A Dog's Life: CRACKER

Full Name: ROUGH RUN'S BIG GAME CRACKER
Breed:  Albert Black-and-Tan
Age:  9 years old in November
The Scoop:  Son of the legendary hound "Three Time Albert" and the brother of Ghost.  Excellent pedigree but getting a touch old.  Always ready to jump in the dog box.  Cracker and the up-and-coming Mingo are mating this spring for a super-litter.

The Story:  When Jeff first got Cracker, the pack went training on Saturday night and the dogs were in the forest late.  Way, way too late, the signal comes in at 11:00pm that Cracker has a bear treed.  It was too late and too far, so goes back on Sunday but the signal is gone and there is no sign of Cracker.  On Monday night, Jeff goes back into the forest and finally gets a signal.  There sits Cracker at the bottom of the tree staring up at a black bear, three days later and still on watch!

A Dog's Life: JACK

Full Name: DIAMOND JACK
Breed:  Albert Black-and-Tan
Age:  6 years old in November
The Scoop:  Little mates of Jill (obviously).  Gutsy, gritty, no-quit Jack will run chases up to 15 miles.  Jack does not quit.  Ever.

A Dog's Life: GHOST

Full Name: THUNDER MOUNTAIN GHOST
Breed:  Albert Black-and-Tan
Age:  8 years old
The Scoop:  Very significant pedigree, the son of the legendary "Three Time Albert".  He and Cracker are brothers.

A Dog's Life: RYDER

Full Name: ROUGH RUN BIG GAME THUNDER 2 RYDER
Breed:  Albert Black-and-Tan
Age:  7 years old in November
The Scoop:  Ryder's father was "Sundown Ryder", a grand champion coon hunting dog.   Ryder has been around the mountain a time or two which makes him a seasoned and mature hound.  His age hasn't slowed him down and he still runs really, really hard.  Him and Cracker have had a litter in the past so lots of local hunters have Ryder to thank for all the treeing that has been happening.

A Dog's Life: MINGO

Full Name: HICKS BIG MEDICINE MINGO
Breed:  Albert Black-and-Tan
  Age:  2 years old in June

The Scoop:  Mingo is the king, the stud, the top dog, the big cheese, period.  Very fast and a great nose.  Throw in the fact that he is the best tracker and you have something special.  Mingo has treed the most dogs in the entire pack and works best when he is treeing by himself.  He also has a very loud and confident bark which means you don't mess with this pooch.  Mingo is the future of the Big Game Hound breed.  !

A Dog's Life: MINNIE

Full Name: THUNDER MOUNTAIN MINNIE
Breed:  Albert Black-and-Tan
Age:  3 years old in November
The Scoop:  Minnies father was "Sundown Ryder", a grand champion coon hunting dog.  Her mother is Diamond Jill.  The plan is to breed Minnie with Jack and see what kind of pups these two will make!

Jerry and the Hounds

Hunting hounds are not house dogs and they require the special care that Jerry Davis, Sr. can provide.   "You can't help but get attached to 'em," explains Jerry.  "They become like part of the family."

Conventional wisdom says that hunting hounds are working dogs and it is not the best idea to get too attached.  As Scooter Davis is fond of saying, "The farmer doesn't pet his cows every night."  But the relationship that is required when working with a pack animal like bear dogs pretty much guarantees that you are going to bond with the animals.  Nobody spends more time with the Rough Run hounds than Jerry Davis.

Jerry Davis Sr makes his way to the kennel while Jeff Davis drops off drops off his hounds after a day on the mountain.

Remember, these dogs hunt in December, maybe in September too, plus a bit of training time when the weather cools.  That adds up to maybe 75-100 days on the truck.  Jerry Davis sees these dogs at least twice a day, 365 days a year, plus every time he goes to his workshop or truck.  He takes them to the vet and gives them their medicine.  That's right, the Rough Run kennels sit at Jerry's house right on Rough Run road at the entrance to the forest.  The dogs stand watch at the entrance to the forest and Jerry stands watch over the dogs.

Jerry Davis Sr. tending to the dogs.

The kennels sit out back all in a row on a concrete slab, metal fencing, and a neat sloped roof.  Jerry is a metal worker by trade and the pens he built are custom made and beautiful.   The cuts and welds are precise and the entire structure is as neat and professional as anything you'll find out of a catalog.  Out of the back of each pen is a large industrial drum where the dogs spend a good deal of their sleeping time.  The blue barrels enclose the heat generated by the dogs and keeps the interior of the barrels warm.  "I went out one night when it was close to zero and stuck a thermometer in each of the barrels.  Fifty-two degrees.  I stopped worrying and went back to bed."

The routine starts early.  "I go out early in the morning to check on 'em," says Jerry.  He hoses down each kennel to clean out the mess and fills each bowl, one with water, the other with food.  He has a special brand and mix of dog food that seems to work best for the Albert hounds and their unique physical needs.  Obviously, the feed bill can get a bit steep.

