so you caught a dog!

[Butler09]

I was just wondering how you would handle it if you caught a dog? I've never caught one, knock on wood, but if you had a legal set and you got there and a dog was killed in a body grip trap what would everyone do? Just something to think about with more and more dogs running around.

[~ADC~]

Out of site, out of mind. Remove the dog and put it where it will not be found. IMO

You can't bring it back so no use in telling anyone, ever.

~ADC~

[Butler09]

I've heard that same thing from a few veteran trappers. They say if you hide it people will go way out of there way to find there pet. So they throw it up on the road and make it look like someone hit it with there vehicle. They say that pet owners accept that a lot better than there dog getting caught in a trap. I think what there saying makes a lot of sense IMO. What does everyone else think about there opinion?

[LLLTrapper]

Don't take this wrong but I bet you have a lot of people looking at your profile. Just saying..... LLL

[rjvr1122]

I too go out of my way to avoid dogs. Having said that, if I know who the dog belongs to, I will go to them and tell them about catching the animal. I will also offer to dispose of the animal for them. If I don't know who's dog it is, I dispose of it and move on.


Russ

[Butler09]

I'm not trying to make it look wrong, but I ran a couple hundred snares last year and some conibears and I seen quite a few people with there dogs just running lose right beside them and all it would take is for a dog to run down the ditch and get caught. Not the trappers fault but I guarantee the owner would try to blame it on the trapper.

[LLLTrapper]

If I were to see a guy walking his dog I might think twice about a 220. A snare usually won't hurt a dog and would allow an owner to simply take the snare off his dog. Some things can be avoided with a little common sense. LLL

[Butler09]

Last time I checked I never caught anyone's dog. I was just wondering what people did if they caught one. Why is it someone can't ask a simple question without someone else arguing or telling them they're doing something wrong. Thanks everyone else for answering without arguing with me.

[grinnergetter]

I did not feel that anyone was trying to argue with you as I am not now they were just answering your question. I have caught dogs before in foot holds and snares. The foot hold caught dog was two miles from home and I released it from inside of the truck through the window as it was thinking about eating my shorts. I did tell the owner that I caught the dog and informed him that he needed to keep it at home during trapping. The snare caught was sitting like on a leash and released three days in a row before I asked the owner to keep it at home it was a half mile from home on private ground. Just my experiences and what I did right or wrong who knows.

[Butler09]

Yea it just blows me away that people just let there pets wander around when hunting season is going on. I would hate to lose a dog to a conibear. like I said I run mostly snares probably 95% some DPS and a few CONI bears so I've been fortunate not to have any problems. Like LLL said as long as your being smart where your setting your traps you shouldn't have a problem.

[LLLTrapper]

Since I was really the only one that replied I will assume you meant me. If what I said offends you it was not meant to. This can be a very touchy subject. Asking questions on here will always get answered but when you are asking for opinions you will always get some answers you don't agree with or like. There are also some things that make trappers nervous about talking in public about especially when you have been confronted by pet owners that have moved to the country so their dogs can have plenty of room to run. A trapper has a moral responsibility for not only his traps but others that could get ones way of life taken from them or changed forever. There is waaaay more at stake than your own line.

Most counties in IA have leash laws but the fact of the matter is when you see a citiot walking his dog and you know you have a 220 set close enough to worry about it I personally would replace that set with a snare or a dp to avoid being a conversation point for a news story. Common sense with conibears. LLL

[Butler09]

I totally agree with that statement LLL. But us as trappers are legally doing our part by following the laws that the DNR has set for us such as the 200 yards from any house inhabited by humans, no body grips exceeding 8 inches, and checking every 24 hours unless its a drowning set. So I believe the people that walk there dogs should have them on a leash and most definitely should not let them run all over private property. This is why I believe so many dogs get caught every year. Like I said before not at all the trappers fault but the owner of the dog will blame it on the trapper every time.

[~ADC~]

Kinda went from "what if you do catch one" to "how to avoid them"...

When I replied, I assumed you had done what you could to avoid the situation (still think you do) and as they say "crap happens".

There is NO REASON for ANY TRAPPER to not have a catch pole that you can release live animals with, but if the trap kills the animal, I stand by the advice I gave above.

