Hunting Season Is A Great Time To Buy A Dog From Me

OK, why now?

Because the dog goes straight from a blood trail dog training facility where older finished dogs train da pups and into a the woods and onto fresh blood. And what could be more simple and easy for the dog OR THE NEW OWNER? And when I get the right people who want to work with me and give the dog time to adjust, I get praise.

But it seems that most people who come with intention to buy a finished dog come with unrealistic expectations, and worse they ALWAYS think they know the dog better in a few days than me who spent years with it. Now if you want to short cut the puppy phase and get a started or finished dog, don't you think you should spend some time with the man who took the long route to get you there?

And not only learn that dogs peculiarities, but learn the commands from the man who taught the dog.

But, the diametrical responses to my started and finished dogs could not be more wide spread and I mean like Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde!

On one hand my customers come back with praise for the level of intelligence, loyalty, devotion, and determination my dogs have, and say things like: "I have wanted a dog like this all my life!"

or, "When you said they were smart, I had no idea, until she started opening locked doors!" And let me tell you how that evolved along the way. Before she was a year old, she was opening the front door from the inside by turning the door knob. So, we put a dead bolt to secure the house with her in it. Well she watched him turn the dead bolt latch, turn the knob, and open the door so it wasn't long and she was doing the same thing to let her self out!

Josh then began to think he had her secured when he put a keyed dead bolt.

 Well... she watched him do that a few times and began to try to turn the key on the dead bolt if he left it in! And guess what? If he left her in the house with the key in the dead bolt long enough, she got good at turning the key too! And then turning the doorknob to let herself out AGAIN!

Now my problem with this: I told him so, and he didn't believe me until he saw the dog do exactly as I said.

Now let's look at the 'other' side of this. On the other hand I have people who come to me to buy a started or finished dog who mean well I am sure, but want to by-pass the puppy phase and get right down to "using" a blood tracking dog during deer season. Now most of these people have never bred, raised, trained or handled a Catahoula tracking dog. 

So come to a man who has been breeding for 30 years and buy a dog from him and because he has put years into this finished tracking dog, and you will want to learn from him how to 'use' your new dog right?

Well it appears that people want a finished dog because they don't know how to raise or train them and then when I try to teach them how to handle the dog, they act like I am wrong because in their supreme opinion; "If it was a 'good dog', it would work for anybody, anywhere, anytime!"

But often a good dog no matter what breed, will go through an adjustment with a new owner because dogs by nature are Nuevo-phobic, meaning they are scared, shy, or suspicious of anything, anyone, or anywhere NEW! Given time, and proper training they adjust, but most people who want a finished dog come with a on demand attitude, and think their failure is everyone else's fault, as in me and the dog!

What is interesting here is that I am willing to help the new owner get the dog going, but no matter how much I put into the dog beforehand, or how much I call and check in to help after a sale, if it won't work for a prospective buyer, is that my or the dogs fault?


Remember, it was not me that wanted to sell you a finished dog in the first place.

I advise people to buy a puppy, but 95% of prospective buyers want a finished dog.

And then fail to learn from the trainer how to handle or relate to the dog, and want to blame me or the dog for the prospective owners neglect to learn about the dog from the man who trained them.

If you need a tracking dog for hunting season are you willing to invest TIME  and money?

And on that note let's calculate what a one year old dog costs me and you.

A one year old dog at $1,000 is 84 dollars a month, or $21 a week for a year totaling $1,000.

Now you want a started or finished dog, and calculate that at $1,000 per year because a good finished dog requires years to get there. But, oh you were hoping to get that dog of a lifetime that so many people are raving about for what a few hundred dollars? Unrealistic!

So many people who call me for a Catahoula hog dog, cow dog, or blood tracking dog DO NOT want to raise and train a puppy, and I understand they want a short cut and when their short plan fails it is primarily because I told them it would take time and consultation with me who invested years in breeding and training to get the dog right. And they wouldn't listen to me or work with me.

