I hunted bear and cats with scent hounds, ( walkers, plots and a lot of hounds that were mixed breeds including black and tans, redbones and blue and red ticks. ) After 22 years the state I live in outlawed dogs to hunt big game . I normally ran 3 - 4 dogs and spent half of my yearly income hunting them and training them . Everyday! Not all dogs are cut out to hunt big game. A good coon dog may catch a cougar for you and be totally worthless on bears.