~ADC~

[Butler09]

Yea as long as you run dog friendly traps like snares or foot traps I believe if you had a catch pole it really wouldn't be a problem at all. But yes it is definitely best to try to avoid any situation where a dog might get caught in a 220. But me as a dog owner am smart enough not to let my dog run all over the countryside. I think it would be great if the DNR could somehow reach out to dog owners and tell them to keep there pets on a leash during trapping and hunting season.

[hawkeye1486]

The problem down here is coondogs and bird dogs. The coon hunters i talk to seem to like them lower, they dislike when they are more then 6-8 inches off the ground. I habe bird dogs and coon hunt with a few people and i understand a dog owners concern. As a trapper i am very particular on what ground i set 220s on and try to let people that run hounds know i am in there. That said i still like to use them and plan to expand the number of 220s i run this year.

[4fur]

First thing I would do if I ever caught a dog I wasn't trying to catch is sell every 220 I own. I very rarely set a 220 in a trail and feel confident that my baited 220 is dog proof. I did catch a red fox several years ago and immediately pulled every baited 220 I had out. Lot of snow that season and animals were hungry.

The idea about ditching a domestic as a road kill sounds good. A guy lost 3 dogs to a cattleman in my area a year ago and looked for those dogs all summer long. He really loved those dogs, but not enough to shut them up. The dich idea would bring a sense of closure to the pet owner, at least.

[mikeg]

4-fur,

Could you explain how to make baited 220 sets dop proof? I live in Wisconsin and run some baited 160's-make me a little nervous

Thanks

[Butler09]

Yea I'm definitely leaning more towards not running 220s in road ditches and running snares and z traps more. I hope I never catch a dog and its dead I would feel terrible. I'm thinking I'm going to run all water sets on an extended check this year to try something different with about 300 Duke DJs. Never tried running a only water set line, but I'm just not getting the coon #s I'm wanting so I'm going to try different approaches until I reach the #s I want. I'm only 22 so I'm going to run a lot harder than most think is possible for me to get the #s.

[LLLTrapper]

I don't know what numbers you are thinking or how big but I can give you some insight. I don't know you or really anything about you except for what you post. I see you have pics of coyotes. A lot of time is spent on trapping canines that will really hinder you catching large numbers of coon. Most big number coon trappers have no time for multispecies lines. Concentrate on coon every hour you have and when the weather freezes up and snow comes then you have time to be a recreational trapper. LLL

[badger]

Never had a dog DOA. Caught several in footholds and snares, even choke spring snares-----all released unharmed. And running around within a few days.

these guys that run Conibears right behind houses and in populated ditches are going to ruin it for everybody.

[4fur]

May 19, 2013 13:52:56 GMT -6 mikeg said:

4-fur,

Could you explain how to make baited 220 sets dop proof? I live in Wisconsin and run some baited 160's-make me a little nervous

Thanks

I had intended to show my baited 220 concept at the ITT TRapper-fest but had to cancel due to spraying. And it's not something I feel comfortable sharing on a public forum.

[Butler09]

If your going to be at the ITA you could possibly show it off there. I'm sure a lot of guys would be interested to see it, I know I would.

[Selvig]

One baited 220 idea is placing the set in a tree or a river crossing log. I have done this with some success. Had really good luck one year with a 220 strapped to a den tree with branchs wired around trunk so coon would take the path with 220 in it.

As for original question. I completely agree with ADC. I run into a lot of dogs in my area. Only ever had two that were dead one was caught private ground in a drowning beaver castor mound set. Other was caught when I was new to trapping in a snare I had set to close to a small tree that he got wrapped around. All other dogs 10+ ive let go unharmed.

[trout]

The houndsman vs the trapper is a very very old story today its more of a leash laws vs the trapper story for this reason the very best of trappers are forced to use everyday foot traps only , it is what it is .

[bradphillips]

I am a coon hunter and trapper, not as bad as it might seem. The guy I run dogs with has comp. hunted and hide hunted for 30+ years and has lost one dog to a 220. Bad deal, set right in the fence on public ground.

I have snared two in the last 30 years, both just calmly sitting there when I rolled up and released with no harm done. Actually no damage to the snare, they both look at me like they were just happy I came along.

I run snares, 220's, DP's, and footholds. Just need to try and select the right tool for the location. Sure there is going to be a percentage of bad outcomes. But you can minimize most.