Decoy dogs in the winter?

ditchandgullyrider

ditchandgullyrider

New member
Hey guys I have a 15 month old catahoula that I have been training to decoy coyotes. He has taken to it really well. I put him on about 50 coyotes since March and he has figured the game out pretty good, and finding a criple is a piece of cake. I love having him with me on stand and would hate to leave him home. But everything I have read says the coyotes won't work a dog in the winter and could even scare them off. So with that being said I was wondering how you guys use your decoy dogs in the winter? Any input would be appreciated thanks!
 
hi gullyrider. i do not pretend to be a decoy dog guy. but i have a dog that loves to sit coyotes stands with me and sometimes i let him. in my experiences during the cold months the coyotes want nothing to do with the dog. they run away as soon as he runs toward them and they keep going.

every now and then after the dog loses them and comes back to me i will have a coyote that comes back in at a very cautious approach and i can whack it before the dog sees it and starts to chase again. that does not happen often.

imo if you really want to kill winter coyotes leave the dog in the truck. mine dog looks at me with those sad big brown eyes and i just can not do that sometimes.
 
Thanks for the reply slicker, that's what I have herd from a few guys. I was just wondering if there was something he could still do to help him stay sharp after all the hours of training I put in on him this summer. Was thinking I could still bring him to help locate and dispatch cripples.
 
Everyone wants it to work but it just dont. It dont matter how soft, or how small the dog is, or whatever excuse you want to come up with.

You will run into a mean one once in a blue moon but most of the time they will just run off.

Good luck.
 
Now I'm no expert and still testing the waters here on the east coast. I have the best luck from December to the beginning of March. I've been trying to get action durning the summer months with no luck dog chases everyone off it could be due to not setting up close to the den, could be due to my calling, or it just might not work here. But it seems to work best in the winter for me, the dog will still chase some off but that's just part of the game. So you can take the dog and try it and if he chases them off then you know it's not going to work. Just my 2 cents cause it's hard leaving the dog at home I've been breaking the rules anyways can't decoy at night, can't decoy on east coast, and can't during the winter months hmmm. They are coyotes and you never know what will happen.
 
Thanks for the info! I guess I'll just try and see how it goes, if they don't want to work the dog I'll just bring him along and have him sit by me and help find dead ones and cripples.


Btech is that you on YouTube with freepe and that merle colored dog looks like a catahoula?
 
The only thing is you don't want to mess the dog up with having it sit by you. Because in the summer your going to want the dog to run out after them and decoy there's a fine line right there so becareful. Yes that's btech29 with freep and the other dog I think spot but I could be wrong.
 
Ya that was what I was worried about, having him do one thing for part of the year and another way the other part. Guess I'll just have to see what works. Thanks for the input.
 
There's just no way I'd make a dog sit by me and not let it go to coyotes. Besides the fact that it goes against everything he's supposed to do he would probably go nuts and cause a scene and scare them off anyway.
 

I use a dog year round, call year round, a good spring dog is a poor fall dog, a good fall dog will work in the spring, depends on what you want. I also run a trapline thru the season.

In the fall you won't see the action a lot of these guys show on video. Just doesn't happen very often. But coyotes will stop and stare at the dog and even drift and follow a dog in the fall.
Wouldn't be without a dog calling any time of the year. To many benefits for myself.
 
I hunt some big open country in Az in the winter,and I have yotes toll in behind my dogs just fine.It might be the they don't get much action or just that strange canine thing that yotes have.I know all my trapping sets have my dogs scent all over them and I catch a lot of yotes!!!!!
 
Originally Posted By: ditchandgullyriderThanks catdog, I think that's what what I'm gonna do.

For a different take, it might be worth a trip down to New mexico in the winter with your dog to get a different approach from Tony Tebbe.

There are plenty that disagree with him, but one thing for sure, he hunts year round, and puts a lot of fur in the truck. He uses dogs.
 
Originally Posted By: ditchandgullyriderThanks for the info! I guess I'll just try and see how it goes, if they don't want to work the dog I'll just bring him along and have him sit by me and help find dead ones and cripples.


Btech is that you on YouTube with freepe and that merle colored dog looks like a catahoula?

Sorry for the slow response, I dont do much social media type stuff anymore, and post about dogs less and less every day.

