My fall 2008 birds

[BigTomsCalls]

You ever figure out what kinda dog you have?

According to your Buddy in Memphis it's a Tennesse chit eater!!!

[wisturkeyhunter]

darn Tom you still ain't gotten over that. I was being serious but I guess you don't know how to be.

[BigTomsCalls]

I took so many gab's in the past that it's hard to tell when someone is serious, but like i said in the past I think she's just a mutt.

[Porter]

So being ignorant as I am, what breed do most consider to be optimum for Turkey dogs? 

Can you teach any dog to be a turkey dog?  I have a full blooded Redbone, her nose is wonderful, can they be trained? 

Just looking for any insight.  Have to remember I'm dumb and never done it....

[BigTomsCalls]

Mike here's a picture of my dog. A guy on another forum asked if she was a Tennesse Mountian Dog. He said he was a Game Warden in NC and had seen guy's hunting turkeys with dogs that looked just like he. I don't know what kind of dog she is mutt I think. I got her from my Daughter in TN a few years ago. She loves to chase turkeys and does a great job of busting them up, but she doesn't always come back when called so I don't really hunt her. Alot of guy's say that you have to have a certian breed to hunt turkey's, but I question that. I've seen some off breed dog's do some amazing things. Case in point I had a German Shepard that was a great squirrel dog, I had a buddy that had a Brittiany that was great at running rabbits, and when I was young I coon hunted with a guy that had one of those large Poddle's and she would run coon's all night long.

[Porter]

Now (remember I'm ignorant to this) I would think a coon hound could be trained very well for turkey hunting.  My breed of Redbone has more bloodline associated with Mountain Lion hunting than coon, but I can hide one of her toys and she'll sniff it out.

Might have to see if I can train my dog, but unfortunately... it's illegal to use them around here!!!

[BigTomsCalls]

Mike you could give it a try you just never know!! I had a Redbone once when I hunted coons but I prefer Blueticks. If you get her to hunt turkey's you could drive up here to NY and hunt her with me!!

[Porter]

Now that might be a deal.  Only problem is, she's the most spoilt rotten dog you'll ever see..  How many people you know that has a coon hound as an indoor dog?  Well I do... welcome to Redneck village

[BigTomsCalls]

Mike see would fit right in here!!

[Bulldogmikey]

Nice birs Tom. Wood pile ain't bad either!

Mike

[thundrchikin]

Porter,I am new to this forum and somewhat new to turkeydoggin.I've been training a Brittany since Feb. and this will be our first fall hunting together.I'm very excited to say the least.Now to try to help you out with your question.I believe that most people would agree that a turkeydog should have at least a bird dog of some type in it's ancestery.This is not to say that other types couldn't be used,I just think the training would be easier if the dog had it in them to begin with.As far as the redbone goes it could work but usually trailing hounds bark on the track and this is not the best scenerio for a turkeydog because the sudden surprise of the dog is what gets the birds off the ground.If the dog was barking on the trail it would give the silent approach away and the birds would most likely run instead of fly.All of this being said nothing is cut and dried with dogs as several people have used beagles with success so that redbone may just be the ticket.The only dogs I know of that were orgionally breed for turkeys were Boykin spaniels from South Carolina.There's also a line of dogs from Virginia called Appalachian turkey dogs that decinded from a Plott hound a Pointer and Setter crossed and then line breed for several years some people call these types of cross breeds droppers.Others on this site would have alot more info than I on these dogs.I would invite you to check out the turkeydog.org web site and scroll to the bottom and click on the dog names this will give you some idea as to all the different types of dogs people have had success with.I hope some of this helps.Good luck.Todd

[AWTHDA]

Here's what a very experienced and long-time bear and cat hunter from Wisconsin said about one of his hounds that just naturally liked turkey: “Over the years I've had a lot of hounds. I had one redtick hound... Read the rest about 3/4 of the way down the Stories page - http://trkyhntr.home.att.net/stories.html
No matter what kind of dog you have, the fun is doing the turkey hunting with your dog. I don't believe you'll find a 'perfect' turkey dog, except if you're it's owner.

[turkey stew]

Nice Birds, Congrats!!! 

[BD1]