Gone to the Dogs Podcast (Steve Fielder, Hound Podcast Network: Double U Hunting Supply)

James Oliver Laws provides many alternatives to the heretofore accepted accounts of the development of the Plott Hound in North Carolina.  Recorded with rudimentary equipment on the front porch of James Law’s home by Stewart Biesecker at Steve’s request, the interviews are a step back in time, illuminated by the amazing recollections of the story’s teller, Mr. Laws.

If you enjoy history and especially Plott Hound history, you are in for a treat.  The stories, some humorous, some eye-opening, and some perhaps blasphemous to those convinced of the accuracy of former accounts, will certainly be informative and no doubt entertaining.   With rockers squeaking on rough-sewn boards and traffic passing on the highway out yonder, you are fixin’ to sit a spell with an eye-witness to Plott dog history in this exclusive interview.  Enjoy.

Steve wrote an article about Wimp Aron that was published about five years ago in American Cooner magazine.  That article becomes the foundation upon which this episode is built and explores in detail the descriptions of Mr. Aron’s continuous line of Walker females, each bearing the name Queen and a Roman numeral to indicates its position in the long, long line of Skuna River hounds.

Recorded on the day of Mr. Aron’s funeral, Mark Sumrall and Ricky Campbell, longtime friends and hunting partners of Wimp’s, join Steve to discuss many personal aspects of Aron’s life including memories of hunts taken, conversations had at four AM, and Mr. Aron’s last wishes concerning the continuation of the Skuna River line.

This one is for everyone that knew Mr. Wimp and for all those that aspire to make an indelible mark for the good in coon hunting in the years to come.

In this episode, Steve talks with five hunters from as many states that came to hunt raccoons with hounds in the White River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas this year.   Hunters from the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee are included in the conversations.

The episode offers more than three hours of content that collectively describe the hunts and the types of hunting the refuge offered this year.  Perhaps more so than any of the previous fourteen years Steve has hunted the White River Refuge, this year presented many challenges which are discussed in length in the episode.

Whether you take in the full volume of content at one time or carve it into bite-sized pieces to enjoy in coming days, you will enjoy meeting Billy Carter, Robert Cromer, Caleb Griffin, John Staib and Brandon Taylor as they tell their stories in our White River Recap 2004.  

We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Alpha Dog Nutrition and Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.  Want to learn more about Alpha Dog Nutrition? Check out the links below

https://www.dusupply.com/alphadog

www.dusupply.com

https://alphadognutrition.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleUHuntingSupply/podcasts

This episode drops on the Monday before Thanksgiving.  Steve extolls the joys of one of his favorite times of year as the episode opens.  Thanksgiving could well be called the hunter’s holiday since so much hunting activity routinely takes place on and around the traditional holiday.

Fellow podcast content creator Clayton Stark’s post on social media forms the basis for reflections by many members of the hound hunting community as they recall special memories.  Moreso than any other, Thanksgiving is a holiday for families; sumptuous meals, football games, recounts of family adventures combine to make the most, for some, enjoyable holiday of the year.

A phone call with Steve’s hunting buddy and frequent traveling companion Arnold “Nubbin” Moore rounds out the conversation as they discuss the upcoming annual trip to Arkansas and the White River National Wildlife Refuge. 

With this episode, Steve and Ella, as well as the crews at Double U Hunting Supply, Alpha Dog Nutrition and Zepp Predator Calls, send a collective “Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!”

What happens when an active raccoon and bear-hunting houndsman is faced with a debilitating injury at the onset of hunting season?  Does he become discouraged to the point of giving up or does he purpose to overcome adversity and forge into the future with a firm resolve? 

The subject of our episode this week personifies the latter. Mark Miller of Taylorsville, North Carolina is a houndsman in the prime of life, a guy that approaches hound hunting like a rookie fireman on his first five-alarm run.  His determination to take a green pup all the way to the Quadruple Grand level in the coonhound game is evidence of just how hard he goes at it. Unfortunately, Miller finds himself dealing lately with a severe back injury that so far is devoid of a clear long-term prognosis, a situation that would get a lesser man down.

Steve and Mark spend the duration of the podcast talking about Mark’s personal battle, about the hound that the two friends co-own and finally, about a new prospect that Steve hopes will follow in his sire’s footsteps. 

Despite the variety of subjects at hand, some with a serious degree of uncertainty, the friends manage to see light at the end of the tunnel in the upcoming Grand American and American Plott Association upcoming at the first of the year.   It’s an hour of the “dog talk at its finest” you’ve come to expect in this spot each week. Enjoy. 

Desiring to do something to stimulate activity and participation in coon hunting among Georgia’s youth, Riley approached Professional Kennel Club’s National Youth Director Chris Freiberger for ideas.  The result is the Peach State Shootout series of qualifying events held throughout the summer that will advance the overall winners to a championship to be held in the fall. 

This episode spotlights coon hunting from the perspective of a young man that totally enjoys and totally gets it.  You are going to be energized by the demeanor and knowledge of a young man possessed of ways of thinking usually reserved for hunters much older than he.  If you love the sport and I know you do, you are going to especially enjoy it from the perspective of Caden Riley.  