But if you are interested in a puppy, started or finished dog, I will always be here to advise you should you have issues with your Catahoula purchased from me. If you need to reach me for wounded deer tracking services or to talk Catahoulas, I can be reached by cell phone at 337 298 2630

for more info on my dogs: www.catahoula.ws

Find a Blood Tracking Dog for 2015

My dogs are loaded and ready to track your wounded deer should you call me at 337 298 2630.

This is a great time to buy your own tracking dog all ready experienced and trained in a facility for blood trail dogs.

If you need tracking services,

or you are interested in buying a dog or have questions about tracking dogs,
 I can be reached at 337 298 2630.

Blood Tracking Dogs 24/7

We are now in the thick of hunting season and the dogs are biting at the bit to be in the woods and find something to eat...

 

 

 

 

 

 Louisiana Swamp Tours are over for the rest of the month or until the holidays kick in.

 

 

 

 

So from this point forward because the tourists are focused on the holidays, the gators are going into hibernation, ...

 

 

 

 and thus no one is traveling or calling for swamp tours, I and my crew of tracking dogs are available 24/7 to track wounded deer.

 

Although at my age(59), I can't answer every call,

 

 

I try to assist hunters who do not have a dog to find lost and wounded deer whenever and wherever possible. If you need a tracker or a want to buy a dog, I am at 337 298 2630.

 

 

Blood Tracking Dogs For Sale Or Hire

The last few posts generated so much conversation, I need to do a part 2 and clear up some confusion!

First, I breed, train, work and hire out my Catahoula cur dogs to track wounded deer.
Now that being said, I understand that most people reading this do not have a clue what a de la Houssaye's Catahoula is. If you click on the links here, you can go to my other sites and learn what a Catahoula is and is not, for instance it is NOT a hound!.

But... my training methods apply to almost all breeds,  and for instance:

#1. Hungry dogs hunt!

Which is why most dogs of any breed(INCLUDING CATAHOULAS) do NOT make a GOOD HUNTING DOG, if they are also a pet, because THE FAMILY DOG as a pet is almost always over fed 24/7/365, over weight, and that ALONE over rides what motivates a dog to hunt in the wild:

HUNGER!

And if that is what motivates a dog to hunt in the wild, why are you not using that to train, motivate or handle your working dog in a domestic situation? Duhhhh!

Bottom line: the reason most dogs that are "made into pets" do not hunt is because they are NEVER GIVEN A CHANCE to eat raw meat, OR TO GO HUNGRY FOR A FEW DAYS and thus not conditioned by the diet to hunt for food.The only hunt that they need to engage in is to go to the back door every day @ 6 pm to eat dry dog food.   Plus they are almost never ever fed raw meat, so they do not recognise the smell of fresh deer blood as associated with their regular DRY food diet and therefore do not regard it as something TO SEEK when hungry.

 Yet bring a dog that eats raw meat on a regular basis to a blood trail when that dog is hungry, and watch what happens!

Recently some hunters called on one of the top trackers in the Southern Blood Trackers Association to come to their lease at about 9 pm and find a wounded deer that was shot at sunset a few hours earlier.

The dog would go to the end of blood and no further. Meaning it failed to find the deer.

The tracker claimed that the dog wouldn't track the deer because the dog could smell the hormones in the inter dignitary glands (click on link and go to this article for more info) between the toes, and knew from previous experiences that the blood was from a deer that was NOT MORTALLY WOUNDED. And thus the dog refused to waste time looking for the deer because the dog knew it was a waste of time to track a flesh wound on a deer that would not lay down and die!

The next day, at first light the hunters went looking for the deer WITHOUT a dog and found it in plain sight about 50 yards from the point of last blood. But wait, this happened more than once with these hunters calling on the same dog, and got the same lame excuse from the tracker when the dog failed to find or even hunt for the deer.

My analysis: This well bred German Bloodhound who found literally hundreds of deer over the years as a professional tracker was being over fed and thus had no interest in hunting for food. That is what a dead deer is to a dog right?  FOOD!