At night, he repeats the procedure.  Both times he'll try to get a feel for how the dogs are doing, particularly during hunting season.  These dogs will want to go even if it isn't healthy and it's up to Jerry to have the cooler head about the soundness of the dogs, even when it comes to overruling Jeff.  On the upcoming episode "Mingo Goes Down" (January 26, 8:00pm www.roughrun.com) we'll see this back and forth play out.

At the end of the night, Jerry closes up the barrel of feed, give one final glance over his shoulder and heads back into the house.  Now it's up to the dogs to keep watch at the entrance of the forest.

A Dog's Life: HOPE

Full Name: HOPE (...just Hope)
Breed:  Only Non-Black-and-Tan in Jeff's pack (grade dog)
  Age:  10 years old
  The Scoop:  A very decent dog for the group, but age has caught up to the old girl and she can be slow.  Can really work a track well, an experienced hound who doesn't get fooled very often.

Bear Hunting 101: Soup to Nuts Beginners Guide

In Rough Run, the boys (and girls) do lots of things to amuse themselves during the fall and winter that the normal person may not be… comfortable with.  One of those things is bear hunting.  When bears are running through the yard, tearing up the trash, yanking refrigerators out houses and eating the leftovers, you've decided to mess with the wrong bunch.  Besides keeping the wildlife at bay and helping with the ecology and all that stuff, bear hunting can be fun.  Heck, most of the time bear hunting isn't hunting in the usual sense of "let's find something and kill out".  Most of the time, hunting really refers to finding bears, chasing bears, taking pictures of bears, and watching bears run away.  Unless it's a bigun'…

Since bear hunting is a little different than most of the other creature-hunting where you sit in a blind/tree/rock ledge and hope something with antlers wanders by, we decided to give you a brief primer on how it all goes:

BEFORE-HAND STUFF

1a.  Get up 2:30am - I know, I know, this is an ungodly hour but apparently 'bears own the night'.  

1b.  Eat some grub - This is literally 5 or 6 hours prior to when one normally eats breakfast so it is best to grab some chow first thing.

1c.  Ready to go out (make 2nd breakfast, make or bring lunch supplies, grab waters & snacks, grab supplies, 

1c.  Get the dogs form their kennels, put them on the truck and head up the mountain

Disclaimer:  This isn't a legal document that purports to explain all of the laws, regulations and game rules.  Know your area and rules.  In Rough Run, there are certain seasons where certain things are allowed and it is a hound hunting state.  No baiting or anything like that.  You need to find 'em…

SNIFFING OUT A BEAR STUFF

1.  Find a Track - The 'track' is the term for the scent-trail.  When a bear runs through the forest, he leaves a trail that can be followed.  This is the track.  Finding a good track & fresh track is part art, part science and is the one big separators from the amateurs and the seasoned houndsmen.  The Rough Run boys know how to find the track.

2.  Release the Hounds - Once a good track is identified and the appropriate time has been reached, the dogs are turned loose.  Again, this is part art and part science knowing which dogs to release and how many dogs and when to send them.  

3.  Track the Dogs as they chase - Once the dogs are on the loose, it is time to track the chase.  If all goes well, the dogs will get on the track of the bear and follow it to their goal.  Bears are seldom up for a fight, so they tend to run for the high ground.  The chase is on.  This is called "running the bear".  The Rough Run boys use tracking devices, GPS collars and other sophisticated gadgetry to follow the chase.  

4.  Tree the Bear - The end goal is to get the bear in a spot where he wants to stop and end the chase.  If the bear is big enough, he won't go up a tree and will fight the dogs on the ground.  But most bears do the smart thing (in bear logic) and go up a tree to rest.  The dogs can't follow, so the bear wins (in bear logic).   Once your dogs have the bear up a tree, the hunters dash to the tree.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET ONE PART

5.  Maybe you shoot it (go to step 6), maybe you don't (tell everybody you shot it anyway and make up a huge weight) 

6.  Drag it Out - As horrible as it sounds.

7.  Weigh It and Tag it - Again, know your laws and tag when you are supposed to tag.  Basically, follow your local rules here. 

8.  Multiply all Numbers by 3 and tell everybody about it - Lying about your exploits is a time-honored and legitimate aspect to life in Rough Run (and bear hunting).

9.  Slice It, Dice It, Make Julienne Fries - Some like bear eatin', some do not like it.  Waste not, want not.

10.  Take the dogs home and get them bedded down for the night - More nights than not, they have gotten no bear so reward the pooches.

11.  Clean everything up and kick out the mooches - Since this is a complicated and difficult and expensive endeavor, lots of people hang out for a piece of the action.  Remove them from your clubhouse.

12.  Go to Bed - Set alarm for 2:30am, the bear season is short and sweet.

Note:  If nothing happenS, remember to tell everyone you "ran" a huge bear but __________ (fill-in the blank with some incredible excuse [see LYING]).