Co-host Corey Gruver and Steve have been addressing various aspects of treeing in reference to coonhounds in previous episodes.  In this podcast, Whatley joins in a discussion based on exploring the many aspects of trail or track dogs in our sport. 

Whatley, in his competition days was well-known for following some mighty-good Bluetick hounds and Steve is not hesitant to explore with the man that fed them, the attributes of those dogs in regard to whether or not they could be identified as good track dogs.  All the aspects of what it means to be recognized as a “track dog” are explored in this episode.  Dex is very knowledgeable, can be extremely humorous and speaks with an accent and with the demeanor of one that is definitely Lone Star to the bone.  Enjoy.   

In this episode we catch up with Casey Maggard of Hyden, Kentucky just three days after the Treeing Walker female owned by his uncle Jack Maggard won the prestigious UKC World Coonhound Championship.   WLD NITE CH GRNITECH (2 Little Lacey won four casts without a loss at the championship finals held in Marshall, Illinois one week before this episode airs.  

We talk to Casey about his origins with Lacey, how she came to live with the Maggards and how she began her climb to greatness and achieved the ultimate by winning the most prestigious coonhound world championship in the competitive coon hunting sport   We talk about her breeding, her hunting style and most importantly, Casey takes us along with his play by play account of her ascent at Marshall from round one all the final important seconds of the World Championship final cast.

If competition is your game, if you like staying on the cutting edge of that game, and if you are possessed of a genuine interest in what it takes to succeed at the game, this one’s for you.

Steve and Corey touch on track dogs and tree climbers in this episode from the front porch on a dog day afternoon.  Steve has some pretty serious views on the subject of climbing trees when training hounds and offers a strong admonishment to those tempted to apply the method to their training regimen in a single word, don’t!

Whether your drink of choice is sweet tea or a mint julep, pour a tall one and enjoy an hour or so with us, rocking to the Summertime blues

Florida coon hunter Mack Britt of Parrish, Florida, an unincorporated community in Manatee County near Sarasota on the west coast, began coon hunting with his dad as a boy.  He was bitten by the hound dog bug at an early age and has remained true to his calling for nearly fifty years. 

The reasons Mack was chosen as a guest for this podcast are manifold.   First and foremost, he is a “good old boy.”  I’ve never heard a disparaging word uttered about Mack among his peers within the community of Florida coon hunters.  I’ve driven thousands of miles with him to PKC hunts, his hunt of choice, and have enjoyed every mile.  I talk with him regularly by phone.

Secondly, Mack is a veteran coon hunter in an area the is not for the faint of heart, an area where the numbers of coon hunters has dwindled over the years.  He knows Florida coons and their habitats as well as anyone and better than most.  He isn’t afraid to brave the hazards of hunting alone in a jungle swamp and does so regularly.  When a dog trees, his or yours, he will hack, crawl, and crash his way through palmettos, cat-claw briars and soft-bottomed, snake-infested swamps to get to the dog.   

If you’re wondering what it would be like to hunt coons in Florida, here it is.  It ain’t pretty, but if you are the adventurous type, there ain’t nothin’ like it!

Wes and Steve have known and have made many hunts with Heath over several years.  It was on a Freedom Hunter’s Adventure with Heath that Steve and Wes became well-acquainted.  This week the two come together to discuss some “Hyatt-style Adventures” that adequately spill the beans on the professional trainer.  Woodyard credits Heath with bringing him into the hound sport and when he asked for the opportunity to give credit where credit is due on a podcast, Steve was glad to comply.  The episode illustrates the importance of mentoring new hunters into the sport.  

This is a feel-good episode that just goes to show that while bringing someone into the sport isn’t always easy, it can pay big dividends.   Woodyard, formed in the Hyatt mold, is an extreme hound hunter that never shirks the hard stuff when it comes to hunting and harvesting black bears.  Every hunting party needs one like Wes.  You’ll enjoy this one.  

Special guest Mike Sheppard and Heath Hyatt join in the conversation that includes several stories of their own experiences with Wickham.   Steve takes the opportunity to share Sheppard’s interesting story of his life as a coon and deer hunter, hunting guide and JOY Dog Food representative.   Hyatt previews coming episodes of his popular The Journey podcast as the longtime friends share stories of their experiences of hunting hounds together. 

Mike Sheppard sends a shoutout to Greg Morrison without whose help the hound Sharp Woody’s success would not have been possible.  Thanks Greg!

In this episode Steve picked up the phone on the chance that he talk with his longtime friend and was lucky enough to catch Moran before he headed to the woods.   The conversation that ensued was vintage Moran with stories of hounds and hunts of the past, humorous antic dotes and amazingly detailed trips down memory lane that winds through virtually every states when raccoons are pursued with hounds..

As listeners will see, Moran’s mind is a sharp as a double-bladed axe fresh off the grinder permitting the vintage coon hunter to hone his stories, including names and places, to a fine razor’s edge.  If you are a Moran fan, and we know you are, you’ll really enjoy this episode. 

The conversation moves to the topic of the Autumn Oaks shows.  Currens is an octogenarian that was a hard hunter but remains very active by showing his Treeing Walkers in major competition.