And I have seen it again and again and again with people who want to buy a finished dog and take my finished dogs and do not follow directions from me who put years into the dog and it won't hunt for them. Other people get the same dog a week later and advise me that they have wanted a dog like this all their life. Why so different results from the same dog? Most likely someone is following my instructions regarding how to handle the dog and some one is NOT!

So, if you really want a finished dog... I got them , but:

Why are you trying to buy a finished dog from someone who bred, raised, socialized, trained  AND HAULED THE DOG AROUND FOR YEARS, and YOU are not following the breeders/trainers program?

Because you think if it did it for me, it will automatically do it for you. You are AMONG 95% of the people who shop for finished dogs, and you are wrong.

Come on think about it: if the dog hunts for me, why is it not hunting for you? Because you think you know more about this dog training thing than me, and you think you know more about the dog in less than one week, better than me who put years into that dog?

#2.
Hiring a Catahoula cur tracking dog is like hiring a taxi, meaning it comes with a driver: as in yours truely.

Now should you want to hire my dogs without me, I suggest you come to my house and visit regularly and camp out and live with them like I do, so my dogs can get to know you BEFORE  you call upon thier services to track for you, otherwise they most likely will not hunt for you like they do me.

I regularly camp out in my training facility, complete with a campfire, and sleep under the stars.

 AND... as you get to know them and you learn how to be a part of a blood tracking team, you will learn to guide, assist, AND TRUST  the dogs natural instincts. You see the world, and dogs smell it, put those together, and you have a team which works together to help you find the deer.

 I breed, train, work and write about Catahoulas in their infinite expression of natural working abilities. I also have a pure bred wolf as you can see in the photo above.

My dogs have taught me a great deal about loyalty, honesty, devotion, courage, service and instinct.

Do I get credit for anything here? Yes, I was humble and just barely smart enough to recognize that my dogs were smarter than me when it came to hunting, and from that point forward I began to learn a lot more from them than I ever taught them.

Very important point here: I do not NEED to do anything to train my puppies to hunt except haul them around with my older finished dogs, and track deer WHEN  it is deer season and they(the puppies) learn from the older dogs example.

So If you ask me, "What is the best way to train a puppy to track wounded deer?

My honest answer: "Use an older dog, and wait until deer hunting season!" It is OK, to make liver drags, and lay out blood trails during the off season, etc, etc, but don't expect too much in terms of performance when it comes to off season training, the rubber meets the road during deer season as the dog will learn more in ONE day of actual deer season blood tracking than you will ever teach them "by training them" in the off season.

That's how I train 'em. I USE AN OLDER EXPERIENCED FINISHED DOG! Duhhhh!

 And... because most people do not know how to train a dog to do anything, much less hunt, AND because raising and training a Catahoula puppy requires patience and at least two years input, but worse they do not have an older dog to help to train it for them, I recommend buying a finished or started dog from me that was raised and trained by my older dogs in my blood trail dog training facility to be your family pet AND help you track wounded deer.


# 3.
 Now if you ask me, "What is the best TIME to start to ttain a puppy to track wounded deer? I don't care what age the dog is, the best time to start training them is DURING DEER SEASON!

  This is Simon who found his first deer before he was 2 years old.

So... why is deer season the best time to start to train a puppy? Because for all the mock trails you create and the games you play in the off season, nothing will interest or "motivate" your dog or puppy to hunt for you like taking them into a REAL LIFE treasure hunt that results in them getting a belly full of fresh meat WHEN THEY ARE HUNGRY!




If you are interested in buying a dog or asking questions,

I am Marcus de la Houssaye, and I can be reached by cell phone at 337 298 2630.

Deer Blood Tracking Dogs For Sale or Hire

Well here we go, it is that time of the year

where everyone wants a finished blood tracking dog and I mean they want it now because they have
a big deer down somewhere that they shot and can't find.

And they can't find the deer because they didn't want to feed a dog all year long and now that they did not plan on maintaining one all year long, and having one ready to go, and a dog is needed, they want to act like it is sitting on the shelf at the convienence store ready to go! Well, actually it is there waiting on you, but in the short term it comes with a handler or driver, like when you hire a taxi or a delivery truck!

