be less aggressive, and times I want her to stop barking and go to them one more time and be more aggressive, but she is great for me. I couldn't be happier. One of these days I'm gonna have Ryan cross her with one of his dogs and see what we come up with.
 
Mo,

Sorry to hear about yor first pup:-( I bet you were devastated!

(MOFARMBoy)After getting advice from Ryan and Duane on how to work with her and get her started, I've called in I don't know how many coyotes with her and have had to shoot several in self defense after she's brought them too close for comfort.

After reading many posts here on PM, it amazes me how many guys use dogs and that their success rates go up!

Thanks for sharing my friend!
 
DDW, I'm no stud or ladys man by any means ask Tony, but to quote JL "If our wives were more like our dogs...... There would be a lot more happy men in this world".
 
Originally Posted By: the impactzoneDDW, I'm no stud or ladys man by any means ask Tony, but to quote JL "If our wives were more like our dogs...... There would be a lot more happy men in this world".


I know Phil!!

Just pumping your EGO a bit:)
 
I had hunted coyotes as a kid, and cut my teeth running coons and bears with hounds. I went a number of years while in the Marines with no dogs, after college, I had one Heeler, no shok collar, but a knowledge of yotes and alot of "go". We went to decoying yotes(more or less) in MN.Talk about low yote numbers and thick brush, but together we got it figured out. We also blood trailed everything, hunted coons,beaver, and anything else we could find. I do the same thing now, just kill a few more yotes a year, and have a few more dogs, and have bred some traits into them that make it alittle more dog, and a little less training. I could go on for pages on this topic,maybe another day.
 
It seems like I have always had a dog of one kind or another with me. Im a believer in "if it cant be done with a dog...it probably aint worth doin"
In the 90s, I started foolin with terriers and curs, as I liked the "all arounder types" We did everything from den coyote pups to tree bears. In my pursuit of the best terriers and curs, I was introduced to some Govt hunters, and their connections. A few of those guys were using their dogs on the calling stands, and I gave it a whirl as well.
I later stumbled onto a 1/2 bulldog x 1/2 stag gyp, that changed my whole yard, and the way I hunted. I used her as "the gun" on a few stands, and that got me so reved up on the chase/catch, that I started going more that way than calling/shooting. I now keep mostly runnin dog types (bullstags) and run coyotes from a truck (jump box style), but will still go horseback, and call occasionly.

Take care.
 
Last edited:
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.
FirstCoyoteHound.jpg


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.
EarlyCoyoteWagon3MED.jpg


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!
 
I grew up in a city with some foo foo dogs in the house. Ive always loved dogs however. I started coyote hunting six or so years ago. My brother and I were terrible, but would occasionally get lucky. As most do, I went from hunting to hunting and trapping.

One day my mom called me from a stock auction in cedar city and said she had an ad for a "coyote dog" I was a member of this forum then and did some research. I called my mom and arranged to get a new yellow moutain cur. She was almost all white and my wife hated her. She dug up the backyard, and barked all the time. I really loved that dog.

One day I got a call from a friend who had seen a coyote on the edge of town. I loaded "curry" and headed to where he was. I spotted the coyote and dropped the tailgate. After watching a dog chase a yote and put some teeth into that @ss with almost no training, the bug was in.

That dog was loaned to a friend (last time ever for that!) and never came home. I called Duane here on the board who kinda took me under his wing. I went to Oregon and my wife met Duane and his dogs. We had a great time and she was impressed with Buckshot, Spotlight, and Jackson. So I got two test pups and brought them home.

Im now on my third dog from Duane (the test pups didnt really work out and have moved on)and she is great. Pepper, who Duane's daughter and wife had named "Ribbons" is a great dog. I also got my hands on a Texas Heeler and "Duke" is coming along great too. I, like most new irresponsible dog guys, didnt fix Duke or Pepper and ended up with "Chilli".

A few people have helped me get to where I am today in the dog scene (not that anyone has heard of me or anything)and its something that I and my family can do together. My wife has been great and for never have had a dog in her life to having a full kennel in the back of out neighborhood cookie cutter style Las Vegas home, is doing great. I want my kids to have pics like most of you men do when they grow up. I want them to remember running dogs and shooting coyotes. I think that that is a large part of why I do alot of things, I wanna connect them to a time that most "city folk" will never know.
Boe
 
Back
Top