We talk about the judges UKC has selected for “The Event Where History Is Made” and talk about Lee’s experiences having judged the event three times.  

The “Dog Talk At Its Finest” mantra is well-supported in this episode as two veterans discuss many facets of the coonhound sport by way of their many years of experience, Steve as the manager and Lee as a major competitor.  This one provides an enjoyable look at one of the nation’s most important coonhound events

This is an interesting and informative look at the nation’s first and longest-standing “hunt-for-monetary-awards” organization. Many competition hunters begin their journeys in United Kennel Club events and may find the prospect of hunting for cash awards to be daunting if not all-out confusing.  This episode provides the remedy in easy-to-swallow doses.

The boys talk about the stereotypes generally attributed to money hunts and explore the basic differences in hunting for cash versus hunting for traditional commemorative awards.  Listeners that have never tried PKC or its style of competition will benefit greatly from the discussions as the boys gather around this week’s edition of coon hunting’s version of Hot Stove with Steve and Corey. 

Jamie Estep is the busiest man in the coon hunting game.  He's a sharp guy with boundless energy and a winsome personality.    Not only is he a Field Representative for United Kennel Club, he serves as an official interpreter of UKC rules, anchors the annual YouTube broadcast of the UKC Tournament of Champions, is President of the West Virginia State Coon Hunter’s Association, the president of his local coon club, the principal of a Christian school and serves as a full-time pastor of his local church.  Recently Estep was the overseer of a very successful West Virginia Championship which he and Steve discuss at length in this episode.

Being from the State of West Virginia, Jamie and Steve have a lot of common memories of hunts and hunters of the Mountain State.  This one presents Dog Talk At Its Finest, Appalachian style  It's a good one.   

Gone To The Dogs with Shininger and Cable

Monday, September 23, 2024

When the Autumn Oaks interviews suffered a hit by unexpected electronic foes, the onsite conversation with Plott aficionado Bill Shininger and youth handler/hunter Hannah Cable had to be rescheduled after the event.  What would seem to be a disappointment, lacking the on-site flavor of the crowd at Oaks, the interview turned out to be an easy-listening episode that listeners are sure to appreciate.

Shininger is no newcomer to the podcast while Cable is a first-timer. The exchange runs the gamut of all things Plott dogs.  Shininger is a breeder and fancier that has hitched his kennel’s star to a standout stud dog named Lazarus, winner of the trifecta for Plotts with three-in-a-row victories at the prestigious Plott Days event hosted annually by the National Plott Hound Association.

The name Cable is legendary in the coonhound world through the exploits of Hannah’s older brother Kevin, handler and promoter of the famed Big Money-line of Treeing Walker dogs.  Kevin’s seventeen-year-old sister Hannah has also earned considerable acclaim but with her Plott dogs.  Showing and sometimes hunting Gambler, her first Plott and Joe, brother to Shininger’s stud dog Lazarus, Hannah has compiled a long list of wins, largely in Bench Show competition but not all.

Shininger and Cable appear in this episode because of their demonstrated willingness to give back to the sport they love.  Shininger’s efforts in encouraging hunters to preserve their hounds through frozen semen and Cable’s efforts to encourage and help other youth to excel in the hound sport she loves make them both worthy of your time.  The inspiration and encouragement they bring is infectious. 

The boys have closed the damper, swept out the firebox and moved operations to the front porch for remainer of the spring and summer.  Spring peepers and hoot owls will provide ambient sound as the rockers get a workout on the rough-sawn boards at close of day.   But in this episode, the fire is still crackling and the conversation drifts to the subject of multi-purpose dogs, mostly coonhounds operating outside the normal bounds of track and tree.  It’s a good listen and a thought-provoker for anyone bold enough to consider using Old Blue to perform what many would consider unnatural acts.   Lean in and see if you don’t find this to be some interesting stuff.  It will be your last chance to spit on the stove for a while.  

Georgia's Peach State Shootout winner Gregory Mitchell joins his father Greg Mitchell and event founder Caden Riley to discuss Gregory’s recent success in capturing the prestigious year-long coonhound series designed exclusively for youth hunters.

Riley was a guest in June of this year to discuss the event already in progress.   Barely out of the youth competition age group himself, Riley is the architect of the event which consisted of eight qualifying events across the State of Georgia with successful cast winners vying for one of the Top Nine spots in the final.

Listeners get the full account of the event from both the management and participant's perspective.  This is big league youth hunting at its finest and the listener will realize it from the opening bell until the final tree is scored.  Enjoy.  

When your dad’s the most successful Treeing Walker breeder in recent history with major money wins, World Championships and Hall of Fame inductions at every turn, it would appear that sharing the big stage, the limelight if you will, would be a long time coming in the shadow of dad Randy’s success.  When you have the attitude, work ethic and the respect for the game of a seventeen-year old Troy Smith, being recognized for your own achievements seems as natural as summer rain.

In this episode, Steve heads up to western Pennsylvania to hunt with Troy and Randy and to record Troy’s story.  The trip entailed two nights of hunting with a pair of Lone Pine yearlings, Lone Pine Phara at seventeen months and Lone Pine Phalse Profit at fourteen months.  A total of nine raccoons were seen on as many trees on the two-night hunt.  The second night was a short one as Steve respected the early departure time for his homebound flight.