If you want to take a dog all winter I dont blame you a bit. I use to want too as well. Now a days when September rolls around Im tired of messing with mine and ready to kill some coyotes. I sure dont mean to discourage you as once and a while they will work, but like I mentioned, Im tired of seeing coyote butts roll over the hill and out of my life come winter time.

That being said: I like to video, I dont kill summer coyotes unless they work. Im a rec hunter plain and simple. I dont claim to do control work and offer no warranties to the people I hunt on. Im there to watch the dogs and nothing else. I will kill relentlessly if I am asked, but for the most part my landowners could care less if I kill any coyotes or not.

I reckon winter time dog work could depend on how far you can see. In my country one or two hops and they are gone. In Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico etc where you can see a good ways I reckon a soft dog would get a coyote to stop out there at 200 or 300 hundred yards, so I can see possible benefit of a dog in that situation.

Another point is what do you consider dog work? What tickles some wouldnt work for me.

The types of sounds you play could also have some bearing on the situation as well. I have called in some males during breeding season that I feel would have worked a dog. No way to be sure, but they sure were pissy acting. I kilt em anyway so who knows.

The bottom line for me is the averages I have personally seen do not justify messing with a dog during the winter. I never carry a dog to increase my numbers. Some would argue they will help you kill more multiples and I wouldnt disagree once and a while during the summer. That being said, most of my quads have been the end of Sept and first of October without a dog.

If you want to take your dog then take it. I wouldnt keep it beside me, just let him run around like normal. Many times you can get the coyote kilt before the dog sees it. If it engages then let it play out. Just have fun with your dog. Let it find your dead and cripples. I use to love having my dogs around all the time, now there is a time to watch em work and a time to just kill what comes. Both are fun.
 
Thanks for all the input guys.

Tbone I would love to go hunt with Tony, I have learned a lot from watching his videos, But money is a little tight.

Btech I love hunting with my dog that's really the only reason I got one. I hunt by my self 99% of the time so My dog is really My only partner, he's always ready to go and he never complains. My favorite thing is to watch a good dog work wether it be working cows or coyotes. I'm like you When my dogs working coyotes I could really care less if I kill them or not, I just love to watch the interaction between the animals. I really like the way spot and freepe work if I had the money I would buy freepe in a second.
Anyway I think I'll still bring him with me and I'll just have to see how the coyotes react to him and then try to adjust my hunting and dog accordingly.
Thanks for your help and your videos are awesome!
 
Originally Posted By: ditchandgullyriderThanks for all the input guys.

Tbone I would love to go hunt with Tony, I have learned a lot from watching his videos, But money is a little tight.

Btech I love hunting with my dog that's really the only reason I got one. I hunt by my self 99% of the time so My dog is really My only partner, he's always ready to go and he never complains. My favorite thing is to watch a good dog work wether it be working cows or coyotes. I'm like you When my dogs working coyotes I could really care less if I kill them or not, I just love to watch the interaction between the animals. I really like the way spot and freepe work if I had the money I would buy freepe in a second.
Anyway I think I'll still bring him with me and I'll just have to see how the coyotes react to him and then try to adjust my hunting and dog accordingly.
Thanks for your help and your videos are awesome!

Thank you sir, we have fun messing with those stinky summer coyotes.

I just now seen you were from Colorado. I know I used that example but honestly didnt see you where from there. I hunt with an old man out there in eastern CO quite a bit. Beautiful open ground where you can see em coming a long ways off. You might get by fine with a dog with that much room to work. Coyote density could play a role in dog work as well. Small territories help fuel angry coyotes. I have no idea what your densities are but my buddy has tons of coyotes.

Its your dog, you feed him. Take him and enjoy his company. The only one you have to please is yourself. Have fun with your dog the way you want to.
 
I have two good ones in my back yard and I can't even find the motivation to go. I haven't even hunted a single one of my top 5 spots.
 
Many things effect coyote dog interaction. Removing spring summer work from the equation. Coyote number densities, aggressiveness of the local population, prey densities and age of the local population. I do hunt and trap for numbers and pay. I have a predator control buisness and money is the determining factor. If I thought a dog lowered my odds I I wouldn't be running one. He'll I even shotgun hunt the thick stuff with a dog. Now I didn't think it was going to be productive but if done right I kill alot of stuff up tight with a dog as well. I can say this it makes me no difference how the coyote goes in the back of the truck. Trap, shotgun or rifle I don't care. I do care about the fur check and the control check. Do what works for you.
 
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