 So yes, blood trail dogs are available "for hire", but they come with me to handle them. Why? Because no matter how well bred or trained and experienced they are, a blood tracking dog, like most working dogs, is part of a team, and unless you are accepted as a team player that dog won't work for you no matter how much money you spend on them, because they don't measure things monetarily the way we do!

That's right let's go to the blood trail dog convienence store and get one ready to go!

Well as much as I wish it was that simple, I am here to report that unless you put time AND invest money in that dog, what makes you think it will work for you now that you need one? The point I am trying to make here is that dogs do not work just because they are bred OR  TRAINED TO WORK! They are motivated to hunt by their desire to please the master AND they hunt harder when they are hungry, but more on the blood trail dog diet later.

Unbeknownst to most people, they work because they are eager to please thier master, and if their master is ALSO their best friend, a Catahoula and I suppose most breeds also, will actually work harder to help find the deer.

I am available to travel and track for you if you are close to Lafayette, La., but why are you hunting deer and do not have a dog lined up yet? I will be glad to sell you a finished dog, but I need to know that you understand that the dog is trained, but the potential buyer needs to go to school to learn how to handle it.

OK, I have puppies, started dogs AND  finished dogs, and if you call me to ask the price of my dogs, like it is a generic price across the board, I will most likely ask you to tell me what this hypothetical dog you have never seen is worth to you.

Also, I need to know what you expect this dog to do, and you better be specific if it is a finished dog.

I also train dogs for other people, but most people want me to do ALL the work, and then they "buy" something that can only be earned as far as the dog is concerned. What I am getting at here is what motivates a dog to hunt is a relationship with the owner, not the training or the breeding. Sorry if this is not what you want to hear, but I have been doing this for years, and  most people come to buy a dog with unreasonable expectations that I AND the dog cannot fulfill.

I can be reached at 337 298 2630 if you need to discuss blood tracking dogs.

I am Marcus de la Houssaye, and I breed Catahoulas as working dogs.

Blood Tracking Dogs for sale 2014

Well it is that time of the year where I defrost the freezer and pull out all the huge roasts of last season and as a roast defrosts it releases deer blood, and that goes right into the puppy training program.

Now as far as I am concerned, when it comes to retraining or tuning up an experienced dog as they say, the rubber meets the road during the deer season,  when we have a dead or wounded deer and fresh blood on the ground.

Therefore, when it comes to experienced dogs, stop worrying about your dogs ability to perform when you need them unless... you have failed to build on the relationship, and spent time "quality time" with that dog during the "off season".

Let's define quality time: It is time spent fishing, hiking, camping, birthday parties, family BBQ's, visiting the hunting lease, the hunting camp, the beach, etc.

I think you get the picture, that the dog needs to be a regular part of the hunting club, or a part your summertime fishing trips, etc., or an active member of the family outings as much as possible, AND  released from the chain, or allowed to run around the yard OUTSIDE the kennel ideally every day, or as much as possible.

And that my friends is the biggest mistake you can make as a deer hunter who wants a tracking dog and think you can park that dog in a kennel or on a chain for 7 months a year and then have a top notch blood tracking expert to help you find lost, dead or wounded deer when you really need it.

2013 Has Been A Great Year For Man's Best Friend

I have so many stories to tell about this past year and hunting season, I wish I had a secretary to dictate...but wait, isn't there a voice dictation program in the computer??? OK, does it understand Cajun, Ok, here we go...






Any way, my dogs have a lot of scars on the head from fighting with wounded bucks, 2 displaced hips, but no broken legs, like last year when we had like 5 broken legs, no joke, 2 on one dog in two separate incidents 6 weeks apart!






But all that being said, understand it is a testament to the dogs incredible working abilities, and question not if they will work, but at this point in the game, one big thing I learned about selling blood tracking dogs this past year is that most people want to pick the dog, but when it comes to a de la Houssaye's Catahoula, unless they PICK YOU, don't waste your time trying to merely buy them,  and fail to connect on a deeper level as a friend, because they will never be your working dog.