This recording is worth your time for a number of reasons, especially if there are young hunters in your family or circle of friends.   It presents the opportunity to view the sport and what it holds for young ones that indeed will inherit it and carry it forward.  Refreshing is the word that comes to mind.  

Steve’s guest is Tennessean T. L. Jones. Many of Jones’ friends know him as Tracey. Tracey is a third-generation houndsman and bear hunter. He is also an ordained Baptist minister and a newly-published author. He appears as our guest in this episode because he is a great speaker and an altogether interesting fellow on many subjects. Tracey has written a unique book titled The Old Men. Born in 1970 in East Tennessee, much of his boyhood was spent in the company of old men, farming, hunting, fishing and as he puts it, “loafering” in the Appalachian Mountains. Jones’ book consists of eighty-four essays representing conversations with the old men of his experience that help boys become men. Steve and Tracey are longtime friends. They share a love for the Plott Hound and much of the conversation in this episode centers upon their experiences with the special old houndsmen in their lives. For Steve, it’s the many years he hunted with his dad. For Jones, the experiences with his dad and his grandfather continue to inspire his pastoral work and his writing. Each attribute their attitudes and accomplishments to the good sense to listen to the old men. Whether you are young or old, you are bound to find something to enjoy in this unique episode. 

At the point of the recording, two nights of a four-night hunt have been accomplished.  The account of opening night; a date coon hunters universally look forward to all year long, is the tale of a young dog coming of age and the tale of his journey from pup to coon dog.

Each listener that keeps hounds and loves the outdoors will enjoy this podcast. The conversation will paint the picture of two friends, two hounds, a coon dog and a pup, in an amazing autumn setting that can only be experienced in depth by doing as Steve has done, by getting in the truck and putting nearly 1000 miles on the odometer before the hounds are released into the mountain air on an incredible opening night. 

We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Alpha Dog Nutrition and Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.  Want to learn more about Alpha Dog Nutrition? Check out the links below

https://www.dusupply.com/alphadog

www.dusupply.com

https://alphadognutrition.com/

We’re taking about cheating. When Steve was with the registries he dealt with it on a fairly frequent basis.  Determined to keep coon hunting in a positive light, he rarely wrote publicly about the subject, choosing to let the system deal with perpetrators behind the scenes.  Now, unburdened by what was before, he and Corey spotlight the pencil crooks, the blind voters, the dog pitchers and catchers, and the movers and switchers in a sport that was built, and owes its very survival to the premise that honor belongs to whom honor is due.

You’ll enjoy this eye-opening look at the sport behind the scenes and, believe it or not, may come away feeling better about it in the process.  There’s no substitute, no better remedy, for correcting the ills of dishonesty in competition than a good working knowledge of the rules of the game by all participants. The problems and solutions of keeping a level field are all here in this episode.  We not only see the elephant in this episode, we skin it out and tack its hide to the wall.   

In this episode, Steve announces the addition of Corey Gruver as an ongoing contributor to the weekly podcast. This week’s “Hot Stove”discussion covers several bases, all of which should interest coon hunting enthusiasts. Each of the boys served as interpreters of UKC coonhound Nite Hunt rules in their tenures at UKC. Each traveled extensively in their jobs at the registry as well. The similarities in experiences fuel the conversation as does the interest each shares in the training of tree dog puppies. The Coon Hunting Conversations group on Facebook is mined by the pair to reveal questions that should pique the interest of hound people of all persuasions. Steve hopes listeners will join him in welcoming Corey as a regular on the show.

J.R. Gray, at 27 years of age, has compiled quite a coon hunting resume with his hounds.  Prior to winning two world championships, Willy made the All- Grand Top 16 at Autumn Oaks and was named the UKC Male Performance Hound of the Year, both in 2017.  Willy is also a PKC Platinum Champion having earned more than $20 thousand in that registry’s events.

As if Willy’s accomplishments weren’t enough, Gray finds himself basking in the limelight of one of today’s most prestigious wins, the UKC Tournament of Champions with a son of Rack Em Willy called Grand Nite Champion Gray’s Conor McGregor.  Conor captured the coveted first place win and a check in the amount of $50 thousand at the second annual UKC Tournament of Champions in Greencastle, Ind., in April.

Steve catches up with J.R. to discuss his amazing career with Willy and Connor in this timely and extremely interesting episode. Listeners may be surprised at the perspective this young man has on the sport as he reveals what the sport means to him.  This is a good one for the young hunter and seasoned veteran alike. 

In this episode, Steve records with Randy Smith of the famed Lone Pine Kennels in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, renown producers of world class Treeing Walkers  Steve recently spent seven nights hunting with Randy.   Randy’s son Troy and video and podcast content producer Clayton Stark of Stark Outdoors joined Steve and Randy on some of the hunts.

In what could also be described as “A Trip To The Lone Pine Museum” Steve questions Randy about several of the photos and paintings found hanging in the guest quarters and the answers are a walk through the annals of Lone Pine history. 

This episode is the next best thing to driving to western Pennsylvania and hunting with the Lone Pine hounds in person.  Enjoy. 

In this episode Steve has a belated visit with Jim Meeks and Tom Gilroy which normally occurs at the annual Grand American Coon Hunt in Orangeburg..Jim is the founder and longtime curator of the Yadkin River strain of Treeing Walker hounds, known nationally for its contributions to coonhound history through several notable, well-advertised hounds.  Circumstances this year prevented the old friends’ annual reunion in Orangeburg and so Steve the pair to fill in the gap.  Listeners become the beneficiaries in the interesting exchange. 

Young Tom, soon to be 23, joins his mentor and longtime family friend Jim to discuss the Yadkin River dogs, past and present.   Steve takes the opportunity to drill down into several interesting points in the strain’s storied history.  Of particular interest to the host is the question of which trait or traits has carried down through the strain’s fifty-plus year history.  The questions of size and mouth within the strain are examples as is the question of Meeks’ favorite among the many famous hounds that have worn the Yadkin River name. 

Dog talk abounds in this two-plus hour episode.  Join us for answers to expected questions as well as those generated by the fluid conversations.  No doubt Walker enthusiasts will find this episode as gratifying as a fireside rocker on a crisp mid-winter evening.  Pull up to the fire and prepare to be warmed to the core by dog talk at its finest, cordial interactions that center upon the hounds of Yadkin River. 

It’s said that within every man there’s a ticking time bomb.  It manifests itself in a physical phenomenon we know as the dreaded heart attack.  In Steve’s years of experience, he’s known several hunters that experienced an attack that ended poorly for them.   Houndsmen are particularly vulnerable due to a number of factors.  Poor physical condition, due in part to the false sense that following hounds replaces regular cardio exercise is certainly a factor.   And, the fact that an attack may come when we are off the grid where rapid medical attention may mean the difference in a good and a not-so-good outcome.  In this episode, Steve relates his experience with an attack while participating in a competition hunt.  The information he shares may be helpful to anyone facing an attack in their future.

The episode also features a brief review of Steve’s choice in a new coon hunting light and finishes with a how-to session on beginning pup training.  Steve rides solo on this one and you’ll likely feel you’re in the truck with him on the ride to Batesville for the UKC Winter Classic which opens the week the episode drops.  All aboard!

Corey assumes the host role for a bit to quiz Steve on his recent trip to the UKC Winter Classic, a coonhound event that ranks high on each of their lists of favorite events to attend.  Corey is particularly interested in Steve’s reaction to his experience as one of three judges in the prestigious Top Ten show held for the past four years in conduction with the February event.  Corey served in the same capacity in the early days of the show. 

When the two friends get together there’s never a lack of material to explore and this one fills the bill as expected.  You will enjoy the conversation from the standpoint of a couple of guys that have participated in organized coon hunting on both sides of the entry desk.  It’s a good time as you will see.  

“A brace of cane-backed rocking chairs invited the pair with oaken arms and soon the rough-sawn wood floor was creaking with the ebb and flow of their rocking.”  Taken from “Too Old To Quit,” an essay from his Gone To The Dogs – A Coon Hunter’s Journey book by Steve Fielder.

In this week’s episode, Steve and Corey participate in some summertime front porch-sitting and the conversation turns to the core of the sport of hunting furbearers with the quintessential tree dog. 

As sure as pointing dogs point birds and waterfowl dogs retrieve ducks, tree dogs tree game.  Tree dogs come in all sizes, styles, mouths and a plethora of preferences by the hunters that follow them.  

How long is long enough to stay treed? What is locating ability?  Are layup dogs really just hot-nosed dogs that work air currents instead of scent on the ground?  Which is more preferred, a chop-mouth or a bawl-mouth tree dog and is there really a difference are but a few of the subjects explored. 

If you consider yourself a tree dog man, we’ve got the tree.  We just need you to help us find what’s up it this episode.   

We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Alpha Dog Nutrition and Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.  Want to learn more about Alpha Dog Nutrition? Check out the links below

https://www.dusupply.com/alphadog

www.dusupply.com

https://alphadognutrition.com/

In this episode we resume the interview with James Oliver Laws. It was said of Mr. Laws father, Uncle Jimmy Laws, that he would know the day before the hunt where a bear would move that night. He served as the paid guide at the famed Hazel Creek Rod and Gun Club where Von and Little George Plott hunted bears with hounds. In this episode you will hear James Oliver Laws give descriptions of the dogs that were hunted by the Plott family as well as other famous houndsmen of that day. Descriptions of the dogs by Mr. Laws often conflict with the UKC breed standard for the Plott dog of today. 

Mr. Laws’ accounts of the ways the hunters would breed to the dogs of their fellow hunters is much the way the hunters of West Virginia and Virginia did when Steve was a young hunter. There are many parallels in the experiences of Steve and James Laws, especially in following, the footsteps of their famous fathers on multitudes of bear hunts in rugged mountain terrain.. Mr. Laws’ frankness in describing not only the hounds of the Plott family and his own but also in describing the demeanor of the men themselves is eye-opening. His revelation of the origins of the Plott family dogs as well as the original breed type of their dogs will no doubt raise questions about previous historical accounts associated with the popular breed. Due to the overall length of the interviews, Steve has chosen to run it in three parts. This is the second episode of a three-part series. Merry Christmas!