I like to advise people who ask if it is my dog, that no, it is not my dog, I am their man.




At this point, I have come to a place where I will not jump through hoops trying to impress a potential dog buyer, because I could say everything you want to hear, and still isn't it the dog THAT YOU,  need to qualify as a working dog, not what I SAY over the phone?






You see I have nothing to prove to you in a phone conversation regarding these dogs working abilities, because it doesn't matter what I say, and furthermore, I am not trying to sell these dogs, you are trying to buy them. And as far as I am concerned, I do not need to sell them.


 Now, I know they will they work for me, but the real question that you must face as a potential dog buyer is: will they work for you? And that means that they must WANT to work for AND with you, because YOU want to work WITH THEM, starting as a pet for the kids, or as a fishing partner or just BEING your best friend. And that relationship takes time to build, and you as the buyer bear the burden, not me! So,if you want them to hunt FOR YOU come hunting season in October or November, you need to buy them now, so they can get to know you.


and that being said I generally do not sell blood tracking dogs during the hunting season because most people who just shot and lost a deer, think they can call me last minute, buy a dog, haul it away from my driveway expecting it to work for them the next morning to find their lost deer, and that is an absolutely ridiculous expectation of a new dog! But you should hear the critisism of those who don't listen to the plan and try it.






However much a Catahoula may make a great pet(with the right people), you ain't gonna make them do anything they don't WANT to do, and when it comes to hunting, they will never hunt for someone they don't know and generally they don't hunt for people who don't integrate the dog into the family as a pet or into an active outdoor lifestyle, and treat them as a respected member of the team on a regular basis.






 Call her a pet if you like, but Catahoulas are very unforgiving of people who think the Catahoula is "just a dog" and incapable of intellect and compassion, and just because you do not understand dog, do not presume that she does not understand English!


And don't make the mistake of  presuming it is OK that she be tied up in the back yard, and is only fed on a chain, never petted, and ONLY feels a human hand IF THEY GET TO GO HUNTING.


OK, THAT SYSTEM WORKS FOR SOME PEOPLE with certain breeds of curs and hounds, but for these elite, high performance, pure bred, de la Houssaye's Catahoulas that are bred to hunt, you cannot take credit for "training" them to hunt, because if YOU are not THIER best friend, most likely, they will not hunt for you!




Here is where I have to say if you want them to be your best friend in the woods, but not at home, it is very important that they be part of the family and that could mean being the KID'S pet, or some one else's best friend.


All that being said, when a man makes a dog his best friend, that dog has a problem!

Blood Tracking Dogs For Sale 2014

Well it has been the greatest year yet for me and the dogs and still I have to ask everyone why are you hunting deer without a tracking dog to back you up?


You can read a tracking adventure story here if you like: Pecan Island Buck











We spend so much money and time on guns, ammo, camo, bug spray, deer scent, climbers, treestands, ATV's, boats, seed, feed, fertilizer, lease fee, gasoline, license, instructional videos, etc.










And after all that you got a deer down, and you can't find a tracking dog at the last minute? Why? Because you didn't plan ahead, and buy one last year(like now!) to be ready for next year.










So what is a good time to buy a tracking dog? I can't answer that for you, but trying to find one WHEN you need it is often too late for that deer!


REPEAT: NOT when you need one, because you have a deer down somewhere ... in the middle of nowhere....and now you can't find it without the help of a dog!

and ....yesterday is gone, worse tomorrow never happens...all we really have here is one day at a time.














So let's look forward, but first, let me rub it in some more... you had a trophy down in rough terrain this year ....Then, before you could even work the blood, factor in the winter weather covering the track with snow or washing the blood away with a light rain, making it impossible to track visually, (but all that actually helps the dog track scent wise).

Do you not realize how much time, meat(or trophy), and frustration you could save yourself,  if you had only invested in a dog BEFORE you actually needed one!










Because you may never actually have had an opportunity to witness a  tracking dog work, and you may never have experienced the joy or witnessed the relief of everybody (especially when it is the kids first deer), you don't know what you are missing in the big picture of deer hunting because most of us just accept losing too many deer "as part of it".  


Imagine if you will the celebration of  finding a kids first lost dead deer, and the tracking dogs hard work in the woods amounted to tracking for only 15 minutes, (and they[5 people], just wasted 5 hours tracking visually) with no luck, before you and the dogs got there).










IF you had a dog to HELP you find your deer, you might have more than just a memory of that huge rack that ran off after you knocked him down,(but he got up and ran off much to your dismay and now, you do not have a nose to track for you unless you called me this time last year and actually bought one).






If you get a dog from me to track blood, that dog comes  with an automatically pre-paid,  training course that you must take and pass in order to properly handle a started or finished Catahoula tracking dog. Otherwise most likely the dog won't track for you, because you don't know how to "handle" them properly and forget "you" trying to train them to track blood, because if you knew how to track in the first place, YOU WOULDN'T NEED A DOG!






And worse if they weren't "bred" to track genetically you ain't putting nothing in them training wise!


Do not call me and ask what is the price range of my dogs that you have not seen yet much less tested their working ability, because I will answer that question right here, and right now: $0-$10,000 depending on the dog.




And...




How can I price a hypothetical dog? You have NOT picked one yet, and worse if the dog doesn't "pick" you first, the dog could give a rat's ass what you paid for it, and without YOU being trained, I don't care how well bred, raised, trained, and EXPERIENCED the dog is, most likely you will not be a satisfied customer of de la Houssaye's Catahoulas, because you failed to come to school and learn what your dog already knows.








And now what? You you want me to send you pictures in an email so you can chose "your dog" before driving all this way? NO! NO? that's right... NO! It ain't your dog just because you drove 5 hours one way, and now want to give me money to TRY to work and to own them, and furthermore, I don't sell dogs on the internet, or by photos. I sell them in the woods, where they show you what they can do, and not from a chain in my yard, a telephone conversation, or worse a photo on the internet. And why are you wasting so much time shopping on the internet? get a life, as in the real world, where customers meet the breeder seller face to face!





If you want one of my dogs, you can't buy them on the internet, you must come to me, and go through me, because money alone does not qualify you to be owned by my dogs. That's right! What if the dog is smarter than you, but you don't know it? Who owns who? I can admit it? I can! They(the dogs) are smarter than me! You want proof? OK, I have never seen a dog smoke a cigarette. There....proof positive, dogs are smarter than humans(in general). Hey, don't take this personal, I am not talking about you, I am talking about me, having experimented with tobacco personally, I'm lucky, because could I quit! Looks like the dogs were smarter than me in the first place having never started smoking!






Now...  because I am not trying to sell these dogs, that's right...




and you are trying to buy them,



understand this upfront: I do not "need" to sell them, they got a good home right here for the rest of their life if you ain't wise enough to accept that.




Now all that being said, I am in the business of breeding, raising, training, AND working tracking dogs professionally every year during October through February. Based upon my experience, unless you are a business man operating a high fence hunting preserve with the facilities to house, work, and ''OWN" a Catahoula year round, you need to come to school so I can train YOU, and not the dog you think you need to buy, and then you "train it"!


I have had great success placing finished dogs with hunting clubs and hunting preserves, because they are all business all year long, and when I get there with several options for them to choose from, and I can leave several dogs in the same kennel which helps everybody adjust to being at a new home.

 And ideally I place or leave several dogs in kennels together, in their secure fenced in area, and all at the same time, so they(the buyer) can find the one one that wants to hunt for them. And I benefit from my dogs being on several blood trails almost every day during deer season, and the buyer can then find the dog that picks them!




If you never trained a dog to hunt, and worse never even owned a Catahoula, .... son you need to go to school, AND NOT THE DOG!




I am Marcus de la Houssaye, and I can ONLY be reached by cell phone, not email or internet, so please don't waste my time text messaging me,or looking for my email address, if you can't call or come by. I don't sell dogs by text, messaging or internet photos!


337 298 2630