In this episode, recorded at the 60th Annual Grand American Coon Hunt in Orangeburg, SC, Steve invites the newly-formed All American Bluetick Association’s Secretary/Treasurer Mark Hauck to the Gone To The Dogs Podcast mike for an interesting and provocative discussion rooted in Hauck’s chosen coonhound breed.

Hauck is a retired Army veteran who spent more than 20 years in action-packed jobs with dangerous assignments in airborne and Special Service units based at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg. 

Steve peels back the layers of Hauck’s coonhounds story and follows up with direct questions about the need for another breed association for a breed already possessed of two longstanding and firmly-established associations.  It’s a good conversation for those that enjoy the Blue dogs and for anyone desiring to be kept abreast of the goings on in the realm of purebred coonhounds. 

Laws talks of dogs that were white with brindle spots, he talks of the most famous of the Plott family hunters, Von Plott, keeping Airedales and he speaks of a hunter that was afraid of bears. 

In this episode Laws gives advice on how to kill bears over dogs, talks about senility in hounds using his own favorite best hound he ever followed, the infamous Troop of his daddy’s. 

The tenacity of the Smoky Mountain bear hunter comes to the front in this episode as James relates a story of hunters that chose to follow the hounds as opposed to manning a “stand” to kill the bear as was the popular method of the day.  There’s a story of a big bear that took eight shots to kill on Deep Creek, another of the drainages along with Hazel, Noland and Fourney that drained the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains.

The tale of the death of two outstanding bear dogs by their owners while attempting to kill their bear is a strong lesson for anyone that aspires to hunt bears with hounds.

Enough writing about it.  Give this episode a listen and you will agree with Stewart Biesecker that it would have indeed been grand to have lived and hunted in the days James Oliver Laws remembered so very well. 

Hot weather is abundant and so are summertime tales in this episode.  Recent exploits of the boys Plott dogs as well as the announcement of the upcoming nuptials of Corey’s female Goldie to Bill Shininger’s stud dog are front and center.   The talk moves to the latest accomplishments of Steve and Mark Miller’s Plott Fever in field and water events and progresses to the realm of deep-thinking about how to decide when and to which stud to breed with an admonition to owners of females “not to wait too long.”  

With Autumn Oaks less than two months away, the boys share some of their favorite humorous stories from experiences at “The Event Where History Is Made.”

This one is jam-packed with good information concerning how to improve club membership, explores the dangers of a once-common practice of climbing trees and culminates with a very interesting conversation on the importance of track dogs in the sport.  The boys discuss the all-important question “which is more important, the track dog or the tree dog?”  If you don’t listen to anything else this week, check out this portion of the podcast.  It’s good stuff!

Jones describes first-hand what it’s like to see entire towns, bridges and highways swept away with no warning.  This frank conversation exposes the insensitivities of those outside the region and the shear hopelessness felt by citizens of the region, many of them hound people themselves.  

Jones describes the devastation and recounts the terrible tragedy as a fellow coon and bear hunter on a rescue mission with his boat is swept under a bridge and has not been seen.  It’s not the average feel-good episode but it does reveal the importance of living each day as if it is the last.

I felt it important to do this podcast at this particular time if for no other reason than to bring help and comfort to those that are so badly in need.  Jones emphasizes the importance of looking to those nearby that may need our help and doing what we can for them first.  It’s a sobering episode but one that we all need to hear at this very difficult time.

We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Alpha Dog Nutrition and Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.  Want to learn more about Alpha Dog Nutrition? Check out the links below

https://www.dusupply.com/alphadog

www.dusupply.com

https://alphadognutrition.com/

Steve and his buddy Nubbin Moore made the trip to Batesville, Mississippi for the 36th running of the prestigious event in early February.  This episode contains a collection of on-the-spot interviews with several of the events’ attendees that stopped by the Gone To The Dogs Podcast booth.  You’ll enjoy the interviews conducted at the booth located at centerstage in the massive Batesville Civic Center.  Surrounded by live sounds from the arena, it’s the next best thing to being there. 

The conversations span a wide category of subjects that will be worth your time.  Listen to one at a time or enjoy them all in one setting.  Either way, you’ll enjoy this visit to one of the coon hunting game’s most enjoyable events. 

The Gone To The Dogs Podcast is nothing if not a gathering place for the nation’s best known and most revered raccoon hunters.

The week the podcast features a big helping of “Dog Talk At It’s Finest.”Steve brings one of the sports most respected and longest running breeders of Treeing Walker Coonhounds, the renown Jim “Wildman” Meeks to the Gone To The Dogs microphone.  Meeks, a first ballot inductee into the North Carolina State Coon Hunters Hall of Fame, is possessed of a wealth of knowledge all areas of the coon hunting game. 

This one literally oozes Old School coon hunting from the first drop to the final tree.  Steve and Jim discuss a gamut of subjects from hunting gear to pup training and a little of everything in between.  With hunting seasons upon us, this one is for the guys that do it simply for the love of the hounds, as told by one of the true purists in our sport. 

The bill comes under the umbrella of anti-trespass legislation and provides exorbitant penalties for hunting dogs and their owners that find themselves afoul of the provisions of the bill, whether advertently or not.   The boys hash out the bill and provide information for hunters in Pennsylvania and elsewhere that want to let their voices be heard before the bill reaches the dangerous environs of the Senate floor.  

The conversation takes on a more pleasant vibe as the boys cover the oldest and one of the most-popular breeds of trail and tree hounds, the American Black and Tan Coonhound.  The boys’ love for history is evident as they discuss early history, early founders and a long line of movers and shakers, human and canine, that have played such an important role in the breed’s seemingly timeless reign of popularity.   If you like black dogs, or if you just like to look back over the many years of our tree hound sport, this is a good one for you.  Them ole black dawgs!

In this his final episode, at least for now, Corey joins Steve in recalling their memories of coon hunting in Michigan.  Each served on the staff of Michigan-based United Kennel Club, albeit some ten years distant in times served, and they share, in this episode, many memories of hunting one of the very best states for coon hunting in the nation.

As summer winds down, what better way to usher in fall than stories of hunts under a harvest moon with corn shocks rustling and hound voices echoing across the fields, swamps and woodlots of Pure Michigan?   

Steve is on the road for a couple of weeks to New Jersey for family time and some fly fishing.  The only dogs he’ll see is the daughter’s hound/pit bull mix and the family Dachshund Louie who accompanies Ella everywhere.  But the combined efforts of Ma Bell and Al Gore provide the opportunity to keep Gone To The Dogs on schedule while on the long and winding road. 

The boys discuss the format, breed breakdowns and the ambiance that makes the TOC the premier coonhound event that it is, an event that boasts a purse of $250,000 distributed among winners at the finals held on the weekend following the airing of this episode.  The overall winner captures $50 grand!  Who would have thunk it?

Things get interesting, even humorous, when the boys throw another chunk in the stove to discuss recent posts on the Coon Hunting Conversations Facebook group page.  Moving stud dogs around the country, deep-and-lonely dogs being born that way or manmade and what is seemingly causing smaller heads in some coonhounds.  It’s all here and as the cliched phrase admonishes, “You won’t want to miss this one.”  Heck, we don’t want you to miss any of them.   Give that log a little more air, son.  

The trio drill down into Fever’s success story discussing the young hound’s progression from a five-month-old puppy to reaching the pinnacle in competition hunting at less than two and one-half years old.  

Corey leads the interview leaving few stones unturned in terms of exactly what’s involved in achieving the Grand Nite Champion and other UKC titles.  Fever currently holds titles in Field Trials, Water Races, Nite Hunting, Hunt Tests and Bench Showing in UKC as well as Nite Hunting in Professional Kennel Club events.   The expense, the determination, the challenges and the setbacks are all fair game.  Of particular interest to listeners will be the reasons a confirmed, highly successful Treeing Walker fancier would embark on the arduous journey with a Plott of all available breeds.  Steve wades the murky waters of why Plott hunters may be more prone to breed to dogs in their own backyards.   You expect dog talk at its finest on the Gone To The Dogs Podcast and there’s plenty to enjoy in this episode.    

This episode will be Corey’s last for awhile as he and his wife Kayla welcome their second child, another girl, into the Gruver household.  It could happen at any time. It’s an exciting time for sure and one that will demand a little more of Corey’s attention than usual.  He’ll rejoin the show as soon as things settle down a bit over there in Greenville, PA.

In this, Corey’s parting episode, the discussion moves to observations on the recent UKC Tournament of Champions.   We break down the hounds and the handlers of the finals and offer some pretty darn good arm-chair quarterbacking of the final three from the perspective of individuals that have seen their fair share of major events from behind the scenes.

At the center of this one is a discussion on why Walker dogs win when other coonhound breeds don’t.   You can almost hear the porch boards squeaking as the motion tries to keep up with the spirited conversation.   Grab a rocker and join in this “dog talk at its finest.”      

This episode takes the listener to eastern Kentucky, land of our host’s roots and home of our guest Robbie Spears.

Spears is a coon hunting game warden with the rank of Lieutenant in the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, a coon hunting Mr. Green Jeans.

Robbie and Steve enjoy a conversation about their Kentucky roots, about Robbie’s lifelong desire to work outdoors, and spend a great deal of the episode talking about some successful English Coonhounds, his breed of choice.

Spears has done his share of winning in competition, placing sixth in the UKC World Championship and winning the Purina Outstanding Nite Hunt Coonhound race overall.

A good deal of the conversation centers upon the importance of passing the tree dog sports on to the kids, of which Robbie has two.  His outlook is interesting may present views the average houndsman has not considered before. 

And by the way, the coon hunter whose name Steve could not remember in the episode was Irvin Sutton, owner and handler of Dark Shadow Bobbie, a remarkable English coonhound in her day. 

This one is worth you time.

We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Alpha Dog Nutrition and Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.  Want to learn more about Alpha Dog Nutrition? Check out the links below

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Recently, Jamie Estep, who joins Sturgill and Bolen in this episode, designated the annual National Plott Hound Association’s West Virginia Plott Sectional the John Sturgill Tribute Hunt and Show.  Sturgill was honored throughout the recent three days of hunts, shows and bear events.  Estep invited Steve to judge the bench show on Friday, setting up the perfect opportunity for the friends to get together and recall old times.

This is a feel-good conversation centered upon hunting in the rugged West Virginia mountains with Plott dogs.  Estep recalls Sturgill and Bolen as role models for his own career which now includes the title of Field Representative for UKC and anchor for the YouTube video coverage of the popular Tournament of Champions for coonhounds. 

Steve is betting you will really enjoy this one.

In this, the second episode about tree dogs, the boys are dealing with problems that occur at the tree.  Everything from tree jacking to chewing to guarding the tree are discussed in detail. 

In their years of experience with tree dogs of all types, the pair has experienced and have attempted to correct all manner of issues that make what should be the sublime experience of walking up and seeing game in the tree at the end of the trail, a stressful and often worrisome experience for the hunter.

The episode is ripe with common sense approaches to dealing with tree problems and is a program most any tree dog enthusiast will appreciate even if they don’t recall as personal experiences.  Admittedly, there may be more problems identified than resolved in this issue with a promise of more solutions to come.   Tree problems are complex and the hosts don’t take them lightly, being careful to present only useful, commonsense remedies.

Prepare to hear discussions on milling at the tree, dogs that become jealous at the tree and dogs that become hunt sour after entering too many competitions.   There’s a lot of information packed in this issue and it’s all intended to make the experience of hunting game with tree dogs more enjoyable.   There is also an admonishment that if the listener is afraid to correct problems at the tree, he or she may well need to find another dog or at the extreme, another sport.  

Fred Moran, a frequent guest to the Gone To The Dogs podcast, is eighty-seven years old.  The remarkable octogenarian coon hunter continues to hunt raccoons regularly with his beloved Redbones at an age well past the point most coon hunters have retired from the game.  Not only is Moran still hunting, he continues the pursuit of good hounds wherever they may be found.  In this episode he discusses going to Mississippi to try a new hound.   This is a vintage Fred Moran conversation that listeners have come to appreciate over the life of this podcast.  Enjoy. 

In this inaugural episode of Gone To The Dogs, Buddy and Jason interview the show’s host, Steve Fielder.Fielder is revealed to be the sole owner and host of the show with DU Supply providing the platform on which the podcast will stand.  The group gets to talking dogs and presents an overview of the latest member of DU Supply’s family of podcasts.   Fielder is questioned about his earliest beginnings, his dog-related journey from the mountains of West Virginia to the cornfields and swamps of Michigan, his three-step journey with three of the nation’s largest and best-known dog registries, UKC, PKC and AKC, and finishes with his goals for coming episodes.  If you don’t know Steve Fielder, you will enjoy this entertaining first introduction.  If you have followed Steve in his previous adventures in the podcast realm, this episode will be more of what you’ve come to expect and enjoy from his seemingly limitless storehouse of experiences and memories. If you want to get current updates from Steve, make sure to check out the GONE TO THE DOGS PODCAST with Steve Fielder facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1261416840966633  You can also find his book  “Gone To The Dogs - A Coon Hunter's Journey” at https://www.dusupply.com/gone-to-the-dogs-coonhunting-book.html

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Smith and Strickland are profits of the Davis Doctrine every time they release their immitigable Lone Pine Lady female into the deep dark woods of a major coonhound competition hunt and they are fulfilling Davis’ commission on an incredibly frequent basis these days.

GONE TO THE DOGS PODCAST host Steve Fielder catches up with Smith and Strickland just a handful of days following Stickland and Lady’s mastery of the JOY Dog Food Super Hunt in Texas on the last weekend in February.   The trio talk about their hound, about John’s winning ways in competition and Smith’s prowess, and long- term success as one of coon hunting’s most dedicated and effective breeders.

If you want to know how the upper tier of the game operates, from selection of the breeding pair to cashing in at the payout window, this one will satisfy your every whim.   

The boys engage in the usual “dog talk at its finest” in the opening minutes of the episode before cracking the lid on a can of mayhem and confusion centered on the age old “just who gives you the right” challenge.  Triggered somewhat by comments on recent social media, Corey opens a discussion about who gets to decide what quality is in a given breed of hounds?  And, beyond that, who has the authority to call the shots when it comes to breeding quality dogs?   Does simply owning a great dog make the owner the be-all, end-all authority on the breed?   Opinions in this episode are flying like starlings in the wind, the opinions no more authoritative than the flapping of wings yet no less passionate.   

This is a lively discussion that’s bound to stir a reaction or two within every houndsman, color and conformation preferences aside.  

While he was gone, Corey joined the fund-raising ranks with his involvement in a charity called Wags for Kids.  His plan involves raising money for deserving kids needing therapy dogs and such and it produced the idea of a coonhound stud dog auction.   Thirty owners agreed to provide stud service on social media to the highest bidder with all proceeds going to the benefit.  The plan is working great and the boys talk about that in this episode which naturally leads into a much broader discussion of the ins and outs of running a stud dog in today’s tree dog market. 

The discussion runs the gamut of pros and cons and provides a lot of insight and information for anyone thinking of putting a nice hound up for public stud.  Pull up and rocker, sharpen up your Ticonderoga #2 and let’s talk stud dogs with Corey and Steve.